subject: Why It's Difficult to Stay Present in Difficult Times [print this page] When we most need the ability to stay present is when we are are going through a difficult time.
Yet this is precisely when many of us find it the hardest to stay present!
Lots of people who have been on a spiritual path for years are even struggling right now.
The economic downturn has people worried. The global weather situation is also precarious, with perhaps as many as 20 million affected by flooding in Pakistan, over a thousand dead in China in floods, flooding in central Europe, with fires raging in Russia and pushing up the price of wheat on the world marketnot to get into the political and military tensions all over the planet.
So why, when we most need a calm presence,do difficult times tend to throw us off our spiritual equilibrium? What is it about such times that make it tough to stay centered, peaceful, and present?
The answer lies in the fact that it's one thing to have a mental concept of what presence is and what it means to be conscious, and quite another to actually be a conscious person who can stay present without even trying.
Consciousness is a state of being, not a concept.
Though to be conscious affects our thinking, it's far more than an improved way of thinking.Indeed thought is often what blocks our ability to simply be in the present moment continuously.
To be enlightened, conscious, and present in each now moment is actually the most natural thing in the world.
It's a completely relaxed state of mind that doesn't require "efforting" to bring about. On the contrary, it arises spontaneously, effortlessly, and naturally.
But first we have to be in touch with our natural self, not just with a concept of who we are supposed to be.
Beginning tomorrow, I want to embark on an extended series of blogs in which we look at the incredibly insightful story of The Little Prince, still one of the world's best sellers even though it was published in 1944.
Written by the Frenchman Antoine de Saint-Exupery, it's especially famous in spiritual circles for its insightful statements such as, "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye."
Though i wrote a book on The Little Prince, which is a Namaste Publishing audio book (Lessons in LovingA Journey into the Heart), the story of The Little Prince is so rich with meaning that I want to use it as a filter to examine our lives, springboarding from my own experiences on the journey into consciousness.
Through this story, we'll learn how natural it is to be conscious, present, enlightened. And how difficult it is, sapping all our energy, not to live in an aware state.
Why It's Difficult to Stay Present in Difficult Times
