Inner Work

For the week of July 24, 2006

Starting Presence

Beginnings pervade our life. We awaken from slumber to start each day anew. We begin each meal. We start journeys: some lengthy, some shorter, like our commute to work. Every activity has its beginning, be it brushing our teeth or getting dressed, sitting down to meditate or preparing food, entering a store to shop or each phase of our daily work. Every breath has its own beginning.

All beginnings present opportunities for inner work. The religiously inclined might ask for or offer a blessing when beginning something. Muslims, for example, traditionally begin any undertaking with “In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful.” Invoking the higher at beginnings can suffuse life with a sense of the sacred.

To further explore the deep wisdom behind this focus, we can use beginnings as reminders to be present. If we can muster conscious and intentional presence when we start an activity, several important elements can enter. First, we can resolve to work at presence for the duration of the activity. This opens a door to extending our inner work into more of life. Second, because real presence includes intention, we can set our intention for the activity, for example, the intention to bring a certain level of quality or kindness to what we do. Third, awareness of beginning inspires a vision of the whole, infusing greater reality to that time and potentially transforming the activity into a real event.

For this week, be present when you start.

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