Degrees of being present

Being present and the degrees to being present are two different things. There are three basic degrees of being present. The first degree is the realisation that you are who you are, and I am who I am. There are no judgements associated with this, as a person you see others as they are and as they are not, and yourself as you are and as you are not. The next degree, is the realisation that you are who I am, and I am who you are. The sense of separation is removed from the experience of being present. And finally is the realisation that neither you are, nor I am, but it is.

The question then arises, what is it? It is the totality of consciousness. Some people call this God, others Allah, Ram, Krishna, Christ or Waheguru. Whatever the terminology, this totality of consciousness is all that exists, all that has ever existed, all that exists now and all that shall exist in the future. Another way to say this is God and me, me and God are one. Or God, I am nothing, you are everything. It is a complete submission and union to the totality of consciousness.

It is not that you cease to exist, but in that space, you become of that totality of consciousness, and the totality of consciousness works through you, with you and for you to fulfil its purpose. This purpose is to aware people into recognising this consciousness. Consciousness itself achieves this in a myriad of ways, and thus there are so many religions, tools and techniques to expand the individual consciousness, into group consciousness and then universal consciousness. This is another way to explain the degrees of being present: individual, group and universal.

Since being present is a function of consciousness, by expanding consciousness you become more present. It is in the present moment that life becomes clear, and true joy can be experienced. Therefore to live in the present moment-to-moment and to expand the consciousness to become more present is the highest purpose of human life.