Would you choose to live in presence today?
If you are happy in each moment, it is the result of the decisions you are making, either consciously or subconsciously, to be happy. Our exact circumstances are clearly not always our direct and immediate choice, but they tend, generally, to fully reflect our consciousness. The human mind, as an extension of God’s infinite power, creates our world and many details of the circumstances in which we find ourselves.
Unconditional Happiness in Action
Is there blame or shame for our circumstances? We may feel those emotions for sure, but it surely does not help. It is a manifestation of what I call “the ego going in the back door” to undermine or test our presence. Decide not to cooperate with the ego in delivering the emotional beatings known as blame and shame.
If we focus on our current circumstances, then we’ll say “I don’t have enough” or “I am sick” or “I am disliked.”
Start where you are. If “I am sick” is your mantra, you will perpetuate sickness. This does not mean one should ignore a big health issue in one’s body and chant health mantras blindly, but if you change your thinking and your words, you are declaring your freedom from its impact on your happiness.
True spiritual freedom comes from declaring the unconditional nature of our happiness and our commitment to being our Beingness, being One with God’s presence DESPITE our circumstances. That is done through the process I call “transcendence” in conjunction with the process of meditation (and prayer if you choose).
If you like, you can focus entirely on transcendence and that will very likely lead you to meditation and also to prayer at some point. Start where you like. There are other paths, but the one that involves BOTH transcendence and meditation is one of the simplest and fastest ones. Prayer starts out as “talking to God” and becomes “talking with God” when we are further along on our path.
I consider prayer part of the transcendence process earlier on and part of simply Being later on. I still believe we should consider prayer as a “third process” that will lead to realization no matter how you decide to pray. Prayer before doing transcendence and meditation will not be as powerful as prayer after those two are done. If you pray your way into silence, pray again AFTER you have entered silence.
The Practice is then:
- Prayer (bringing desires and fears to the surface)
- Transcendence
- Meditation
- Prayer following silence (asking in faith)
Let’s get back to how we get past all the inevitable “bumps” or “tests.” The tests that come in for us are accompanied by a question, which is “Will you remain in the presence of God despite what is happening?” Will you?
God’s Presence is a given, but our connection to it is our choice, when we are conscious. That is what constitutes our free will.
Happiness is a commitment that I recommend that you keep in EACH MOMENT of the New Year. That is the only way to sustain it. Saying it once is not enough. It takes practice and dedication to presence to be happy on a continual basis. That is the only way we can live in true freedom, the freedom to be what we are.
Decide you will be happy no matter what. That does NOT mean being stupid and ignoring your circumstances, but rather, it means accepting them and moving on and up from them to a higher consciousness that won’t be bothered the next time.
If you are tired of feeling pushed and pulled by the world, your finances, people, or your state of health, call me at 424-234-6401 soon and I’d be happy to discuss your spiritual path with you and whether what I offer would be a good fit. The call is free. You can reach me from 10 am- 6 pm ET. If you don’t hear from me within one day, email me here: EMAIL
Presence requires tools designed to lead us to “unconditional happiness” as I call it. Without the proper tools, the job is much harder and slower.
Make the decision to be happy in each moment of a Happy New Year, one in which you decide to be happy, and most importantly, unconditionally happy.
My personal commitment is to help you achieve that starting now…
Would you choose to live in presence today?
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Thanks to Mike Carter for the picture of the “A dotty smile.”
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Live In Presence™ Blog 
Fantastic article, David. Thank you for the reminder to commit to unconditional happiness. Transcendence, meditation and prayer are all wonderful joy producing tools. 🙂
Thank you very much for your feedback N. I think the standout in the sequence for many could be prayer, so I’ll add a comment here as an addendum to the post.
Prayer is often completely neglected in modern spiritual discussions. Not in all, but in many. I think that many on the spiritual path use prayer, but many others have abandoned it along with their prior place of worship. They associate prayer with “religion,” to which they ascribe a negative connotation. Some of that is deserved, as some prayers, as well intended as they are, are little more than begging. If we start with begging, that’s OK (it is what it is!), but then we need to move to a higher place of transcendence, then meditative quiet, and then pray again from that higher and quieter place. As mentioned, prayer at the highest level is direct communion with God, or with the “I AM THAT I AM” as they say in the only capitalized sentence in the Bible.
My personal practice is to begin with and end with prayer, but one can and should add prayer “in between” if one is so moved…and I do at times. I recommend that we each find our own path and practice, but be as disciplined as we can in making it a daily practice that we would not skip any more than we would skip brushing our teeth. The next time we say we don’t have time to pray, transcend and/or meditate, we should ask, “Would you skip brushing your teeth?” I doubt most of us would! 😉
If you face extraordinary circumstances or pressure on certain days, of course, give yourself a break particularly if you were in service for others. Attempt to do an abbreviated version of your usual practice on those days. Service for others is God’s work, and you could achieve self-realization through total service to others. Just be present as you serve. And then simply return to your practice as soon as you can, whatever the challenges were that arose. Even if you were simply playing hooky from communion with God, just decide to resume your practice. It’s your consciousness, and these are your choices to make on your own spiritual path…