How to Maintain Presence in the Face of Adversity

This week it has felt like we are in the middle of hell! Fires are raging all around us (We are in Southern California.) Friends and family are losing homes, being displaced and living in danger. It has been a tense anxious time. The country is in dire straits, with people no longer feeling like they can talk to each other. The world is teetering on the brink of disaster in so many ways, and the very planet we inhabit is in a crisis situation which is getting worse.

So when we sat down to write our blog this morning, we could hardly concentrate our thoughts and were both scattered and distressed on so many levels. Worry and distress, two utterly useless and very common emotions. When Phil said “Worry paralyzes you,” it pulled us right into the present, and there was our blog topic for this week.

The key is...ah, what is the key? Click here to find out.

Phil and Maude will tell you in the audio. Listen here.

Suffering is Optional

Successful Relationship Reading Corner

In this week's blog, we wrote about maintaining presence in the face of adversity. Here are some articles on different aspects of presence.

Living in the Moment of Your Relationship "First off, forgive yourself for failing to live in the Now now and again (or often). We all do it. Next, talk to your partner about this and see if you can make a shared decision to try to live in the moment and appreciate the gifts of your relationship more often. Do this without stress or urgency or blame (the Now is peaceful and blame-free…stress and blame are by-products of past/future thinking). Try to see this as something to be, rather than something to do."

6 Simple Ways To Be More Present In Your Relationships "Life can pass by at a dizzying pace. If we aren't conscious of being present, we can miss a lot in the moment. Mindfulness dictates we do the opposite. By being present, we see opportunity. Mindfulness also allows us to enjoy sacred moments with our loved ones, and results in less stress and more rejuvenation. But how do you slow down in a world that urges you to keep up with its disorienting speed? Here are six suggestions to practice more presence."

Tara Brach & Jack Kornfield on Space for Adversity "Dr. Jack Kornfield and Dr. Tara Brach show how to use Mindful Presence to help fill up The Hole in Me.  In fact this is key to emotional health for everyone, no matter how well we feel (or think we feel)."

Spreading peace one relationship at a time
Phil and Maude
 
Read our blogs at PhilAndMaude.
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram
Email us at philandmaude@philandmaude.com
If you are interested in newsletters you've missed, see our archive.
 
Do you know anyone who would enjoy this newsletter? Tell them to sign up at http://philandmaude.com/howtwo/.