In the following excerpt from Already Here: A Doctor Discovers the Truth About Heaven you will recognize the importance of “The Gift of Presence” to experiencing more peace of mind, understanding our place in the Universe and experiencing true, lasting happiness.
John Cubeta, an educational psychologist who had worked closely with Christopher, wrote to us about that quality of total absorption, the Gift of Presence. This is John’s description of having lunch with Chris:
Once Chris decided to do something, he plunged into it wholeheartedly. There was nothing halfway about him. One might say there was a certain Zen-like quality to Chris: when he slept he slept; when he ate he ate; when he laughed he laughed. In fact, he taught me how to eat a hamburger.
I had slowly, unconsciously, developed a habit of talking my way through meals. Half the time I wasn’t sure what I had eaten, not to mention whether or not it was tasty. One day, I was attempting to have a conversation with Chris after we had just bought a pair of cheeseburgers. I kept trying to get a dialogue going, but it would abruptly end whenever it was Chris’s turn to respond. I finally asked Chris why he didn’t answer me when I spoke to him. He continued to eat in silence. Nothing I said seemed to register. Eventually, he swallowed the last bite. Then he said, very plainly, “I didn’t want to speak while I was eating,” obviously annoyed that something so simple and obvious should require an explanation.
This week, while you may choose a salad rather than a hamburger, try eating in silence. The gift of presence is something we can learn, and it is something we can teach.
Tips from 5 April 2010 to 6 August 2012 are here: Archived Tips
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Rev. Debra Basham
Voice or text: (269) 921-2217 Email: debra@scs-matters.com http://DebraBasham.com http://ImagineHealing.info http://SurgicalSupport.info Small Changes … Infinite Results™
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” ~ Mother Teresa |