The being that occupies the body has two qualities—presence and attention—which is all that is needed to awaken. Attention has will and can place itself anywhere inside or outside the body. The present is the domain of the Divine and of love, which is not the emotional, sexual, or romantic love that we are taught and programmed to believe in. To be in service to the Divine, attention has to be present. If we’re not aware of the body, we’re identified and not present. Masculine energy holds attention in place, allowing the feminine to emerge by being receptive. When we’re present we can see what’s going on in the inner world. A distinction can be made between mechanical attention and conscious (or second) attention. Presence and attention in the inner world, which wears ego down, are like wind and water acting on stone in the outer world. We can watch the action of the ego structure, which slowly gives up its energy to the being, to attention and presence, but this is difficult because attention is weak. The great majority of humans live a life of constant distraction, identification and imagination. “There is only God” is a profound teaching. If God is love, then why is there violence and evil? In its mechanical state, the egoic structure alters love to assert its own desires. Conscience is easily overrun by the will of ego. Present attention corrects whatever is out of alignment with the love of God. Love—not my will, but Thy will—is the supreme intelligence which works through us. Ego does not want present attention; it wants identified attention. Effortless effort can only be unraveled by direct experience. Super effort does not come just from me but the being in harmony with the Divine. Red Hawk is an acclaimed poet and the author of 13 books, including Self Observation, Self Remembering, The Way of the Wise Woman, Return to the Mother, and Book of Lamentations.

Present Attention is Objective Love (Red Hawk)