Just For Today: The Power of Presence

Human beings occupy a very peculiar space within the realm of consciousness. It is both a blessing and curse that we are given divine access to the concept of time. As a species we have been granted with a sweeping view of the nature of time and space, simply because we are aware of a constant narrative that is composed of our past, what we have learned from our elders, our fleeting and preciously present moment, and our contemplation of the future.

These gifts allow us the ability to reflect on our lives up to this very moment and gives us further insight into how we want to approach the present and the future. They allow us the presence to navigate the present and plot for the future, and with these gifts we have done many great things. In fact, the entire progress of human civilization is in no small part due to this phenomenon of consciousness. But what shadows lurk beneath this monolith?

The Human Problem

We are story. The most human thing in existence is the truth that we are born of and remain fully enthralled in story. Each one of us is the hero in an epic tale dating back millions if not billions of years. We are the culmination of billions of years of cosmic alchemy. It has been said that we occupy the space or the function of the mind of the universe itself. Because we have the ability to step outside the present moment at any given time and peruse the past or contemplate the future we are the eyes and ears of the universe.

But with this great responsibility comes a heavy burden, one that can be seen in the exponential rise of chronic mental illness in modern human beings. This ability is no small feat, and it carries with it the weight of cosmic eons. When we are not taught how to harness this power it can become a sickness causing us to become confused with our place in reality. This is the human problem, the great issue of our species on a spiritual level.

There are more people suffering from this very imbalance then there are not. The chaos and speed of the modern world has forced us into a perpetual state of living outside of our natural mode, the present. Even though we have the gift to travel via memory or through mental conception, we are rooted and grounded heavily in the present. Our problem is that our society, our mode of operating in this world has become increasingly divorced from our sweet spot.

This is what the spiritual traditions and religions have held as the highest truth for millennia, that the present is indeed a gift. So then why is it that we become so distanced from our home in the present moment.

Right Mind

We suffer from a case of incorrect or imbalanced mind. This is the primary truth of most spiritual paths, including that of Reiki. In the case of this mode of experience, that of Reiki, the founder of modern Reiki Mikao Usui taught that all illnesses were rooted first in the mind, as the mind exists a priori to the physical realm. This is why modern allopathic medicine has grappled and come short of solving the wildfire crisis that is modern mental illness. We suffer because our mind, both collectively and personally spend the majority of the time stuck in either the past or the future.

The same gifts that give us foresight and reflection have trapped us in a seemingly never ending loop of despair. Depression, anxiety, melancholy, and so many more prevalent mental conditions can be found to be rooted in this imbalance of the mind.

Naturally, there is always a physical component, but at the core of this very serious physical conditions is a mental and spiritual component that is often overlooked. What control are you giving your run away thoughts? What is the quality of your thinking?

The Past

We have a past, but we are not our past. This is the first stumbling block for human beings who have not found the peace of presence. We identify our being with the events that have transpired up to this point. We are X amount of years old, when we were six we suffered a trauma, this shaped our perspective, since then we have lived by this limiting or protective belief and now we feel trapped by it, but we don’t even know it. We have bought in fully to the narrative that we were given or that we gave ourselves in order to survive the trauma and because of it we feel stunted on a spiritual level. We are no longer capable of growth because we believe we were building a fortress to protect ourselves, but in reality we built a cage.

To learn from the past is a mark of being a wise human being, but we cannot become entrapped by it, if we wish to live to our fullest potential. Reiki teaches us that the past can no longer reach us when we ground ourselves fully in the awesome power of presence. The present is eternal it is timeless and it provides us a refuge that does not form boundaries that keep others out and ourselves in. We find no need to shield nor defend, we are free to live without fear in the present. This is the first aspect of the healing philosophy of Reiki, that in order to heal we must begin to let go of the past.

This does not mean we must forget, nor delete our human browsing history, nay it means that we can be free from the fear of this happening again. We have the power.

The Future

Naturally there is a polar extreme that others find themselves gripped by and that is fear of the unknown. What will happen? How will our story end? The future is a wild and untamed mistress who is indeed a dark mystery. But do we need to fear it? Can we not bold step into it knowing that we will be fine regardless of the outcome.

Human beings have a defense mechanism, a self preservation mode that keeps us from danger, because we love life. We truly do, even those of us in the vices of fear and anxiety cling to life up until the very end. Our primary mode of survival never shuts off even in times of dramatic trauma and stress, it is because we are meant to live. But when we fixate on the multitude of options and paths we might take we miss the entire forest for the trees.

People can spend years of their lives stuck worrying about the future. Imagine you have only 80 years and throughout that timespan you spend 25 years or more worrying about what comes next. Is that a way to live? I challenge anyone to tell me that this is the path of the wise. When you see someone who lives without fear do they not shine radiantly? Many of us look to these types of individuals and have one of a few thoughts. I want to be like that person, they seem so empowered. That person is stupid, careless, reckless. I could never be like them, I am too afraid. The list could go on, but the truth is that person has accepted the truth that we will never know the outcome and it is indeed much better for our overall well-being if we let go of trying to control every detail of our narrative.

In the most objective aspects of reality, which is firmly rooted in subjectivity I might add, it does not matter one bit how much will we exert, there are simply too many variables outside of our control to write our perfect narrative. But that doesn’t mean we are powerless. The beauty and power of the teaching of Reiki, is that when we surrender our desire to fix the past or control the future we find a peace that far exceeds that of a “perfectly engineered life”. We find the life that we were born to live, full of experience both good and bad, free of judgment, free of fear and simply free.

This is the power of presence. Just For Today.