Presence is an art and sacred act.
Being fully present in life and business sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? However, “simple” does not mean “easy”. Let’s face it, we live in a very LOUD world, so being fully present is impossible unless you cultivate it within you. I personally spent my youth and young adult life avoiding going inward; it seemed so boring and lonely in there, so I was constantly focused on the outside world which further disconnected me from my divinity, truth and success. I was distracted most of the time, which left me feeling empty and on a constant search for something meaningful. Once I realized that ALL my answers were inside of me and I began cultivating Sacred Presence, EVERY moment felt meaningful.
You might be wondering what I mean by Sacred Presence, so allow me to explain. To me sacred presence is a daily practice that gifts you the ability to be fully in the present moment – any moment. You can be present with intense feelings both good and uncomfortable without needing to escape, numb, avoid, deflect or self sabotage. You begin cultivating Sacred Presence by discerning what is important to you in life and business.
When I first embarked on my entrepreneurial journey years ago, being available to my children was extremely important to me, so starting a laptop lifestyle business was the answer as it checked the boxes on my top 2 must haves; my children’s wellbeing and serving women all over the world. I invite you to journal or meditate on what is important to you in life and business, as it will give you a starting point on which to build your Sacred Presence practice. In my experience most women live on autopilot simply putting one foot in front of the other – that’s a life lived by default, not by design. Each day I get to choose to spend my time on what truly matters to me in my heart of hearts. Imagine what your life would feel like if you had the ability to spend every day being present to what matters?
Here are 3 ways to cultivate Sacred Presence in your life:
- Begin and end each day connecting to the Sacred. This does not need to be elaborate; you can simply take a few minutes to connect to your higher power. My practice is super simple, I begin each day by lighting a candle to my Mother Mary statue, lighting up incense, and surrendering my day to the Divine. I ask for my gifts to be used for good in the world. In the evening, as I’m lying in bed, I thank the Divine for my day; I say something like, “thank you, thank you, thank you for the gift of this day”.
- Do one thing at a time. In other words, STOP MULTITASKING! Listen, no one loves checking crap off of a to-do list more than I do – trust me, however doing more than one thing at a time means that your full attention is not on the task at hand. So when you’re eating, just eat and taste your food and when you’re showering be present and give your body the love, caresses and attention it deserves.
- Make eye contact when conversing. The eyes are the windows to the soul, be sure to make eye contact with everyone you speak to in your day. If someone doesn’t look me in my eyes when speaking with me, I immediately get a red warning flag that they’re either not paying attention to what I’m saying or they’re sneaky (or both) – either way, no bueno!
Here are 3 ways to cultivate Sacred Presence in your business:
- Do less – better. For the first few years of my business, I had the false belief that I needed to come up with new teachings and information constantly. This left me in the perpetual act of creating – so in essence, I was a human doing, not a human being. I also insisted on wearing “all the hats”, doing admin work, etc. to run my business. Once I realized that I needed to delegate my least favorite tasks to my team and only focus on topics that resonated with my community, work felt grace filled and I was able to enjoy each moment of my day.
- Leave space between daily tasks and your product launches. Don’t schedule things close together; leave some space in your calendar between tasks in case one task takes longer than you planned, and leave space around your product launches. Launches take a lot of planning and they’re stressful! Give yourself at least a month or two before you launch something again. In between launches be sure to take time to nourish your body, mind and soul and replenish your energy.
- Open your ears and close your mouth. Whatever business you have, be sure to listen more and speak less at your clients or customers. Be with each person you work with in the moment and hold space. I’ve found listening to be one of the greatest gifts your can give another person.
It is my heartfelt wish that this article inspired you to begin your own Sacred Presence practice. Always remember that all of your answers are waiting to be discovered within you and the present moment is all you really have, so please take the time to savor each and every moment. And so it is.
