The goal in feeling presence is to come to the realization that you are neither the self nor the ego but a much higher being. You are a being which is the awareness. You are aware of the body both inside and out - its enery, vibrancy, the prana, the life-force, but you are not the body. You are the witness or the observer of the body and everything that goes along with it. It is not difficult to learn how to feel presence yet it is very rewarding. It's a win-win situation.
After practicing getting in touch with presence in yoga class the other day, I asked if anyone cared to share their experience. One of the students said she experienced "a connectedness that I am seldom aware of." We all sat for a moment and slowly began nodding our heads in agreement. Presence is with us all of the time but we fail to recognize it or be in touch with it because we are too busy with our everyday lives to notice it. What a shame, because if we could, we would feel completely here and now all of the time, not in our heads.
Presence is not imagination or an illusion, it is as real as sunlight. It is formless yet fills every cell in your body from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet. Feeling presence is the portal that allows you to break through the ego barrier because by feeling it you become the witness of your body, your thoughts, and the energy within. Once you feel presence you may recognize a connection between your own awareness and the awareness of a higher consciousness. It is truly an enlightening experience.
The process of learning how to feel presence consists of two distinct parts. 1) Being aware of your thoughts and body sensations. As you sit in silence, thoughts will pass in and out of the mind and subtle sensations will occur in your body such as discomforts here and there, the process of breathing, the growl of a hungry stomach, an itchy nose, the heart beathing, and so on. 2) The simple act of just letting all your judgments of those thoughts and sensations dissolve into neutrality - letting your experiences be neither good nor bad but just be.
As you sit in non-judgment of your thoughts and your body sensations, you will probably begin to have a deeper and more relaxed feeling. With practice your ability to let all of the thoughts and sensations go will increase the intensity of your awareness. As you continue to be more and more aware, you will soon realize that what you are doing is becoming the witness of your body and your mind at the same time.
This discussion will continue tomorrow. Please pass by this way.
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