Online presence isn’t necessarily being present online.
If we’re not aware of ourselves, we lose our sense of presence, our sense of our humanness, a sense that we are real beings, not digital beings. We are not devices ourselves—we’re not mechanical devices. We are living, dynamic, organic, Being. And not only organic physically, but we are consciousness. The more we practice any spiritual practice the more we realize we are not just a body—we are pure consciousness, we are real presence. How do we not lose that as we communicate and use our technology but bring that through the technology and communicate so that it gets through the cable, through the tower, through the satellites so that our consciousness actually reaches the other people we are communicating with, so that our heart touches their heart, and it’s not just digital information arriving there? How we can use the devices so that they become conduits of as much of us as possible. – A. H. Almaas, from the online course “Technology and Awakening”
You have a website, a Facebook page, a Twitter account… an online presence. But how present are we when we are online? In the privacy of our office or home, the opportunities for distractions abound – checking email, checking FB timeline, watching the birds outside, getting a cup of coffee and etc.
It can be challenging to be present for a teaching being streamed online. Participating via the Internet is not the same as sitting in a sangha, or prayer in the temple, or attending a spiritual discourse in person.
Being present in the moment with the teaching, whether in-person or via the Internet, may require effort. It may be work – the work referred to as The Work. Working through barriers, veils, patterns, reactions, conditioning, beliefs, and more.
Why be present?
If we’re not present, what are we? Where are we? Why are we?
This we have now
is not imagination.
This is not
grief or joy.
Not a judging state,
or an elation,
or sadness.
Those come
and go.
This is the presence
that doesn’t.
Rumi
Presence is its own reward and fulfillment
In the stillness of your presence, you can feel your own formless and timeless reality as the unmanifested life that animates your physical form. You can then feel the same life deep within every other human and every other creature. You look beyond the veil of form and separation. This is the realization of oneness. This is love. – Eckhart Tolle
You are not the feelings or the thoughts or the contents of your awareness. None of these are who you are. You are the fullness of your Being, the substance of your presence. – A. H. Almaas
There is a presence that is unnamable which thought cannot touch. It is not your possession; it is what you are. What presence of being do you bring to any moment, activity, or conversation? – Adyashanti
FAQ
1. What is the main theme of the “Presence in an Online World” page?
Being present while engaging online. It explores the challenges of maintaining presence amidst the distractions of the digital world and emphasizes the importance of being aware of ourselves as living, dynamic, organic beings, not digital or mechanical devices.
2. What does it mean to be ‘present’ online?
Being ‘present’ online refers to maintaining a sense of self-awareness and consciousness while engaging with digital technology. It’s about not losing our sense of humanness and reality even as we communicate digitally.
3. How can we maintain our presence while using digital technology?
We should practice being present so our presence is available through the technology we use so that our communication is not just digital information but the transmission of our being. This involves using devices as conduits of as much of ourselves as possible.
5. What is the ‘Diamond Approach’?
The Diamond Approach is a spiritual path that emphasizes self-knowledge, presence, and being, among other things.