009 The Body as a Tool for Presence
Hello friends,
I’m excited for today’s email! Anytime I discover a new way to help people connect to their bodies is a big deal. This is especially true when the practice or concept is simple, practical, and highly adaptable. Today’s practice is such an example.
Please note: In the first few installments of this newsletter I laid out a thorough introduction to embodiment. If you haven’t read through the series, I highly recommend it. Much of what I’ll be discussing in future emails builds off of these basics.
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The Body as a Tool for Presence
If you’re reading this, you likely understand that presence – experiencing the now as now, rather than through the lens of the past or future – is necessary for developing resilient well-being.
Mindfulness practices, including mindfulness meditation, connect us to presence by shifting our attention away from our thoughts – which habitually focus on the past or future – and towards a point of focus (a candle, our breath, etc) that we can experience in the here and now.
All too often, in the Western model of mindfulness, the emphasis is not on presence but absence: The absence of thought, the absence of stress, the absence of discomfort.
And, while that’s an important piece of the puzzle, it's only a piece - and a small one at that.
That’s because mindfulness, and the presence it creates, is about more than reducing thought or discomfort. In fact, it’s not ultimately about an absence or disidentification with anything.
Mindfulness is about connecting deeply with what exists in the here and now.
And as we learn to differentiate our awareness from our thinking, we must shift that awareness to something real, something palpable and fulfilling in the present.
That is why the body is the perfect mindfulness tool. Not only do the sensations of the body siphon attention away from thought (and therefore stress), it provides us with an infinitely rich, ever-changing experience of the present.
What we feel in our bodies, the subtle sensations of our energy bodies, is the present moment itself.
Every cell of our bodies is in constant, inextricable connection with every single thing around us, from our immediate environment to the furthest reaches of the universe.
And whatever we feel - whether it’s a subtle tingling in the fingers, old emotions surfacing, or a divine intuitive understanding of interconnection - is presence. Whatever the subtle body puts forward or whatever your mind-state can handle on a given day, is real and wholesome and healing.
Here’s a practice to illustrate my point. It’s based on an exercise Eckhart Tolle described on an episode of his podcast. It’s particularly effective for interrupting patterns of repetitive or swirling thoughts and emotions – especially in the middle of your day when a more formal meditation is not possible or practical.
Note: I’m asking you to read through a practice that involves closing your eyes. To accomplish this, you’ll want to read it one phrase at a time. Read a phrase, close your eyes, and connect to the feeling. When you’re ready, open your eyes and continue to the next phrase.
Practice: Your Living Hands
Sit in a chair, with feet flat on the floor and your weight evenly balanced on both sit bones. Place your elbows on the table or desktop in front of you. If you have a chair with armrests, you may place your elbows on those instead.
Your forearms should be in a vertical position. Your hands are relaxed and pointed towards the ceiling. Your fingers are effortlessly extended. It’s ok if the fingers are curved or come to rest in a loosely formed fist.
Close your eyes and ask yourself a question: How do I know my hands exist?
It may sound silly but, how can you be sure – in this exact moment – that your hands exist if you can’t see or touch them?
Let your hands answer the question. Allow them to slowly define themselves in your mind’s eye. Let them gradually reveal their basic shape, size, and location.
Don’t rush this process. Your hands will come to you.
Notice, as your hands come alive, what they feel like. What sensations do you feel in your hands?
Focus your attention strongly on the feelings in your hands: The aliveness, the vibrations, the pulsing energy, any tightness, heat, or coolness.
Keep your awareness steadily focused on your hands. The more focused you are, the more you’ll feel your hands in depth and strength.
Then become aware of your thoughts. As you’ve been focusing on your hands, have you been thinking your usual thoughts? Have you been planning for the future or evaluating the past?
It’s very difficult to focus deeply on your hands and still have an active mind. There’s only so much fuel, so much attention at a given time. The more connected you are to the feelings in your hands, the less active your mind becomes.
The feeling in your hands is the present moment. It’s an expression of life being lived right now, as you and everything around you dance in a constant exchange of aliveness.
Take some time to enjoy this.
When you’re ready, you can let your attention wander to other parts of your body. Feel the aliveness in these other areas. Play with it. If your mind begins to take over, go back to your hands and re-anchor yourself to their feelings of aliveness.
You can continue with this practice for as long as you’d like.
That's it! Enjoy the practice and I'll be back next week.
Energetically,
David