Presence

In our mulit-tasking world, we can fool ourselves by being proud of all we can get done. However, you have to ask yourself what the goal is. Is it to get things done or to do things that matter?

In the spirit of being present while going to and fro, I want to introduce our latest GIG Spark. Melissa Cheng produced our latest GIG video. Her goal: to inspire you to be more conscious, present, and aware of the beauty that surrounds you.

Believe in your power, broaden your perception and be present with it all. Paradise is in your mind. Start there and never stop having hope.

I don't feel half a world away from the people I love, because it's easy enough to get in touch with them, and for us to share our lives electronically. Yet I must admit, I have experienced a most uniquely modern kind of sadness recently upon learning very big news from two of my friends.

When we are aware of being at choice regarding our sexual beings, we can tap into and use our sexual energy in a multitude of ways, depending on what we want to create in our lives and relationships.

The convivial ethics of the picnic table, park bench, bus stop kiosk, and similar exemplars don't exist very much inside the spaces of consumption and conveyance that increasingly dominate our daily lives.

I'm happy and relieved for my daughter, who will have a different experience than I. But a part of me is sad that I didn't have a wonderful father like she does, and my fear is that the chances of it happening are, as the days go on, getting slimmer.

My husband and I threw a surprise party last week that was better than anything I've seen in a movie.

Like everything, humans included, technology resolves itself in contradiction. And yet, we must be mindful of what we are doing with technology, particularly when in the company of our children. Our emotional presence is the greatest gift we can offer our children.

As challenging as it may be, the most painful experience can often turn out to be our best teacher, and we may feel enormous gratitude for what we have leaned.

The tale of my prostate cancer journey starts nearly 50 years ago with a statement my late wife, Joan Edwards, made one morning in elementary school.

To be strong is not to outrun sadness, but rather to learn to embrace it when it is here, to take good care of it so that it can heal. This is a warrior's strength, a wise parent's strength.

I learn to trust that, much like the growth that takes place beneath the earth before a new shoot appears, movement and evolution may rumble below the surface before making an obvious appearance.

One of the most powerful phrases in human language is "I am here." It is powerful because it is utterly simple and profoundly true. Anything that is said or thought afterward is just an addition to this basic, unfaltering truth.

I have come to believe that the most potent gift we give to ourselves and anyone that we care for is our full attention. With our undistracted minds and our listening ears, we have within us what we all want most: the gift of full presence.

When you are not fully present in the moment and completely focused on what you are doing, you are missing the experience. You are cheating life. You are cheating yourself.

Time is a sneaky thief, hell-bent on racing toward our mortality. The only way that we can outsmart it is by savoring every precious moment by being fully conscious, focused and conscientious every second.

We are governed by questions like, "What can this person do for me? What can I get out of this situation?" At the root of being me-oriented is a mental orientation of the cup being half-empty.

How much time do you spend dwelling on the past or worrying about the future? These mental and emotional creations are all figments of your imagination. Meanwhile, reality is staring you right in the face.

It is one of life's greatest ironies that, no matter how much we want to be different, wherever we go, there we are. There's just no getting away from ourselves.

Rituals become something to look forward to, a source of peace and connectedness. Making ritual a part of our daily lives also gives us perspective on our place in the scheme of the universe.

We live in a world that is beautiful beyond description, yet most of us only glimpse this beauty occasionally. Why?

A new year has a very special effect: it makes us feel we have the chance to start over, to do things right this time, to make amends, to become the person we really know we can be.

Giving yourself or someone you love the gift of pure presence is the most amazing and life-changing gift you can offer. So instead of exchanging physical gifts, open your arms wide to the stories and feelings that make our presence real.