A Breath of Fresh Air

books:


	• Passionate Presence: Experiencing the Seven Qualities of Awakened Awareness Catherine Ingram Gotham, 2003 - 240 pages average customer review:based on 36 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A Sigh of Relief

When I think about the teachings in Passionate Presence, the word that comes to me is RELIEF: Relief from the burdening belief that one must make a prodigious effort in order to live an awakened life; relief from the burden of ideas of what an "enlightened" person should be like; and relief from the burden of believing one's "I" stories. Once the reader understands the concept of letting go of beliefs, explained so artfully in early chapters, the qualities and experiences that are described in the rest of Passionate Presence are immediately available.
Catherine Ingram's lovely images and stories entice the reader back to the awareness of the moment. She has crafted an artful companion for one who desires to live in the mystery and beauty of an awakened life.

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A Breath of Fresh Air

I am now reading Passionate Presence for the second time, savouring the language, the feeling and the freshness of the author's approach. I strongly recommend this book to all who agree in principle about living in the 'now' but for whom the experience is elusive at best. This is authentic, well crafted and a joy to read.

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Passionate Presence

Having just complete the Eckhart Tolle book, The New Earth, this book is exactly what I needed. It provides the practical application I felt Tolle missed, and it brought back the presence of the heart, which I didn't seem to find with Tolle. Perhaps it's just a cultural difference, but for me he is a bit too focused on the intellectual concepts.

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Food for the soul

This lovely book shares the wisdom of a teacher of silent meditation and Dharma Dialogues on awakened awareness. It is truly food for the soul.

Catherine Ingram describes her personal experiences in seeking and finding peace in the Now. While mindfulness meditation was a major path, a spiritual teacher catalyzed major shifts in her consciousness. Ingram now teaches mindfulness, through silence, through shared lessons, and (even through the pages of this book) through her personal centeredness.

Seven topics are highlighted: Silence, Tenderness, Embodiment, Genuineness, Discernment, Delight and Wonder. Each is illustrated with lovely stories of Ingram and other seekers on the Path.

Particularly helpful for healing are suggestions for acknowledging the presence of an inner observer who is detached even in the midst of crisis and suffering; for treasuring each present moment rather than living in the past or future; and for accepting that we need not torture ourselves with guilt and remorse because each of us has a lifetime of lessons to learn - and each experience offers us opportunities to develop deeper compassion for others who have their own lessons and make mistakes that may impact negatively on us. We can fester in negative reactions to life that is past or in our anxieties about our future life - or we might just let go of the negativity and move on to the ever-present Now.

I was surprised to discover this book was immediately helpful in finding a stronger connection with my own center of quiet awareness.

There is also a pleasant current of practical advice.

I warmly recommend this book for a good read and re-read.

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Eye-Opener

After reading Passionate Presence, I realized that living in the past & future was such a waste of energy! Catherine's straight-forward advise is something so obvious, but something most of us miss....live in the present. You can't go back and change the past and you spend needless time worrying about the future and what might or might not be instead of enjoying what is right in front of us. I do know that I will spend less time worrying and more time enjoying what this wonderful world has to offer and not take things for granted. Thank you Catherine for providing such a simple but honest eye-opener.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

A celebrated teacher and cofounder of one of the world's cutting-edge meditation centers reveals how to connect more fully to the world around us, and experience contentment, harmony, joy, and love - every minute of our lives.

"Usually people associate a sense of unbound presence with epiphanies in life-being present at a birth, or a death. People lose themselves in sexual union, in nature, or in the presence of a heart-wrenching beauty. In those moments they forget to keep up the story about the one having the experience, and all that is left is the actual experience."

In Passionate Presence, internationally acclaimed spiritual teacher Catherine Ingram shares her insights and wisdom for connecting more intimately to the experience of our daily worlds. Through her popular interactive Dharma Dialogues (dharma meaning truth, or "the way"), she has helped thousands of spiritual seekers everywhere in their quest for awakening by encouraging them to give up the quest. Now she brings nearly thirty years of experience to a book that shows us how to recognize these everyday miracles, and become more cognizant of life's greatest gift: our own passionate presence. Based on "non-dual" teachings that rely on direct experience, with numerous stories illustrating her points, Ingram takes readers on an eye-opening journey that will help them to:

o Know the seven traits of passionate presence: silence, tenderness, discernment, embodiment, genuineness, delight, and wonder
o Relax in simple presence to dissolve barriers between people, foster better communication, and create inner peace and harmony
o Discover why true aloneness can never be lonely
o See how tender mercies can purge intense feelings of anger

and much more.

Filled with illuminating anecdotes and personal reflections, Passionate Presence reveals our true natures and opens the doorway to the divine in all of us. Inspiring and profound, it is certain to gain a wide and devoted readership.

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