Reminders for Presence

Reminders for Presence

On most days I use an alarm clock to remind me to rise. Working on oneself is about setting alarm clocks—reminders to wake up. My first line of work is filled with my own “food,” exercises, aims, and disciplines to remind me to be here now.

Observations and nudges from my fellow students also remind me to be present. We apply reciprocal gentle pressure to one another to return to what is before us and share presence. This is the second line of work, working and waking up with others.

The third line of work supports the School and the Teacher, whose structures, forms, and responsibilities provide manifold interactions and daily reminders to come back to the Divine Present. Higher purpose reminds me of something higher than myself. The Teacher says, “There is an art to every second. By being present to small things, one unites the smallest and the greatest.”

In its simplest conception then, my three lines of work are essentially about populating my life with constant reminders or “shocks” for returning to the now, a returning to higher mind. You might say, to “re-mind” or reorient myself and my life to self-remembering. To remember responds to the reminder.

At all times it is best to be present to what is before you. − Pindar

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Bisque Porcelain Clock with two Putti (late Louis XVI period)