Hi ,
In our last letter, we explored the idea of “letting the world come to you”.
It’s a powerful practice that transforms an automatic greeting into a moment of receptive mindfulness.
This is a great receptive practice.
You choose to be mindful because of something that comes to you, like a greeting.
But what if you could take a more proactive approach?
Rather than a practice that comes from the outside in, what if you could create one from the inside out?
Here’s how this works.
When I greet someone, as I ask, “Hello, how are you?”, I do something different inside. I take a breath and hold the intention of speaking to the whole person in front of me.
This requires me to really look- in a field of open curiosity.
How do I feel about this other person before a single workd has been spoken.
Not with the intent of making something big happen, but noticing what is true about my experience in this moment.
I look at them and sense into what it feels like to be talking to a person with a rich and storied life.
This person has hopes and dreams,
they have suffered,
they have people they care about,
and a history that is both painful and celebratory.
I am talking to them in the whole context of their lives, not just this passing encounter.
Even if they give an automatic, “I’m fine, how are you?”, it doesn’t matter.
From my perspective, the experience is completely different.
I’m not just running an automatic script; I’m inviting my senses to be as fully present as I can be.
There is something truly magical here that words don’t do justice.
It is in the direction of what the poet Rumi called “the field”.
He said, “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there”
When you show up with this quality of presence, you are creating an opportunity to engage in a much more refined field of awareness.
In this way, you are creating (or allowing youself to enter) the field, and you are inviting them to meet you there.
So the next time you greet someone, try this:
Take a breath and use your eyes and see them as a whole person in the context of their full life.
And then say, “How are you?”, speaking to their history, their hopes, and their humanity.
Do this without the expectation of a big “wow” moment from them.
Just show up in this more complete way, and notice what changes in your own experience and in the conversation itself.
Stay present,
– Brett