Opening to Peace through Presence
Leonard Jacobson
 Inner peace is our natural state. And yet very few of us live in a fundamental
state of inner peace. This is because we are not living in the truth of life. We
are lost in a world of illusion. We are living in a world of separation
functioning as egos upon this planet. We are lost in the past and future world
of the mind. We are lost in concept, opinion, idea and belief. To awaken into
peace, we will have to free our selves from the mind and ego and become
fundamentally established in Presence.
When you are fully present, there is no moment other than this moment. Your mind
is silent and you are fully present with what is actually here now. That is what
it means to be awake in the truth of life. You are so fully present that you
exist in this moment, and only in this moment. You are awake in the Eternal Now.
This does not mean that one who has awakened is always functioning at the
deepest level of timeless Presence. Even when you participate in the world of
time, you are still deeply grounded in Presence and the present moment is always
recognized as the truth of life.
If you are fundamentally awake in Presence you live without judgment, fear and
desire. You live in a state of acceptance. Your inner world is one of peace. You
live as Love in the world. The illusion of separation has dissolved. You live
with a strong sense of the Oneness of all things and a continuing awareness of
the impersonal or eternal dimension of existence. You see others as equal and
enlightened, even if they are unaware of it. This extends to animals and the
world of nature. It is impossible for you to intentionally harm another. You are
compassionate and you always act with integrity. You cannot be dishonest. There
is something inside you which simply will not allow it. When you are
fundamentally awake in the truth of life, you are substantially free of ego
motivations and reactions.
Awakening is simple
 Awakening is simple. There is a simple key which will liberate you from the
world of the mind with its endless chattering thought. Just bring yourself
present with that which is already present and you will come out of the mind.
Thoughts will stop. Your mind will fall silent.
You cannot be present in some abstract way. Presence is not about disappearing
into nothingness. You can only be present with something that is actually here.
It does not matter whether it is a box of tissues, a door handle, a chair, a
tree, a flower or a bird soaring through the sky. If it is here in the moment
with you, it is extending to you the invitation to be present with it. And if
you respond to the invitation, you will come out of the mind into the world of
now. You will be awake in the truth of life.
You cannot stop thoughts. It is impossible. The very effort to stop thoughts is
a reinforcement of the thinking process. All you can do is relax, notice that
you are in the mind, and then bring yourself present with that which is already
present. If you can see it, hear it, feel it, taste it, touch it or smell it, in
this moment, then it is of the present moment. And so you can be present with
it.
There is so much here for us to be present with. Every moment reveals abundance.
Walk through the forest in Presence. Walk through the garden in Presence. Behold
the vastness of the sky. Be present with the ocean. Be present as you wash the
dishes or as you walk from the garage to the kitchen. Choose to be present many
times each day, until you become so fundamentally present that it is no longer
necessary to choose.
But to remain present in your day to day life and in your relationships is not
so simple. Most people can only remain present for short periods of time. It is
not long before you are unwillingly pulled out of Presence, back into the world
of the mind. Once again, you are limited by past emotional wounds and limiting
beliefs. Once again, you become lost in your past and future. Once again, you
become entangled in your relationships. Once again you are caught in a world of
illusion.
To awaken fully you will have to bring consciousness to all the ways that you
are pulled out of Presence. This leads to mastery of your mind and ego. What are
the hooks that pull you back into the world of the mind? What is preventing you
from becoming permanently and fundamentally established in Presence? Until these
questions are answered, how can you awaken, other than for a few short moments
every now and then?
As you bring yourself more fully present and as you arise in Mastery, your mind
will fall silent. But there is an even deeper level of silence waiting to
emerge. As your mind becomes silent, an inner door is opened, allowing an
infinite and eternal silence to emerge. This infinite and eternal silence is the
very essence of your Being. It is your true nature. It is the essence of all
existence. It is the eternal silent presence of pure consciousness. It is the "I
AM" of you. At this awakened level of consciousness, you will discover what
Jesus meant when he spoke of “the peace that passeth understanding.”
Leonard Jacobson is the 2005 RSI Peace Award Recipient
For more information on his programs, go to
www.leonardjacobson.com
|
