The 'How To' Practice Presence

The first lesson in Spirituality 101 is: to be “present.” Messages like, “be here now,” and “live in the now,” are poured upon us like a summer afternoon monsoon in Florida. The aftertaste of this advice begs the question, “how, how do I be in this ‘now’ moment, and think of nothing else?”

You practice. Sounds simple enough, but even when we traverse the spiritual path it is very easy to get distracted by crystal singing bowls, yoga asana postures and cacao. We can sage all day every day, and it has very little effect on the ability and skill it takes to be truly “present.” Presence is a practiced skill and like any other skill, to get good at it, we have to sincerely commit ourselves.

Now the question becomes, “how do you practice presence?” Right on cue, ding dong, Sankalpa shows up, flowers in hand, and a smile that lights up the room. Who is this extraordinary, Sankalpa, you may ask? Sankalpa is the ultimate couples counselor, the wise college professor, the strict accountability partner, and the most bad ass transformer known to man. Sankalpa recognizes mind and heart as the perfect match, the yin and yang, and is set on the what seems the impossible task of uniting these two forces, who are desperately trying to prove they don’t need each other. Sankalpa educates both mind and heart by asking them to agree upon a quality that they both honor as sacred. This agreement is a victory. This agreement is what can now be the guiding light of the present moment. 

Mind and heart can learn to communicate in a loving, transparent, and truthful way. Annointing this power couple to govern the, ‘now moment' makes it, the moments’ north star. When we choose to walk with this star as our guide, this, is the practice of presence.

For example, if mind and heart agree that gratitude is an energy that they both hold sacred, then, you get to practice gratitude as the governing light of your moments. That might be by implementing gratitude texts with your bestie, deciding that every time you hear a bird chirp you will pause and count your blessings, or adding prayers as part of your meal rituals. 

Sankalpa is your sincere vow to uphold an intention born from the wedlock of your mind and heart. The practice, is to remember that vow as often as you can throughout the day and then make the next right choice to honor it. 

Thank YOU. I am receiving your attention with so much gratitude. I value your time, consideration, and open mind with such reverence. I encourage you to set your Sankalpa now before you move onto your next experience of your day and notice if and when your day has more outstanding moments than not.

Showering you in my blessings,

Andrea Dawn