Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States - Center for Action and Contemplation - Father Richard Rohr's Meditation "Present to Presence" for Monday, 16 June 2014

Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States - Center for Action and Contemplation - Father Richard Rohr's Meditation "Present to Presence" for Monday, 16 June 2014
Those who can be present with head, heart, and body at the same time will always encounter The Presence, whether they call it God or not.

Image: SadnessEF by Darnok.
Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation
"Spirituality and the Twelve Steps" (Part One)
"Present to Presence"
Monday, 16 June 2014
We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. – Step Two of the Twelve Steps
If we are to come to believe that a Power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity, then we will come to that belief by developing the capacity for a simple, clear, and uncluttered presence. Those who can be present with head, heart, and body at the same time will always encounter The Presence, whether they call it God or not. For the most part, those skills are learned by letting life come at us on its own terms, and not resisting the wonderful underlying Mystery that is everywhere, all the time, and offered to us, too.
All we can do is keep out of the way, note and weep over our defensive behaviors, keep our various centers from closing down—and the Presence that is surely the Highest Power is then obvious, all-embracing, and immediately effective. The immediate embrace is from God’s side; the ineffectiveness is whatever time it takes for us to “come to believe,” which is the slow and gradual healing and reconnecting of head, heart, and body so they can operate as one.
Both movements are crucial: the healing of ourselves and the healing of our always-limited and even toxic image of God. This, of itself, will often reconnect all three parts of our humanity into a marvelous receiving station. A true God experience really does save us, because it is always better than we thought we could expect or earn.
Adapted from Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps, pages 7, 14-15 (also available as CD audiobook)
Gateway to Silence: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
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