Sacred Presence: Relationship Presence 11

Inner Frontier
Fourth Way Spiritual Practice

Inner Work

For the week of March 9, 2020

Sacred Presence

In this series on Relationship Presence, there is a fundamental relationship we have not yet addressed: our personal connection with the Divine. Collectively, we humans engage in a broad array of relationships with the Sacred. Many of us have little or no such connection. Maybe we are atheists or agnostics. Maybe we believe that God exists, but we do not particularly bother about it. Or we attend formal religious services: once a year, or occasionally, or weekly, or even more often. Maybe we are Buddhists and do not believe in God, but our meditation practice gives us a sense of the sacred, nevertheless. Maybe we pray for help of some kind, either regularly or only when we or a loved one are in trouble. Maybe we believe that we can serve the higher by living a right life of responsibility, kindness, and respect.

Each of these approaches or non-approaches has its own validity and is worthy of respect. Yet as our work of presence grows and deepens, so does our sense of the sacred, right here in the midst of life. It comes down to the question of when we are present, who is it that is present?

If we are not there, then it is not real presence.

If we come to presence as our ego, then that limits the depth, breadth, and duration of our presence, because ego recognizes no significance beyond its own, sees from the perspective of its self-centered filters, and continually seeks fresh entertainment, even if only through its own self-talk thoughts, daydreams, and emotional reactions.

If we come to presence as our I, which is quietly abiding in all of us in the cognizant stillness of consciousness, then presence is real and even touches the outskirts of the sacred.

If we open to the sacred depths in our core, and let the higher come to presence as us, then the stage is set for transformative, unifying presence.

And if the Divine comes to presence through us, then we are providing a service of inestimable value.

Our work on the cushion, of delving into our core, toward the sacred, opens a door to Sacred Presence. Our work off-the-cushion, of allowing the Sacred into our presence, opens the door to Oneness.

Here is an exercise along that line:

"Here I Am" Exercise

Imagine that like Moses before the burning bush, you are standing on sacred ground. The Lord calls you by name. You respond, "Here I Am."[1] And you make that response more than just a thought. You live it. You rouse yourself to be, to be whole, to be here, to be in awe before the Greatness, to let the Sacred be you. You say the words inwardly and make them true as you say them. "Here I Am." And when you say I, who is that? You make it more than just a word, more than just a sound in your mind. You be that I who is inwardly saying "I." You bring your undivided will, your full power, to inwardly saying "Here I Am."

For this week, please work at this several times each day.