Its amazing how time flies by these days..

With the current speed of technology/communication, carving out the time, or should I say building the habit of sitting down and writing a journal, blog or reflective post can be challenging for those like myself, who find themselves quick to action and with the tendency to take on all sorts of big projects. Often it is easier these days to make a quick video then it is to to put pen to paper so to speak.

So I sit here this morning with the challenge of harnessing my thoughts and aspirations into a practice of distillation. One of channeling my voice to the will of the muse, and unraveling all the sweet gifts that are offered when we let active “presence” guide us.  Even as I write this first few lines though, I have left my seat twice to make some tea and finish preping the JUN (kombucha style beverage) I started last night.

“Why so distractible are you” I hear the ancient one calling in my head.. “be still and let the force flow through you”

Its always a practice of being present..  Yet winter is hear and practice I will.

Today as the winter season unravels in front of me and Solstice/Christmas are around the corner, I am writing to share with you some thoughts on the ultimate present (gift) we have to offer. Our “Presence”.

My believe is that our time is truly our most valuable resource, the ultimate currency in our lives. What we choose to do with it shapes who we are and who we become.. and who we become is not merely what we accomplish, it is much more than that. It is the sum total of the energy we put out, the energy we receive in and the relationships we build along the way.

Our desire to accomplish goals in life, can work like mini north stars.. navigational forces moving us forward, yet in the end our achievements are never really where the true wealth and value of our lives is found. It is found into the lessons and experiences we have along the way. It’s built into the relationships we develop as we busy ourselves seeking our goals..

So this practice of presence, really is one of distilling our time commitments into moments of active listening, connection and relation building with those who we share our life with. This is the wealth of the village or the collective vs. the that of the individuals actions. We all become much more abundant, rich and value generating when we chose to actively participate in service to each other and community. Offering our gifts first, and self interest second.

Of course beyond this practice of active presence, we are best to work towards mastering the more passive practice of finding omnipresence.

 Omnipresence is the power to see the bigger picture, and shift our perspective to that of the higher self. It is found in moments of contemplative expansion and larger vision work.

Yes.. We must journey to the top of our personal mountain and take in the whole picture so to speak.

True wealth (richness) relays on both presence with ourselves our relationships as well as with spirit, god, the eye in the sky, higher self, or whatever you choose to call it.

This harmony between presence and omnipresence creates a deep and grounded sense of “found-ness” in a our world. Moving us further from states of being like “in the daily grind”, “thank goodness its Friday” or “the hungry ghost of scarcity”. This sense of found-ness is always available to us in any moment. The more we live in its presence the more we are able to call its power forward when times are unstable or challenging.  Our grounded presence also translates into deep value in all our relations, which in turn bring more value to us, in the form of financial wealth, enjoyment, connection, and meaning.

One of the great keys to sustained success in the new era is found in this macro/microscopic style perspective. Humanity is growing up, and transparency, authenticity, clarity and sincerity are fast becoming more important values to us than anything else.

These values are found in clean communication and unconditional connection.  They are also great generators of wealth and success in our lives when we are able to embody them fully.

We live in a world where we all too often find ourselves in a personal bubble of our own algorithms and custom spun webs. It is more important than ever that we grow ways to cut through these lines of distraction and illusion and build practices like presence that strengthen the potency of how we show up in the world.

So how can we start to build better practices of presence and omnipresence in our lives?

Bellow is a list of some of the ideas and practices I can compiled on doing this.  These are by no means complete, more some general ideas to help kick start these practices in your own life.

Building Presence in our Relationships:

• Slow down, breath and release anxiety, tension and “monkey mind” chatter when you enter a conversation.

• Practice active listening – Listen to understand – repeat back key points for clarity and look for the deeper message one is trying to communicate

• Ask questions and being curious when you are not clear or find yourself assuming

• Respond vs React – sometimes this means, breathing, releasing and relaxing before saying anything

• Meet people as who they are today, not how you knew them as in the past. People grow, change and evolve. Give old relationships an opportunity to re-new themselves.

• Give gratitude and appreciation to others regularly and unconditionally (without the need for anything in return)

• Be available to hear other peoples problems, without trying to fix them

• Show up for commitments and follow through with your word and agreements

• Let go of fragmenting practices such as checking your phone or getting distracted when in a conversations, meetings, meals or other social situations

• Release your personal desire or the direction you what to lead a situation or conversation in

• Invite in perspectives from the quieter people in a conversation or those that have differing points of view

Building Omnipresence in Ourselves:

• Regularity is key- making time consistently to create spaces for introspection

• Set aside alone time in your calendar

• Create a regular routine around walking in nature.

• Find a creative hobby that uses your body as a tool more then your mind

• Yoga, Exercise Qi Gong, Tai Chi, Martial Arts or other similar practices

• Meditation and mindfullness practices

• Travel to new places, take road trips or visit foreign lands 1-3 times a year

• Journal or start a creative writing practice

• Shift the speed at which you do an activity, ie. moving slowly on purpose as you walk vs fast

• Change the way you seek things and taking notice of areas where we have stagnation points or strong beliefs

• Lastly, Mind Altering substances like mushrooms that are none addictive or habit forming can sometimes have a profound effect on kickstarting ones omnipresent awareness, if done in an intentional way.

*Please note that I write this from the eyes of the perpetual student, exploring these concepts at this moment and time for my own growth. By no means have I mastered the practice of finding wealth through presence or clarity through omnipresence. I have found many great successes on this journey, and affirmation that this is the way to abundance and wealth in the real world. But still I fumble, I fall and I continually trip over myself.

My personal north star is in knowing I am making an effort to learn the art of building value through relationship and raising my own vibrational wealth along with that of those I touch and who touch me.  Continually I have to “check myself before I wreck myself” or falling into old patterns and ingrained habits.

My hope is that your journey is one of stretching, growing and some times challenging in ways that make you stronger and generate greater wealth in the form of community and prosperity.

I’ll leave you with that for now,

If some of what I speak about in this post resinates, please check out my blog page from time to time. I am setting intention to be more active in posting on this website over the winter months, sharing all sorts of thoughts, percolations and plant medicine vibes in days to come.
Botanical Blessings,

Y~}