The Way of Presence

In an age and culture focused on status, money, and possessions, anomalies and dilemmas confront us. Once we attain a modest lifestyle, with all the necessities, further personal economic advances do less and less to make us happier, and may even diminish our life satisfaction. At that juncture, how well we live depends much more on our inner state than on our outer circumstances. Foremost among the many determinants of our state is whether or not we are actually here, living and participating in our life. Are we phoning it in, letting great chunks of our life pass by on autopilot, or are we present, in the vivid reality of each moment? We all have the same amount of time in each day. The key difference comes in whether we live those moments or let them slip away, hardly noticed.

This book addresses the practice of presence: how to be and stay present. How to be here in our life, drinking it all in. How to live more.

The Way of Presence consists of spiritual inner work exercises, each intended for a week-long effort. In this third collection of such exercises, all but a handful are parts of a series, lasting from as few as three to as many as thirteen weeks. Each inner work series offers a context of steps that can lead to greater depth along a particular dimension of the spirit. For a fully robust soul, we need a spirituality that effectively addresses all aspects of our being and gives us tools, which if applied diligently, will enhance the quality of our inner life. These inner tools can enable us to live in presence to live more of our life.