Opening the Present

Sometimes timely reminders awaken us to the truth about time.

"Yesterday was history;

Tomorrow is a mystery;

but Today is a gift: that is why we call it the Present."

Trusted teachers tell us

that how we spend our Time matters,

that Today matters,

and that going nowhere may simply mean

that we are simply now-here,

in this moment,

right where we are supposed To Be.

It takes practice to allow ourselves to dwell in this day.

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Psalm 118:24

It takes practice to dwell in this moment.

"Be still and know that I am God..."

Psalm 46:10

It takes practice to see the Present as a present.

We learn that

practice does not make perfect;

practice makes permanent, so "be careful what you practice."

Practicing lingering in the past perpetuates depression;

Practicing leaping into the future fosters anxiety;

but

Practicing living and being present in this moment promotes peace.

Can we inhale this truth?

Peace is found in the present.

Peace is a present.

Peace is The Present.

The Spirit of God has made me,

and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Job 33:4

Just Breathe to call your attention to this moment. (Actually pause here to breathe in and out several times.)

Just Breathe until the belly rises and falls to remind your body

that it is in this moment and all is well.

Just Breathe and Listen to hear the name of God made by your breathing

in and out.

Rabbis say that the notion of YHWH as "the Breath of Life"

equates with a deep sense of God as both intimate and transcendent,

and that this name of God (Yahweh) is accessible to all those who breathe.

When we acknowledge that the sound of our breathing

imitates the name of the Breath of Life, YHWY,

or the Holy Name of God, Yahweh, then

Breathing itself speaks of the Giver of Breath,

and that every inhale (Yah)

and exhale (Weh)

opens us to the precious present. Life. Right. Now.

Opening to this moment

means opening the lungs to breathe.

I am here now.

I am breathing.

The very Breath of God is in me.

God is in every breath.

God is Breath.

God is in me.

God is in all breathers of Life.

Therefore it is All Wonder - and also no wonder that

The mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:6)

because all the while my breath [is] in me, and the spirit of God [is] in my nostrils. Job 27:3

The mind governed by acknowledging God's Breath in us is Life and Peace.

“Breathing in, I calm body and mind.

Breathing out, I smile.

Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is the only moment.”

-Thich Nhat Hanh

Jesus uses His Breath

to breathe new life into our relationship with the Father.

Jesus uses every breath

to remind us how much we are loved, right now, in this moment,

no matter what the past held,

no matter what the future will hold.

Jesus uses His Breath to remind us that we are Held,

and to remind us to act like it!

We are to act as though we HAVE what we SEEK:

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer,

believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:24

If the Great I Am

uses His Breath to compel our minds and hearts,

will we change our minds,

and therefore change the words we breathe in and out?

Not a prayer for peace, but instead:

I am breathing and I am at peace.

Not a prayer for wellness, but instead:

I am well; all is well because God is in me.

Not a prayer for God to be with me, but instead:

God is in me, as near as my breath, because God is my breath.

God is most certainly here.

Realizing these "I am" statements actually changes our Reality.

Therefore,

the best use of our breath is praise:

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Psalm 150:6

Because praising means trusting.

In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; (Psalm 56:4)

And trusting means refraining from fear -

from anyone:

In God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. (Psalm 56:11)

And trusting means to refrain from fear-

from anything:

When you pass through the waters, I (God) will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. Isaiah 43:2

And when the mind wanders

in the present moment

and wonders

about the future,

we do well

to listen to wisdom:

“The present moment is the substance with which the future is made. Therefore, the best way to take care of the future is to take care of the present moment. What else can you do?” - Thich Nhat Hanh

Being in the present is itself a form of preparation.

In Jesus's Words:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink;

or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not much more valuable than they?

Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow..." Matthew 6:25-34

To worry is to breathe in a shallow way,

to get short of breath

and short on breath

and fall short of recognizing the power of the Breath in us.

To worry is not only to forget to breathe

but to forget to praise

and to forget to trust.

Seek first to be still.

Seek first to be still and know.

Seek first to be still and know and hear the Yah-Weh breath.

Seek first to know this and breathe this in:

The Kingdom of God is Within.

Could there be a greater Present?