Month 3: Presence

Awaken to the mystery of being here 

and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence. Have joy and peace in the temple of your senses. Receive encouragement when new frontiers beckon. Respond to the call of your gift and the courage to follow its path. 

Let the flame of anger free you of all falsity. 

May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame. May anxiety never linger about you. 

May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of soul. 

Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention. 

Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul. May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder. 

BY JOHN O’DONOHUE

“Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment.” 

― Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace

Perspective 

“For our physiology to calm down, heal, and grow, we need a visceral feeling of safety. No doctor can write a prescription for friendship and love: These are complex and hard-earned capacities. You don't need a history of trauma to feel self-conscious and even panicked at a party with strangers – but trauma can turn the whole world into a gathering of aliens.” 

― Bessel A. van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma 

We are entering the stage of the setting sun. This is often the time when people start to realize they are actually learning. This section might seem less content-heavy (and it is), but this is the stage of the process where we really start to integrate and realize—WOW, I’m noticing myself responding differently to life!