A course in presence

Dear Friend,

In early winter the idea of a course in presence, stillness, and peace came to me. You may remember, I wrote about it at the time.

The course was planted deep in the winter ground, biding in the dark until the time came to cleave the seed hull and send up green cotyledons in ancient accordance with the pulse of spring.

And so, the time is nigh. I feel this seed, I see it. It has swollen with the wetness of melted snow, cold to our fingers, the baptism of life for a seed.

How can we know these mysteries?

And how right that I, too, needed to gestate and rest while the unknown worked its potent magic in the interstitial space between she and I.

As I peek again at this course, beginning to take form in this world of ours, I have been in dialogue with Stone Buddha. Some of you may remember him, I wrote about him some time back.

He is one of my most beloved teachers. And behold, he can be accessed from anywhere, just by dipping down into quiet, bringing his face to mind, and tuning into his clear radiant stillness. It is always the same, and I am filled with gratitude.

I asked him the questions about this course, the questions that my ego rankles with, the ones my inner child looks at wide-eyed. And by some grace, when I ask him, I hear the answers.

I will share some of the dialogue here, his wisdom is transmitted in the place before words, the place that is real; below is my best translation.
~
Me: Do I offer this course?
Stone Buddha: The course is me (Evangeline) sitting like Stone Buddha.

Me: What is the transformation for the people that participate?
Stone Buddha: That they steep in stillness and presence, that they learn to do that while holding the trouble/pain/or question that is here. To learn to use stillness and peace rather than the mind to answer and act. To unravel in the stillness rather than in the chaos of belief.

Me What is the course called?
Stone Buddha:
A Return Home, an 8-week group course in dropping into the Heart of Stillness. The course is a place to steep (underlining is Stone Buddha's emphasis) in the stillness and quiet. A place to practice that. A devotion to that which they love.

Me: How do I talk about it to people?
Stone Buddha: Let those who are ready feel the call, the same way you felt me. Radiate the clear presence. Those that are ready will come.

Me: What do I say about Returning Home?
Stone Buddha:
There is a way to be at peace here, no matter what is happening. There is a place in you that is already at peace, no matter what is happening. That is you. The rest is fear, trauma, and conditioning.

In the 8-week course we will learn to touch directly into that peace, stillness, and quiet so that you can let it infuse, inform, and heal your life.
Be the Peace you want in the world. Return Home and Light the Candle in the Window. ~

And so, this is what the Stone Buddha told me. The punctuation is his.

For now, that is all. I will reach out again to you soon. For now, rest assured, these things take their own time. If the fire to participate in this course is to catch in you, it will. Do you feel the first flicker of a flame?

And so, let us be so tender and kind with each other and ourselves, and when we cannot, may we be so tender and kind with that. It is as it should be. I wish you much love today,
Evangeline

PS - please send this to anyone you know that could use it.

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