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Presence Quotes

Browse 511 quotes about Presence.

Presence Quotes

“You do not have an existence independent of your environment, but rather you are your environment, and your environment is you.”

“Buddhist philosophy points out that the true nature of all forms is essentially formless. Forms do not have an existence of their own, but rather they arise together, and are mutually dependent on one another. Everything in the world of form is constantly changing, constantly dying, and constantly being reborn—which is why Buddhists say that there is no-self; no form that has an existence in and of itself.”

“According to Zen Buddhists, all things have their existence in The Void. The Void is that which is no-thing, but contains all things within it, or as some Christian mystics state, “God is Nothing; He is Utterly Other; He is the VOID.”

“Every being experiences themselves as the center of their experience. Consciousness is what lies at our very core, and connects us all to each other. We may appear to be separate and individual because of the various forms our Consciousness inhabits, but below the surface the substance of our being is one and the same.”

“We are only able to disrespect, mistreat, and harm one another when we forget that the other person is us; when we only see the objects of form, and not the subjective Consciousness that lies within. Lust, greed, violence, selfishness—all arise from perceiving others in terms of their individual differences, seeing them only as bodies, and what we can get from them as bodies, rather than acknowledging the Being that lies within the body.”

“This witnessing consciousness, this formless dimension of yourself, is the awareness in which your experience happens, yet it remains untouched by this experience at all times. It is similar to the background of white on which you are reading these words. This white background allows any and every word to exist within it, yet it is not confined to any of these words. Similarly, your awareness allows any and every form to exist within it, but it is not bound to any of these forms.”

“The consciousness inhabiting your body is exactly the same as the consciousness inhabiting my body. We are one. The delusion that we are separate beings comes from identifying with the world of form—with our names, our bodies, our roles, our beliefs, our thoughts, and all of the mental constructs that we have created; but even these are more connected to the universe than we realize.”

“It is because we feel that we are separate from nature that we also feel it is okay to manipulate it, pollute it, and cause it harm. We project our inner turmoil onto the planet, causing outer turmoil. Nearly all of the disasters of our time—war, famine, oppression, social injustice, environmental pollution, extinction—arise from this delusional belief that we have an existence independent of the world we live in. All of this misery, all of this destruction, all of this pain and suffering, is caused by our failure to realize that there is no separation and that really we are all one.”

“No label can define the immensity of your True nature. You are the awareness that precedes every label, the awareness that is perceiving these words and turning them into thoughts, the awareness that creates the world with every act of observation.”

“You cannot be aware of yourself, for you are awareness itself. How can a witness witness itself? That is like trying to see your own eyes without a reflection, or cut a knife with the tip of its own blade—it is impossible. The subject can only observe the object; it cannot make an object out of itself. But by the very act of observing, you indirectly know yourself as the observer, as the subject. No witnessing of the witness is needed to prove its existence.”

“The modern scientist attempts to step outside of himself in order to observe himself, an attempt that is always doomed to failure. You cannot make an object out of your subjective experience, but you know that consciousness exists, simply because you exist.”

“Your true being, as Consciousness, is ever at peace, ever at rest, eternally existing in the dimension of here and now. It is the formless and eternal quality within you that expresses itself through the world of form.”

“If your consciousness is without form, without quality, and without characteristics of any kind, would that not imply that the consciousness in every other being is also formless? And if they are all without form, how can you distinguish their consciousness from your own? What forms would you use to compare them? Isn’t the observing you exactly the same as the observing them?”

“The more I can accept the fact that change is moving all the time, and that the change I am experiencing right now is just the change of this moment and that this moment will change into the next and the next, the less need I will have to clutch in fear.”

“Become the person of no rank. Become the noble soul, and live in this awakened way, not imitating anyone. Whatever the circumstances your life asks of you, respond to them in your own individual Zen-spirited way. Don't waste any time trying to be someone else...We are not here to have someone else's experience. We are here to have our own vivid experience. So please don't cling to yesterday, to what happened, to what didn't happen. And do not judge today by yesterday. Let us just live today to the fullest! Moment after moment, each sitting is the only sitting.”

“And since today’s all there is for now, that’s everything. Who knows if I’ll be dead the day after tomorrow? If I’m dead the day after tomorrow, the thunderstorm day after tomorrow Will be another thunderstorm than if I hadn’t died. Of course I know thunderstorms don’t fall because I see them, But if I weren’t in the world, The world would be different — There would be me the less — And the thunderstorm would fall on a different world and would be another thunderstorm. No matter what happens, what’s falling is what’ll be falling when it falls. (7/10/1930)”

“The only real help for yourself and for others is meditation. Meditation helps you to become rooted in your inner being. You can only become a blessing to yourself and for others through meditation. If you are notrooted in your being, you are bound to do harm to others even if you want to do good. All thedo-gooders who want to help others has done much harm, because what they want to bring to others they themselves don't have. They want to share love, but they have not love in their own hearts. They want to share compassion, but compassion comes only through meditation. They want to serve others, but service is only possible when the ego has disappeared. Otherwise service to others just becomes an egotrip. Once you are settled in your being, service will come by itself like the fragrance of a flower. Meditationhas to become the centre of your life, and then everything will become possible.”

“Some say the point of meditation is to get an empty mind and to not think about anything. I'd say that is pretty much impossible and sounds like an attempt to replace the escapism of not being present with another one: getting rid of thinking and feeling. For me, personally, meditation has been a powerful training in not escaping from the present moment.”

“Have you ever heard the statement: Being in the world but not of it? This has been mentioned in writings dating back thousands of years and even in the Bible. This is basically saying that we are now human beings in this world. It is okay to accept this form, but we do not need to be only this form with all its behaviors and tendencies. It is possible, through the level of our species’ consciousness, to witness the human development (dilemma) that we have imposed onto the true self.”

“We are a life-form that is manifesting life. This, in itself, is only an object. Nevertheless, our true self is so much more. Furthermore, what manifests in our existence depends on our relationship with the mind and how we now see ourselves.”

“Presence may offer a glimpse into infinity. This is in reference to the endless possibilities provided by acceptance of what is. There is freedom and serenity to be found in the simple act of being what we are. We are life manifesting in the form of a human being.”

“The mind is not all-powerful, and it is possible to shift from mind to conscious awareness. It is a relearning process that each person can undertake. There are unlimited possibilities within the dimension of universal consciousness. You will suddenly experience life from a perspective that is long-lasting, vibrant, and colorful, thereby recognizing that you are the true master and the mind is your faithful servant. The three—mind, object consciousness, and universal consciousness—can thus harmoniously interact and blossom.”

“Dr. Richard Selzer is a surgeon and a favorite author of mine. He writes the most beautiful and compassionate descriptions of his patients and the human dramas they confront. In his book Letters to a Young Doctor, he said that most young people seem to be protected for a time by an imaginary membrane that shields them from horror. They walk in it every day but are hardly aware of its presence. As the immune system protects the human body from the unseen threat of harmful bacteria, so this mythical membrane guards them from life-threatening situations. Not every young person has this protection, of course, because children do die of cancer, congenital heart problems, and other disorders. But most of them are shielded—and don’t realize it. Then, as years roll by, one day it happens. Without warning, the membrane tears, and horror seeps into a person’s life or into the life of a loved one. It is at this moment that an unexpected theological crisis presents itself.”

“Self-compassion is simply being there for yourself. Not fixing. Not faking. Not forcing a motivational pep talk. Just being there, like a friend who pulls up a chair next to you on a hard day and says, “I see you. This is tough. And you’re not alone.”

“△ Remembrance of the Whole A Poem by Alexander Martini To remember is not to retrieve facts. It is to reawaken the thread that binds all things. It is to feel the pulse of the universe in your own breath. It is to realize that you are not separate — not from the Earth, not from others, not from the stars. The Whole is not a place. It is a state of being. It is the quiet knowing that every tree, every cry, every act of kindness is part of the same unfolding. To remember the Whole is to dissolve the illusion of isolation. It is to see yourself in the eyes of the stranger, in the pain of the wounded, in the joy of the child. It is to understand that healing one soul heals the fabric of existence. That every choice echoes through the field of all things. The Whole does not ask for perfection. It asks only for presence. For the courage to feel. For the willingness to return. This is not nostalgia. This is awakening. You are not a fragment. You are the Whole, remembering itself.”

“The desire of each person is to discover a balance between our mortal existence and the divinity within the presence of our being. This is often referred to as universal consciousness or oneness.”