Hello,
And welcome to Divine Etymologies.
My name is Amy,
And I've created this guided meditation to explore the ways in which we access the Divine in our everyday lives,
Specifically through the contemplation of language,
Words,
And etymology,
Or the history of words.
Understanding the energy that words carry can enhance our meditative practice.
First we'll examine the etymology of today's chosen word,
And then a related meditation will follow.
Let's begin.
Today's word is Presence.
Often in the world of spirituality,
This word is used in a couple of basic ways.
There is the idea of a Supreme Being or Divine Presence.
Even though we all share in the energy of this all-encompassing Presence,
It's bigger than us.
It's the biggest,
The most powerful,
Beyond human,
Eternal.
Alternatively,
There is being present.
Being present in a moment.
One moment in the linearity of time.
This is for us,
For you and for me,
Right here,
Right now,
As individual,
Finite human beings.
The word Presence,
Therefore,
Simultaneously suggests both vast,
Collective,
Eternal energy and intimate individual moments rooted in time.
Like many words in English,
Presence comes to us from Latin,
Specifically from presentia,
Meaning a being present,
Which comes from presentum,
A Latin adjective meaning to be at hand,
In sight,
Immediate,
Prompt or instant.
From this Latin,
Old French developed Presence,
And in the mid-14th century,
The word entered the English lexicon,
Meaning the fact of being present or the state of being in a certain place and not some other.
Then,
Interestingly,
It was Middle English,
In the 13 and 1400s,
That began to use the word present to mean the present time,
Time now passing,
This point in time,
As opposed to past and future,
In addition to the act or fact of being present.
And,
This is the point that resonates so strongly with me,
The portion of space around someone.
We'll come back to this very important meaning.
In the meantime,
Moving along through history,
The meaning of Presence as one's carriage,
The way a person carries herself,
Or demeanour or aspect,
Especially if impressive,
Emerges from the late 1500s.
This is a key moment in the etymology,
Because it's developing the idea of individual human beings having a presence that is more about their characters and their self-awareness than about the fact of being present in a merely physical way.
And the meaning of a divine,
Spiritual being felt as present is from the 1600s.
This is also key because here,
Obviously,
The word's meaning expands to include the divine,
And this is where we can clearly see the development of the dichotomy that I spoke of at the beginning,
That still informs common concepts of presence,
Even today.
Let's challenge that dichotomy.
Let's challenge the idea of a human presence and a divine presence being two separate and distant things.
The two ends of the spectrum,
So to speak.
Let's go back in the etymology,
Back before those ideas developed,
Back to the Middle Ages and the idea of the present,
Or presence,
Meaning the portion of space around someone.
In other words,
Let's shift our focus from the ends of the spectrum to the middle.
Think of presence,
Then,
As the space around our humanly being,
As well as the space around the divine being.
In this way,
Presence is shared,
Just as when we are together,
I am me and you are you,
Seemingly separate and distinct entities,
But sharing the space around us.
Likewise,
We are with the divine,
Seemingly separate entities,
But sharing the space around us,
Sharing presence.
And now,
Let's meditate.
As you slowly become aware of your breath,
Begin to consider the limits of your body,
Your fingertips,
Your toes,
The outside of you,
All the skin that touches the air.
This is your miraculous vessel that carries you and your boundless spirit throughout this human existence.
It holds you in this present moment.
But you are not merely your body.
You don't end where your fingertips and your toes end.
There is a part of you that reaches past the boundary of your body.
This is your presence.
This is your energy,
Which emanates into the space around you,
The space you share with others.
Others can feel your presence without feeling your body.
You can feel the presence of others without feeling their bodies.
You can feel the presence of divinity without feeling something physical.
Presence is a shared space,
Shared by all beings.
The moment we become alive,
The moment we are animated by spirit,
Is the moment we receive and automatically share presence.
This shared presence,
This space between us,
Is the most beautifully creative space.
It's where you are no longer only you,
And I am no longer only me.
We have the power to create something new,
Together.
As we share presence with each other,
We also share it with the divine.
This too is a space ripe for creation.
Recognizing our deep connection with divine power,
Even as we are held in these human bodies,
Should inspire us to create whatever lives we want.
We are not bound by seemingly apparent binaries.
We don't have to be bound by earthly rules and reasons.
We don't have to think what everyone else thinks,
Or do what everyone else does.
We are free to create our own experience of being human,
And this is always in relation to each other.
The moment we encounter each other,
I am no longer just me.
I am me in relation to you.
You are you in relation to me.
At this point,
There is no you separate from me.
There is no me separate from you.
And always,
There is no you separate from the divine.
There is no me separate from the divine.
There is only presence.
And because presence is shared,
It can never disappear.
If I am not here,
You still feel my presence.
If you are not here,
I still feel your presence.
Let's move forward then,
Without fear or limitations,
Being aware of sharing presence with everyone we encounter,
Being mindful of what we give in that sacred space,
And being open to the creative potential of each and every moment of our lives.
Thank you for sharing this transformative,
Transcendent moment with me.
Until next time,
Please remember,
Words carry energy,
So use them wisely.
