by Joseph Barker, Web designer, writer and doodler, Melbourne, Australia
As I lay back in the seat, a nurse placed a cover over me. I took one last look at the picturesque scene of the sun setting out the window before a great big screen was moved in front of my face. “I don’t want to disturb you, but what you see next may make you upset” said Doctor Max. Then he switched on the screen to display the full uncensored, gruesome scene. What was in front of me was a close up of my teeth. Bacteria and build up was everywhere, all over the inside of my mouth, in between the gums bubbling away like some Icelandic water spa.
This made me sit up a little stiff in my seat. How had this happened? After all they looked good to me, and hey, don’t you know, I don’t even eat sweets! But as Doctor Max asked me a few further questions, it became clear my teeth regime was not quite as squeaky clean as it seemed. “Do you brush inside and out every tooth?” “Do you methodically floss in between?” “Do you spend an equal time in every spot?” “Do you you always brush with care?” Well…no. I had to admit, that I did not, more often settling for a quick scrub around whilst thinking of something that happened to me that day.
Isn’t it odd that we can be consistently told the best thing to take care of our body, but then go right out and do the opposite thing? How many times have you been to the Dentist and been guided how to take care of your teeth, only to forget these words as soon as you walk out? And let’s be honest, do you actually bring your whole attention to this task every night? When you stand in front of the mirror, do you stay aware and enjoy being there with you? Do you feel each brush, each move? It’s such a simple task to do, for a species as intelligent as us shouldn’t it be easy?
Yet, in my experience it is not. When I start to brush, a few seconds later I often find my mind elsewhere. Perhaps it’s a thought about what happened at dinner, what is scheduled tomorrow at work, or even a ‘good deed’ that has occurred to me. Ultimately the effect is the same – I am off in a day-dream. In recent times I have attended presentations by philosopher Serge Benhayon. Here what he offers is the simple fact that we are naturally designed to be present in everything we do, and that living ‘absent mindedly’ is a large part of what is causing us to be so unwell. This made immediate sense to me. You don’t see a dog considering what happened last week and what it fancies for tea tonight – it is right there with you, completely in the moment. So why is it we behave in different way?
Inspired by Serge’s words and Doctor Max’s TV show, I turned over a new leaf with brushing my teeth. I chose to stay present and to keep coming back to my body when I brushed. This needed to happen a lot! Like a wayward dog on a leash I found I often needed to call my mind back. But over time I have developed a rhythm where it stands out if I’m not there doing the action with all of me. Recently I have started to ensure I spend a lot longer on each section, consistently brushing with a quality of care for me. Also I’ve begun brushing after lunch as well as breakfast and dinner.
Recently I went back to see Doctor Max, and we were both blown away by the changes in my toothy hygiene. And thanks to his impressive big screen, we could compare before and after. To his amazement and to mine, he could tell me that not only had the excess bacteria disappeared but the gums which were receding before had begun to regrow. If he had gold stars I think Doctor Max would have given one to me. And of course, I felt pretty pleased too.
This experience got me to thinking that if being present and aware with my tooth brushing was this powerful, how could this apply to the rest of life? After all, if I find that I escape into mental thoughts so often when brushing my teeth, is it only happening here? Or is it happening all of the time? When I walk along thinking of that email, when I listen to others while thinking of the argument I had earlier on, or even conjuring up something smart to say? Wow what if the reality is that I am not truly present in much of the day?
If you consider the beautiful quality you can feel when you move in harmony and in tune with you, where you feel every cell and every molecule as you move, with your mind marveling at it all, it starts to make incredible sense that we ache and experience pain when we ‘do life’ distracted, half-hearted and on auto pilot.
And consider for a moment the yucky bacteria I saw on the big screen – the ‘hidden consequence’ to my absent mindedness forming there behind my smile. Well what if there are similar unpleasant and unhealthy consequences happening everywhere in our lives? What if they are all there but we are just choosing to be unaware? In my experience, whilst we may settle for looking at the surface, in the end life has a way of showing us always the truth underneath.
After attending another workshop by Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine the other day, a friend shared something with me that stopped me in my tracks. She mentioned how Serge had described how his daughter Natalie brushed her teeth ‘for humanity’. At first this conjured up pictures for me of a superhero with a cape and an unlimited supply of floss and dental tape, whose superpower was brushing her teeth. But as I considered it, the more I could see that this was not just a funny throw-away phrase. For if you understand that everything we do has consequences that either harm or support ourselves, and if we are all connected to everyone else, then surely what we choose affects everyone and will help them to support themselves too?
If you stop for a minute and start to consider the actual effect we all have in this world – wow – it is so powerful. The quality we act in is directly and absolutely linked to the life we get to live. This way of seeing us all as deeply interlinked gives a wider much greater understanding of our true effects, and to subjects like global warming. For after all how can our effect in this world be only limited to climate? What about our own internal eco-system for a start?
So what would our day be like if we brought awareness of our super power ‘presence’ to each and every act? It may sound crazy but what if we wash our hands, sit down in our seat, drive our car and have something to eat, all understanding that our every choice is transforming the world?
So many of us will walk the streets with placards, sign petitions and donate. But what would life be like if we simply dedicated ourselves to being present during the day?
And if we find this is hard, isn’t that interesting and something to investigate?
For what if the beauty, the jewels, the joy, the gold, lives not over any steep incline or hill but right here, right now in the richness of our presence?
And so as I type these words, I do it with all of me, to my bones. And can feel this is the love we all deserve. That the key to life lives in every small thing. For me this started off with a simple tale of a tooth. But my question to you is: Just how much wisdom does every part of us have to bring if we but choose to be present and appreciate our power?
With appreciation for the dedication, care and quality Serge Benhayon, Natalie Benhayon and all Esoteric Practitioners bring.
Read more:
Medicine and Serge Benhayon 
We are responsible of the quality we bring to the simple activities we do during the day and this is our offering to ourselves and humanity. This is something worth to consider, as we are all together in this field of life where everything has an impact in everything.
Being present with ourselves is so simple and yet can appear to be one of the hardest things to do. Appreciation for what we bring just by being can help. The how we do what we do when not trying and being ourselves.
Climate change is a huge topic and a political football. We have Airlines boasting of how they have reduced their carbon foot print, Countries wheeling and dealing with each other financially trying to offset their Carbon Emissions or selling their quota to the highest bidder. There is even a theory that if we killed all the cows in the world that would greatly reduce Carbon Dioxide because their ‘flatulence’ produces so much of it. But what if the way we are in connection with ourselves or not is the biggest cause of Global Warming? What if the energy we are giving off as we go about our daily business is actually the major factor?
There’s beautiful wisdom here: ‘the key to life lives in every small thing’ We brush our teeth everyday, for most of us morning and before going to bed, as a minimum. With awareness, this activity has the potential to be so much more as it reflects the quality we’re in and how aligned we are when we wake up. Most dentists give us a method to brush our teeth, for example pay equal attention to each tooth as you go. Joseph’s article brings attention to not just method, but quality and purpose. We’re shown how every activity is an opportunity to advance ourselves and humanity.
Joesph, I’ve learnt something from reading this blog. We take many things in our day to day life for granted. And brushing our teeth is one of the activities we often perform with other thoughts going on in the background.
I saw a dentist who suggested I brushed my teeth for at least four minutes, brushing every tooth with attention, and I must admit, since incorporating this in my rhythm, my teeth feel different. I don’t always get it perfect, but it has been something I used to see as a chore.
Brushing our teeth for humanity is a biggie and why not? Why aren’t we considering that the things we carry out from the time we wake up, to the time we take our bodies to bed, is for the rest of humanity and not just for us only – it is a chain reaction after all.
Beginning to understand that when we have an intention to do something, say to brush our teeth and stay present, then a few seconds down the line, we’ve abandoned it, it has not yet become a standard lived from our body. Only when it becomes a consistent practice and lived, does it become a new standard.
Each time I read a blog, I’m offered something I need to feel, see or hear. and often again. This morning I’m shown how the quality we’re in when we brush our teeth, can reflect how present we are in other areas of our lives. A powerful reminder there’s gold to be had when we stay present with ourselves, whatever we’re doing, where-ever we are. Thank you Joseph.
Kehinde, I loved what you have shared, we are ‘offered something’ and every blog is another ha ha moment, and often an offering to assist us with an issue we are experiencing. These blogs/sharing’s have pearls of wisdom for the many, if we are open to it.
And considering we don’t have any ‘issues’, these blogs invite us to look again and honestly at how we’re living.
That last question has really stuck with me today. I can’t say I have fully felt what my presence and power brings to appreciate it. But sitting here now it feels very settling. In a world so revved up, this is gold.
Eventually self-care will turn to self-honouring for us all and it is at this point that we will all get to feel that what we are in fact honouring is God. We will all come to remember that there is no such thing as Him and us as we are Him and He is us. Same, same and no difference.
Joseph the level of wisdom and the way that you have conveyed that wisdom is simply stunning, truly it is.
Yes and also how good it feels ✨
This is really interesting ‘Here what he offers is the simple fact that we are naturally designed to be present in everything we do’. And I can really relate with what you have shared as I am not always present when I brush my teeth or don’t allow myself to properly take time with this so as you say if I am doing this (not being present or taking time) in one part of my life where else am I doing this? 😶
I have noticed in the last week or two how I have allowed my mind to wander when I have been brushing my teeth. A lovely reminder here to stay present and to get to grips with what I am trying to avoid and to do this is simple, simply take care over each tooth and feel the quality I am brushing it in!
Oh wow. Whether we like it or not, everything we do, every tiny detail and quality of our movement is for everyone, no exception. There’s responsibility we say we are not aware of therefore entitled to ignore, but it’s still there, it does not go away. And when we look at those who have embraced this responsibility and live with such integrity, it’s so easy to feel the power they joyfully live with, whilst we avoid responsibility and keep coming up with excuses and making our life a struggle.
Well said. It starts with small moments of committing to stay present and each moment, once moved and lived, this way of moving and being present then becomes our normal till we are present for 2-3-4 minutes. It takes a little while to unravel the patterns of distraction.
I agree, it cannot just stay with brushing your teeth, the opportunity is just too great to see where else this pattern of behaviour may be playing out. Being present in the moment and realising that the way we move has an impact on others offers an opportunity for every moment to be meaning-full.
Sometimes we need a TV screen to show us up close and in bold technicolour the horrors of the consequences of our distraction on our bodies! There really is nothing like seeing it for yourself, but how amazing that it had such a profound effect on you.
Always a beautiful read, thank you Joseph. Today I realised I don’t love and appreciate my teeth and all they do for me, assisting me to nourish my body, giving structure to my face, helping me express words, and they are a beautiful part of my smile. My care for my teeth has really changed over the past few months with the support of a very caring dentist, but I can feel there is more love and appreciation to have for this body and for my teeth, and in that deepen the value I hold my body with and the care I give myself.
I hadn’t clocked the importance of teeth you share here Melinda, but of course so obvious when you point it out. I have only seen them as simple tools to support with eating, tools that I must care for of course, but not tools that support to hold my delicate face together or show the love and the joy I am feeling through my smile or tools that support me to articulate how I am feeling and what I am thinking through the words that I wouldn’t be able to utter without them. Seeing the words delicate and teeth juxtaposed just now I can see how I have never equated my teeth with delicacy – but what if I were to embrace all of me as delicate and my teeth as part of that delicate expression? I feel you have opened me up to pondering on my teeth more and how much more in just thinking these thoughts my upper and lower jaws have let go a little and how when eating I can do this so much more gently and with so much more presence by simply appreciating that my teeth can be delicate too! Thank you – this feels like an awesome opportunity to travel some unchartered waters and to experiment..
Great to re-read this Joseph, especially after a deep gum infection that led to a painful tooth extraction ever etched in my memory. Time to reflect on my daily dates with my teeth as they always show me the true state of my current relationship with the them and myself. Am I hurried or do I stay present with each tooth brushed? I usually begin with an intent to stay present, then whoops I’m off! Every activity is an opportunity to stay present with ourselves and this brings more love into our lives.
Kehinde – I can so relate to what you are sharing. So often I lose myself in thought when I am cleaning my teeth rather than using it as on opportunity to really connect and be present! When I do pay attention to each movement the resultant feeling in my body is so much steadier. Thanks for the reminder to check in.
Brilliant blog Jospeh, I really appreciate reading this again. You have shared some amazing gems and wisdom, not only about our teeth but about how we are with ourselves when we move throughout our day.
Indeed their is never-ending depth in developing our presence in each moment.
It is in our day to day practicalities that make all the difference to not only our lives but the lives of others.
“This experience got me to thinking that if being present and aware with my tooth brushing was this powerful, how could this apply to the rest of life?”
A fantastic reminder to be present in what ever it is we do.
When we are present with whatever it is that we are engaged in then the potential portal for God that we are becomes much clearer, as opposed to being locked in our thoughts, which has the effect of muddying our portal and rendering it less effective or even worse, totally redundant as a portal for the Consciousness of God to come through.
“the key to life lives in every small thing” and if we do not take responsibility for our presence in every moment the metaphorical bacteria creeps in between the gaps.
I agree entirely that “the key to life lives in every small thing”, which is why constantly having our eyes on the horizon or on the next perceived ‘big thing’ actually prevents us from accessing the gold that is right there under our noses.
‘That the key to life lies in the small things’ and they build to a giant love that we can beam out like a lighthouse to the world that is sorely in need of the inspiration.
I like this sentence: “the ‘hidden consequence’ to my absent mindedness forming there behind my smile. Well what if there are similar unpleasant and unhealthy consequences happening everywhere in our lives?” What if a low period or depression or feeling tired or exhausted is not just happening but the result of how we have been living, not taking note of how we move, think, what we eat and so forth?
Not wanting to see the details of our past choices can lead to alarming consequences as the body reveals the detail of the disregard we have overlooked.
“We are naturally designed to be present in everything we do” – I feel the truth in that, but this is not how I experience my life most of time. And I can feel there being an on/off switch to be present, or not – as if to say some activities deserve my full presence and some don’t. How I pull off this complex maneuvering with such consistency and intensity against my natural design is a dedication in itself. It really makes me wonder what I am so desperately avoiding.
A great reminder of the responsibility we hold towards our teeth, and the difference it makes in being present with every stroke of the brush, if we clean our teeth allowing our mind to wander, we are brushing our teeth in the energy of something that we have allowed in that affects what we are doing.
Absolutely love the wisdom you share in your very inspiring tale Joseph. I love the many and varied places the the inspiration for change can originate from, in your case from a tooth. The messenger may be small but the message is huge.
A great reminder that everything matters, from how we brush our teeth, to how we walk, to how we are in our relationships and at work: there’s no thing that we do in isolation, everything affects everything else. When we’re present with our bodies, amazing transformations can happen within, through and around us – simply because we’re awake and aware of what we’re doing, and so able to respond to whatever is needed.
Thanks Joseph, I’m on a journey with my own teeth at the moment and have found consistency to go to the new level of care challenging to stick to – which actually doesn’t make sense because it feels great when I take care of my gums and teeth. There is so much on offer from your blog about conscious presence and the very real impact on our health and lives, “For what if the beauty, the jewels, the joy, the gold, lives not over any steep incline or hill but right here, right now in the richness of our presence?” This was very powerful to read also ” Just how much wisdom does every part of us have to bring if we but choose to be present and appreciate our power?”.
To me you are also expressing how everything is everything, how every aspect of our life has to be treated the same. How I cannot consider the job interview more important than brushing my teeth for every detail influences the whole with either more love or harms with energy that separates us.
When we focus on being in a certain way such as being present with one activity in life, like brushing our teeth, over time that quality of presence bleeds into other areas of life without even trying.
Yes it is important that when we set a new standard in one area of our life, that we consciously carry it over to all other areas as well.
I had never heard of gums regrowing – that is quite something.
We seem to think we are invincible until we get faced with a brutal reality. Often it’s only then we start to care for ourselves and do all the things we’d always been told to and knew we should have. Invisibility is a form of arrogance the body has to cop the consequences of.
We all feel the effects when someone around us does something without being present…like slamming a door closed instead of closing it gently. It not only reverberates through our bodies but also their own most the time without awareness that they have just done that to themselves. Being present is medicine and not being present is dis-ease to the body.
Or even just opening the door hastily, even they then move gently.
Anything we do without being in connection to ourselves and from there in absolute honor of the body is damaging for us and actually to everyone else. We first learn this in sisterhood with one other person and from there we learn how big this impacts the world.
“Isn’t it odd that we can be consistently told the best thing to take care of our body, but then go right out and do the opposite thing?” – A great question and one I’m sure many can relate to, and it makes me further contemplate how much we value our body if we know what is needed to support it but don’t actually implement it…?
It’s one of those confounding things that human beings do, the opposite of what is truly beneficial, caring and loving for ourselves. It wasn’t until I heard Serge Benhayon talk about the difference between spirit and soul that I began to understand what was playing out.
“That the key to life lives in every small thing.” Right down to our particles that are a part of the Universe.
And particularly the way we move.
What is so lovely about the human body is how responsive it is, as this article shows that with just a few moments of dedicated care, something which can seem overwhelmingly disastrous is turned around to actually be very confirming.
This is exactly right Joseph… What is so truly needed and indeed so simple on one level is that we just be present during the day, every day.
It’s interesting that a few times recently I have started walking around as I brush my teeth and what is coming to me now is that I am running away from something I need to deal with.
This is absolutely beautiful. Thank you, Joseph. What I am feeling right now is how much I actually do know, yet not choose to live that truth at all times. Simply move it feels like the way to go.
What’s truly crazy is that we all know everything because in truth we are the living consciousness of God. But we are accomplished masters at feigning ignorance, so much so that we are seemingly content to live in a world that has daily conflict, suffering and anguish on a mass scale and yet throw our hands up in the air in apparent ignorance as to why it’s happening and how we can stop it. We know the solution to every conundrum and predicament known to man but we’re just too stubborn to admit it because it is all down to us and we’re just not prepared to change our ways.
A great reminder that if we check out while we are doing something there are always consequences, and when we pay attention in full presence while brushing our teeth we are actually doing more than just brushing our teeth we are building a foundation of quality.
A truly powerful message here Joseph, one that I feel is needed. A wakeup call to be fully present in all of our day.
I agree Roslyn, I find this is a very supportive reminder to be fully present throughout my day.
” For what if the beauty, the jewels, the joy, the gold, lives not over any steep incline or hill but right here, right now in the richness of our presence? ”
Interesting, so interesting its worth investigating, for the pay off is huge, if what is said is true.
Wisdom is not concentrated on just an inconvenient and unnecessary set of teeth. Teeth can also a vehicle for us to tap into it if we say yes to be aware.
I had my wisdom teeth removed early – when I was in my late teens. But my wisdom has not suffered. 🙂
‘This experience got me to thinking that if being present and aware with my tooth brushing was this powerful, how could this apply to the rest of life?’ This is something definitely worth pondering on and something for me to look at in my own life.
I agree Rachel, I liked the analogy too that like the bacteria hidden in Joseph’s mouth, what may be hidden in other areas of our lives that conscious presence could bring to the surface so we can lovingly deal with it?
Our presence is our super power, love it Joseph!
The best reminder ever to not neglect or even slightly overlook a single part of us – thank you!
Yes, I love this reminder too Meg. The more we take care of our body the better we feel and our body will let us know how great it feels. It is always so worthwhile to love our body to the max, listen to its wisdom and honour the messages we receive and I am sure our health will reflect this too.
It is hugely significant that we can reflect and realise that every single choice and movement actually has a large impact on and is able to transform the world. On one level this is a level of responsibility that not many of us are willing to fully accept, because that brings attention to every single choice we make in our daily lives. If we have an impact on everyone and everything, then we are actually accountable to everyone and everything all of the time! On the other hand it is showing that we are not an isolated unit, helpless and insignificant in the face of huge issues in life. Immensely empowering.
“Do you you always brush with care?” what a great question, for me I grew up thinking some things were a nuisance, took up time and were not needed. What I love here is that equally everything is not only important but equal therefore the care I take with my teeth brushing routine supports the care I take in every other part of my life.
So we can do the action, perfunctorily and without presence, which will suffice on one level. But if we bring the quality of love and care to the movements we make, whether consciously or unconsciously, we move for humanity. The next step would then be to appreciate this and bring it in as a conscious choice.
“And so as I type these words, I do it with all of me, to my bones. And can feel this is the love we all deserve.” Loving ourselves to the bone – there’s a beautiful sense of stillness in this for me. Timeless and deep.
Brushing your teeth for humanity – that’s a new one on me. But makes so much sense. If we do every little thing with a sense of purpose – and not just for ourselves – we support evolution for all.
I love this too Sue – the care we bring to ourselves is not for us alone.
Yes Michael, when we look after ourselves we are ready and available for whatever needs to be done.
This blog brings to light the reality of ‘hidden consequences’ in every area of our lives. The consequences of being ‘absent minded’. It’s such a great reminder. Thanks Joseph.
Yes Joseph, just looking at the surface doesn’t do it as our body will always show us the total of our choices at some point, as you share.
I have over the last 6 months been far more aware as I clean my teeth, taking particular care to be present and concentrating on the brushing and cleaning between my teeth too, basically concentrating on the detail, and as a result I am able to concentrate more on the detail with other things I do too, all from paying attention to my teeth first.
I loved what you shared about how we may tend to settle for looking at the surface, but in the end life has a way of showing us always the truth underneath. It is rare that we can get away with unloving and uncaring acts for long as both life and our bodies tend to expose our ill choices as they move to re-harmonise and expose the truth beneath… a blessing for us all to learn to move with nothing but love.
One of my son’s inspires me everyday with how he brushes his teeth. He sits down and takes his time covering every surface, he never rushes it, no matter what he has on, he factored it into his morning routine, flossing every tooth with equal care. Although I am deeply inspired by this blog and my son, I find the challenge lays in having presence whilst completing this task. I can tick the box and brush and floss most days but the love and care is often missing and I am multitasking, showering whilst brushing, finding my clothes for the day whilst brushing etc.. This blog is a wake up call, I am ready to change the world, one tooth at a time!
The tooth simply reflects what happens in our whole body and even every space that is not lived in our presence… it ends up occupied by others.
So what is it that overrides the simplicity of looking after our body and/or following some simple steps from a medical professional. For me its when the outside world crowds in around me, making me think too much, being too ‘busy’ in my head, and losing that simple connection to myself.
Super power presence – just one of the many super powers we can access when we accept that we are so much more than what the eyes see.
Thank you for confirming that we are much more than we think we are!
Now that’s the Tooth and nothing but the Tooth!!
Do I actually bring my whole attention to every thing I do, in every moment? Definitely work in progress but always great to be reminded Joseph. Lately a practitioner said to me how all this, not being present and thus thinking, is poisoning myself. The example of your teeth and gums is exactly that, imagine what it does to our whole body.
The poisoning of oneself is the marker of the level of responsibility that goes with looking after ourselves. A topic that is down played in our current world and our levels of illness and disease speak volumes in this department.
That would be a great question to focus on today – do I actually bring my whole focus and whole attention to every little task I do today – no matter how small or big it is?
Staying present in every moment: something I am so aware I do not do. But starting somewhere small, like with brushing teeth, that takes all of five minutes (times two or three) out of my day, can set a precedent that can be built on.
It reminds me of the many moments in the day when I check out, not paying attention to the minutiae of my daily life, allowing a bit of plaque to build up here and there almost unnoticed.
I do really love the idea of the superpower super flosser… It is a wonderful image… Funny yes but also a great reminder.
“Do you spend an equal time in every spot?” This stopped me in my tracks as I read it as I realised I have a picture in my head of which teeth need more attention. I am now feeling to do a little tooth study today to feel how much I am taking care of each and every tooth as I brush.
That’s pretty powerful Joseph. Gosh, if bringing attention and intention to a task like brushing your teeth can have such an impact on the health of your gums, then I can only imagine what else is possible.
When we bring our attention to what we are doing in the moment then as much as we are bringing our attention to something it is of huge significance that what we are also doing is not taking ourselves away from something. Because the something that we are taking ourselves away from is the everything that we already are and so if we allow ourselves to get distracted with our thoughts then we are missing the All and the Everything that we intrinsically are.
We are exposed in every aspect of life in terms of our level of self-care and conscious presence even when we get feedback from the dentist.
“Just how much wisdom does every part of us have to bring if we but choose to be present and appreciate our power?” Yes we can already do a lot but imagine if we all chose to be present with our bodies and what that would feel like in the world. There would be no disregard as you can’t so easily ‘trash’ your body when you are present with it and there would be this contentment as being connected with yourself is the most beautiful thing we all long for.
I love coming back to this blog Joseph; it is such a beautiful reminder to bring love, presence and tenderness in every thing we do. You are such an inspiration, thank you.
Joseph this blog moved me so deeply to feel and know that we are designed to be present and all of the discomfort is when we are not so – and to take that to the next level if we did live with presence how would we be? How would the world be? And as you say ‘For what if the beauty, the jewels, the joy, the gold, lives not over any steep incline or hill but right here, right now in the richness of our presence?’ it really brings us back to the treasure we all have always and a treasure we deserve to live and embrace in every moment.
It is crazy to most that every choice we make has the potential to transform the world yet it is true but even though I know it is true and the power that comes with every choice, I can find myself wondering off into my head. It is an unfolding and when I clock the wondering I immediately bring myself back to my body, but what I am really pondering on and need to address is why do I choose to go into my head in the first place? What am I avoiding?
Knowing we can bring purpose to everything we do transforms even the simple activity of brushing our teeth.
Joseph you are an amusing writer (I could see the dog thinking what it might have for dinner) and at the same time a man of great wisdom. A very readable and informative blog that has changed my way of looking at the world through cleaning my teeth!
Sure Susan, and not only our teeth will be thankful for staying present with ourselves and with all of life, also all people we are with and the societies we live in will benefit as everything is interconnected and part of that greater whole we can sense we are part of when we build presence in our lives.
It makes sense to me that quality of our thoughts, the way we move and behave ourselves does have an effect, not only to our own life but also to the family and society we live in, and even beyond. In realising this I can feel the enormous power we can bring to life if we choose to live more aware and present with our bodies and all of life, and on top of that it makes me also feel that I have a responsibility in this, as me having not being that present has contributed to the waywardness not only my life was in, but also that of my family and the society I am part of.
Presence is the key to giving every moment the quality it deserves.
Love this part of your sentence: ‘the key to life lives in every small thing’ it is so absolutely true. Life is an interconnected feature of our divine nature, the physical manifestation of our choice of creation but on the other hand a beautiful way to return to our true essence, giving every moment the presence it deserves is creating wonders and is indeed for all of humanity.
It makes such a difference when you stay present with yourself as you brush your teeth, and it is important as it is a part of the everything we do and deserves equal focus and love.
“we are naturally designed to be present in everything we do, and that living ‘absent mindedly’ is a large part of what is causing us to be so unwell. ” This is so true, I have come to find things will happen when my mind wanders off whilst doing something to bring me back to my body, it may be a cut finger, nipping my skin in the hoover, or seeing an animal when out walking, or even a car driving slower in front of me.
I read your blog a while ago Joseph and was very inspired to brush my teeth with more care and awareness. I realise at first I was paying more attention to how I brush my teeth and if I am being present with my body or not, but after a while I seem to very easily slip back into my old habit of multitasking and wondering thoughts. I am going to keep reminding myself to pay attention to what I am doing, to do it with care and conscious presence.
Thank you Joseph. My relationship with time gets in the way when I brush my teeth in the morning. It is the last thing I do before I leave for work and as I always like to arrive early at work I realise now from reading your blog that I get a bit racy at this point and rush to get the job done even though I do have time. The lovely sense of space in the morning gets sabotaged and my teeth suffer!! Brilliant to feel this and to now change.
The microcosm and macrocosm – the state of the bacteria in the mouth are a reflection of the state of one’s life and also of the whole world. Giving the same attention to cleaning one’s teeth to everything one does changes one’s whole experience of life. It is so true when you write, Joseph, “Just how much wisdom does every part of us have to bring if we but choose to be present and appreciate our power?”
I find the things that I do leading towards the moment I clean my teeth, are also check-in/awareness moments. It’s a practice that, despite my initial reluctance towards it, brings a fullness to the most ordinary parts of the day – like cleaning my teeth.
When I read the part about the dog always being in the moment, it dawned on me what a great reflection for being present they are, and that we could learn a thing or two from them. Especially when there is food around and their attention is fixed only on that food, and they may look around but only for a split second – in that moment nothing else exists.
It is not what we do, but the ‘quality’ that we “do” life in that supports us like the roots of a tree. All those tasks we think are good or needed, brushing teeth, walking, exercise etc, if they are undertaken in a rush, a push or with disregard, do not truth offer us the support they could. Brush your teeth with care and and you will feel the difference. Observing ourselves and how we treat ourselves is insightful, it gives a clear a marker of how we are also willing to treat another.
Being able to bring our awareness to what we are doing and feel the importance of every move and how this can either support us or not is a massive leap in the way we as a society have been living. I know when I started to do this from being inspired by Serge Benhayon in what he presents but mostly from watching how he is in the way he goes about life, that it is such a powerful choice to be making. Being present and aware of the quality of energy you are choosing and moving in is life changing.
I find what I eat is reflected in the quality of cleanliness of my teeth – before I brush that is. I’ve noticed if what I’ve eaten is spot on for me, my teeth will feel fur-less and smooth and actually require less cleaning and flossing. When I’ve eaten in a less than helpful way, they’ll be feeling as if I’ve eaten sweets and require extra maintenance. The body knows.
This is interesting Victoria, I have not noticed this but will be paying more attention to what you’ve shared and see if this is what I experience too. It makes so much sense because I agree ‘The body knows’.
It’s a great question about why a dog has a consistent quality of presence whilst we don’t, and if it’s difficult for us to be present then why? It’s seems that it’s a natural way to be present with ourselves, yet we have become masters of living what is decidedly unnatural, and when that becomes a majority it is endorsed as “normal”. Our bodies really reflect though that lack of being present in the stress, anxiety and unhealthy choices. Your blog was a great snapshot of how presence impacts life.
‘You don’t see a dog considering what happened last week and what it fancies for tea tonight – it is right there with you, completely in the moment. So why is it we behave in different way?’ Great analogy Joseph and it is very clear to me that when we choose to be present we will change the world, there is such a joy in being ourselves and an enormous power to live this in each moment and with each movement. Let alone greeting each other like a dog does!
I have found that cleaning my teeth in my full presence has been an interesting experience, in the evening if I find myself wandering off with thoughts during my cleaning routine it is a great reflection that I have not moved or lived in full presence during the day, not to give myself a hard time over it, but to bring a deeper understanding to the importance of my own awareness.
I love your term ‘super-power presence’. If we can be playful with it like this we can have a great deal of fun in order to serve humanity!
If we realised the power that taking care of ourselves has on humanity we would do it everyday.
I love this blog Joseph. Just when I feel you’ve taken it big you take it bigger! Presence brings joy to life and yet this joy is not just for us – in fact we have a responsibility to live with it. How ironic it is that I have spent most of my life seeking joy through ‘checking out’
‘If you consider the beautiful quality you can feel when you move in harmony and in tune with you, where you feel every cell and every molecule as you move, with your mind marveling at it all, it starts to make incredible sense that we ache and experience pain when we ‘do life’ distracted, half-hearted and on auto pilot.’ Vey inspirational and beautifully said Joseph, the livingness in your words is felt.
This sums it up beautifully Joseph . . .We ache and experience pain when we ‘do life’ distracted, half-hearted and on auto pilot.
Thank you Joseph, for shining a light on how we can be present in all we do, even those regular habitual things and how it changes everything when we are. We are so much more powerful than we often allow and presence is one of the keys to bringing our true love and power to the world.
I love this blog as it really does call us to consider those areas in our lives that we so often ‘hurry through’ in order to get the next thing done. But what quality will the ‘next thing’ be done in if we are rushing to do it? Will that not be rushed too so we can do the next thing after that etc etc? And will this not then build a momentum of tension and anxiety in our bodies as we continually rush to get anything done? It becomes very clear that by bringing our full attention, focus and presence to the small details in our lives, like brushing our teeth, that it is possible to change this momentum and bring a beautiful quality to everything we do, which in turn others get to feel and be inspired by.
‘The quality we act in is directly and absolutely linked to the life we get to live.’ How amazing to feel that every moment matters and the quality we choose impacts on everything. Beautiful to feel we can make a difference through even the smallest choices.
“The quality we act in is directly and absolutely linked to the life we get to live.” I love this and had a direct example that when I got up the other morning I made a real conscious focus on the quality I moved in, I stopped and had a kidney massage by my partner and re-adjusted the way I started the day. As a result everything flowed, its quite amazing when I don’t push through or move to a picture but listen to what my body is calling for..
Yes I agree Mary it seems there is no end to the absurd situations we will put ourselves in – all with the underlying point of blocking and fighting our own wisdom. It doesn’t get much crazier than this – thank you for the reminder.
And to broaden this topic, what if we went to the toilet for humanity? Seriously. I’m observing women talking on their phones while they are in the toilet cubicle or rushing in and out so quickly. Going to the toilet is an opportunity to stop and just be with ourselves for a few moments…just us, no phones, no agenda.
Yes Sandra – absolutely what a serious and unpleasant waste this is. We make a fuss about the loo but it feels to me that’s because we have to stop and face a very physical record of how it is we have lived. Really this moment to check back in applies to everything.
“That the key to life lives in every small thing.” From teeth cleaning to washing our hands, how we open a door, or even how we get into bed and place our bedclothes over ourselves. How present are we with these activities and with ourselves in the process, is there life and love in each and every movement and moment?
That certainly stopped me in my tracks. Brushing our teeth for humanity reveals the responsibility we all share for each other in every moment and in every movement.
The simple dedication to presence in our lives is amazing and its effects is transformational to ourselves and humanity. I love the wisdom and sharing from your teeth care and all it offers us to see for everything. Beautiful and very empowering.
If someone had suggested to me that I “brush my teeth for humanity” a few years back I would have considered them rather strange, but today I totally understand what they are saying. I have come to understand the power of every single movement we make in this world, that because everything is energy every movement I make affects not just me, but everyone else; therefore the consequence of every move I make, even brushing my teeth, is my responsibility.
Simply staying present when we are doing things hugely supports the body. This is such a simple thing to do but it does require that we deal with the hurts that make us not want to be present in our bodies in the first place.
When I stay present when brushing my teeth I am am amazed at what I can feel, or to put it differently I totally enjoy all that I can feel – from the texture of the tooth paste, the touch and changing pressure of the bristles, the differing perception from each part of the mouth, the vibration felt by the lips – it’s not just a teeth and gum experience, as it’s felt it in my cheeks and face too… writing this I can really appreciated how cleaning our teeth is an opportunity for intimacy!
Gorgeous rosannabianchini. You remind me that presence enables me to enjoy everyday activities that I would have previously seen as being mundane. This brings a true joy to life.
Rosanna, you show that what for many is a routine activity, can be intimate and religious.
Fantastic article Joseph highlighting what bringing presence to our movement makes. I know I can many moves a day checked out thinking about the past and the present as opposed to when I am fully with myself and life flows and I can appreciate myself and what is around me. Being present is the way to be if we truly want to be physically and mentally healthy.
I really connect to the logic in this blog, it makes sense to bring full attention to each task we do, and the part about how we behave ourselves really resonated. As you state Joseph so many people protest, get behind a cause etc, but maybe what is actually more important is how we interact with others, the care we take to simply walk down a street, all the simple things done with care and consideration, what if this is what actually changes the world?
This sounds familiar gillrandall. The task of brushing our teeth is often in transit with a hundred and one others ideas running through your head or chores to be done in the morning or before we go to bed. I often wonder how the teeth must feel when we don’t take the time to be gentle and respectful with each brush stroke.
When we brush our teeth, it is a great reminder to come back to ourselves. I used to brush my teeth and plan my work or what I was doing in the day, and not be thinking about brushing my teeth at all. It was one of those routine jobs, so regular I didn’t think I needed to think about it, I just did it. But sometimes I noticed that they didn’t feel so good, and realised how much I switched off with that action, and also how I switched off with other regular things I did every day. Now I have changed that pattern, and when I do regular activities throughout the day (like going to the loo or washing my hands) I view it as an opportunity to check in and reconnect back to myself, rather than checking out. It is an interesting process Joseph.
Wow – brushing our teeth for humanity, I love that Joseph! Everything we do affects everything.
Your blog Joseph made me go deeper into asking myself why do we go into a daydream during our day? Do we judge certain things/events/people as more important and we will focus more on them and other things/events/people as less important and hence we will not want to be there so much? Do we only want to enjoy life but do not want to take the responsibility to live life that would allow us to movement in a way that will bring joy consistently? I find that the question this blog is asking—whether we can be in absolute conscious presence in everything we do in life, a question of great inspiration. Although I will not be perfect in this, it is something I would take to my day to be inspired.
Not only have I found my mind elsewhere when i brush my teeth, I find my body elsewhere doing last minute checks before I go out, or pulling my shoes out of the cupboard with my other hand. I have recently bought a lovely new toothbrush that flashes a red light if I brush too hard and beeps every thirty seconds. At first I needed these prompts to stay with myself but now it feels so lovely to give myself these precious moments of connection each morning and night as I brush my teeth. Thank you for the inspiration Joseph.
I love coming back to this blog Joseph, such a beautiful reminder to be absolutely present in each and every moment. How easily distracted we can be from external influences!
This is beautiful Joseph and allow so much appreciation for ourselves being present in every moment and detail.” the beautiful quality you can feel when you move in harmony and in tune with you, where you feel every cell and every molecule as you move, with your mind marveling at it all, it starts to make incredible sense that we ache and experience pain when we ‘do life’ distracted, half-hearted and on auto pilot.” So true so real and so inspirational to care for ourselves lovingly espcially brushing our teeth.
Presence and movement – I am only just beginning to feel the power of these two beauties. One movement invites the next when present and the power therein is expansive and simply calls me to more and more.
It seems crazy that for a species so advanced and so ‘intelligent’ as ours, that we, in general, have problems with even the most basic basics of self-care.
It is phenomenal how much can change when we bring our full attention to the smallest of details. The body is quite remarkable in its power to heal itself when given the right conditions, on top of all the love that is poured into it at the same time.
‘For what if the beauty, the jewels, the joy, the gold, lives not over any steep incline or hill but right here, right now in the richness of our presence?’ Wow, What a sentence Joseph and so true. Our presence is the greatest of gifts to ourselves.
This is a testimony to the power of detail and how one area of attention and care can expand into developing a more nurturing relationship with ourselves, others and life, across the board.
‘Isn’t it odd that we can be consistently told the best thing to take care of our body, but then go right out and do the opposite thing?’ This is so true Joseph. Not only this, but our body is constantly communicating to us how best to take care of ourselves and with this we have a constant choice to listen and honour those messages or shut them out.
Beautifully expressed Joseph; indeed the jewels, joy and gold are found in our essence and presence;
“For what if the beauty, the jewels, the joy, the gold, lives not over any steep incline or hill but right here, right now in the richness of our presence?”
This is a great question to consider, and see how it feels if we are present during the day, ‘what would life be like if we simply dedicated ourselves to being present during the day?’
Thank you Joseph – I have just had a fun time reading this blog out loud to my husband and son, and it was like telling a story, only this is like a real story that has a purpose and a moral to it. These days stories that are told, movies that are shown, lack the depth of true meaning and purpose. This blog on the other hand was fun to read, and enjoyable to learn and be reminded of how everything we do has an impact on everyone around us, hence why the quality we do things in is so important.
I LOVE this sharing Joseph ! How much difference we bring to our lives through the energy we do the everyday chores of personal self care in. To be able to turn around something as you have done with your teeth and gums through the loving care you use to clean your teeth is a wonderful inspiration to us all.
‘For what if the beauty, the jewels, the joy, the gold, lives not over any steep incline or hill but right here, right now in the richness of our presence?’ This is beautiful to read today, Christmas day. Presents can never out do presence.
As you’ve shared Joseph it seems absurd that we disregard our teeth and ignore dentist’s advice when most of us wouldn’t do the same to our hair (e.g. not brush it or not wash it) or other parts of our body that are in the view of others! Looking after ourselves includes looking after our diet, sleep, rhythm AND teeth – they are equally as important as the rest of it.
Super pertinent point, Susie W, that we take care of those aspects of our bodies that are on show, but not so with that which is not. What does this say about our true respect for, and value of, our overall health and well being?
It is interesting to read this blog as I too visited a dentist last year and was praised for the quality of care that I take on looking after my teeth as I floss daily and brush well. What stood out and left me pondering soon after was the fact that my teeth were being brushed too often and the comment… “You’re too hard on yourself ” resonated through my dental examination. It just shows how everything is connected and that like this blog there is a far greater lesson to learn about the connection with us from a simple visit to the dentist.
Great point Joseph the quality we act in is absolutely directly linked with the way we are living our life. It is our responsibility to feel the consequences we are all having on the state the world is in and how we have contributed to it and the choice we have to choose to be present with our true self and emanate the love we truly are to the world as a reflection to pull on another up to a forever deepening level of love in the world. .
It is in the attention to detail and from seemingly little things that great things come. A deeper connection to oneself and others all from being consciously present with whatever one does.
I appreciate the topic of our human interconnectedness in this blog.
I have always believed and seen evidence to the fact that we are all connected but more and more I actually can feel this and know it to be a deep Universal law.
With this greater, felt understanding comes a realization that it really matters how I care for and conduct myself, how committed to love I am in every moment… this body and life of ‘mine’ is my one big vote on how I want the world to be, how I want people to treat themselves and others.
Knowing we are all affecting each other, I know how to make a true difference in the world;
I understand how I can support people who are currently stuck in situations of abuse, even on the other side of the Earth.
In feeling our unavoidable interconnectedness I realize that I am powerful and that there is a great responsibility to pull myself up and not allow the illusion of “powerlessness” to keep me down any longer.
‘So many of us will walk the streets with placards, sign petitions and donate. But what would life be like if we simply dedicated ourselves to being present during the day?’ This question alone has the potential to awaken humanity Joseph. We have the key to harmony, love and joy in our pockets but prefer to stay outside the door instead of stepping inside!
This would change everything, for the times that I am committed to being present I feel completely different about myself and the entire way I am in the day changes to reflect this. What a lovely way to be in life, its a choice that I can feel in myself to make myself and my presence the most important thing with that I have a quality that I can then bring to all that I do.
A brilliant and practical example of conscience presence and what it brings, thank you Joseph.
Joseph, The power of being present and consistent in the small everyday items, things that I used to not pay attention to or that i was “too busy” for are now proving to be the exact things that keep me solid and supported in my life.
The moment when the quality of our past choices is made visible right before our very eyes is a very sobering moment indeed, for within it there is no one to blame and the key here is not to blame ourselves but use this moment to reignite within us the deep care we all know how to live but have not been living to the depth we are truly capable.
Do we bring our whole attention to to the task of brushing our teeth every night? Great question Joseph, one which we can all answer ourselves. This can then be applied to ask as you did, do we bring our whole attention to everything we do in our every day? As bringing our whole attention is the natural way that we have deterred from and made not being present normal.
The tender care we take for our bodies is 100 times payed back to us, our body is deeply responding to the amount of love and attention we give to ourselves.
Paying attention to the detail is a simple habit to get into. I have overlooked it in the past favouring complication and difficulty as the way. Surely if something is difficult it must be worthwhile? How wrong I was. I have discovered the consequences of what you describe in your blog Joseph are far reaching and not to be underestimated.
I love the way you’ve written this Joseph! Such a simple true story, but with so much depth.
It’s a beautiful question you ask about our “super-power” presence and how might it transform the world should we choose to be in it all day. So simple. And, I have my cape ready 🙂
“You don’t see a dog considering what happened last week and what it fancies for tea tonight – it is right there with you, completely in the moment.” This is so true Joseph and really makes a mockery of how we can procrastinate over so many things that we do, instead of just getting on with them because that is what our bodies are telling us to do. When we stay in the moment with all that we are doing however, it is completey possible to keep the focus on what it is we are doing and not get distracted.
I love your mention of dogs being present to what is happening immediately around them, not worrying about what’s for dinner tonight or what happened last week, they are present and for that reason we say they have unconditional love….. possible lesson for us all there, bringing our attention to what we are doing being unconditional love for ourselves.
I’ve been discovering that how I brush my teeth can be a gauge of how I have been through the day. Am I racy and just want the job done? Am I checked out and thinking abut other stuff? Am I on automatic pilot? Or am I present and being with what I am doing? The observations have been quite interesting.
That was such a great observation about the fact you passed Serge’s comment about Natalie brushing for humanity as a throw away line but then clocked the enormity of what he was sharing. Such a simple and everyday thing yet how this can harm or heal the world and Universe is huge. That micro and macro affect the all and that everything is totally connected weather we want to look at it or not this is how the Universe is designed.
I agree Natalie. We know but don’t often pay attention to the fact that everything is connected. One reason could be that we don’t want to take responsibility for what we do and how it affects everyone and everything around us.
The key to life is about all the small things, for nothing is nothing, and everything is everything.
Joseph this is the article that just keeps on giving. I was totally inspired by what you have shared and dedicated myself to a whole new level to my teeth brushing routine. Something I noticed this week was that when I was standing at the bathroom sink to wash my hands, in the same place that I usually clean my teeth, I could feel the way my body feels when brushing my teeth. I was feeling the imprint I have been leaving returning to me.
I have been totally inspired by this Joseph. It brought to my attention another level of detail I hadn’t yet explored with my teeth. Now when I am cleaning my teeth it already feels completely different and not only that, it feels like it is supporting my expression, which of course is connected with our mouth as the vibration of our voice travels through this part of our body.
Once we dedicate ourselves to being present in all we do, we realise how ‘unpresent’ we actually are. It is very confronting, but developing presence starts with this realisation and once you start, you discover the healing power, beauty and magic of living in conscious presence.
A beautiful expose Joseph on how in just one very minor area that we can ‘do life’ distracted, half-hearted and on auto pilot. If we consider that brushing our teeth takes up about 5-10 minutes of our day max, just what is happening for the other 23 hours and 50 minutes? Hmmm.
How much wisdom am I not allowing myself to be present to, if I am not aware of the messages the body is delivering and I’m off in some imagined picture completely absorbed by the distraction, what am I missing or not wanting to hear….. and why am I choosing fantasy over reality? Taking care of the details, such as our teeth, supports bringing attention back to our body.
Re-reading this blog is a wonderful reminder for me to keep bringing more presence to my tooth brushing. So often I just brush my teeth whilst thinking about other things, rather than really being there to take care of them. I often get sensitive teeth, and interestingly I have noticed that when I am more present with brushing my teeth and giving them the care they deserve, then the over-sensitivity is reduced. Likewise if I have not really paid much attention to my teeth brushing, then it is like the sensitivity kicks really loudly to get my attention. So my body knows how to communicate with me when I am not being kind to it. But the trick now for me is to make sure I don’t let things get to a point where my body has to let me know I have overstepped things! In other words, it is about catching things early and not letting them escalate…Thanks Joseph for the wonderful reminder!
I still think about this blog each time I brush my teeth. It brings awareness to where I am and how loving I am being, but also how consciously present I am when cleaning. So it is a constant choice and reminder to be with me when I brush my teeth as that is equally as important as any task I do in life.
We can only make the world a better place to live by starting to live that life for ourselves with the responsibility that it brings.
Looking after every part of our body is essential and can so easily be over looked out of what we have to get done. Putting ourselves second only creates a situation where by the body is very loudly having to make you stop. Great reminder of this, thank you.
Paying attention to the seemingly small things in life is actually huge when it comes to truly connecting with our bodies.
The key to life is indeed in the small things Joseph – pay attention to these and then we don’t have to deal with big dramas.
Indeed we can miss the riches and wealth that comes with living in full presence and engaging in life, but the more that we do, we build a foundation that will take us closer to living who we truly are.
Inevitably choosing function and ‘ticking boxes’ over choosing our quality in all that we do is always exposed as only serving the mind, and not the body.
I really get it with being distracted and thinking about other things and how this lack of presence leaves me feeling empty. Since first reading this blog a few months ago I put a lot more care into cleaning my teeth, I would sit down and close my eyes so that there was nothing to distract me. It works and I felt the depth of my own presence and how great that felt. But did I continue? Well a little; I watered it down settling for a mediocre level of presence. Upon reading this blog again I am inspired to take it all the way and even to the next level, just because it feels great to do so, and it helps me stay present throughout my day.
Hehe. My little story: I did also hear this ‘Natalie does brush her teeth ‘for humanity’ and so I wanted to do so as well. My lovely husband likes to talk to me when we brush our teeth and I see this as disregard, which it is to ourselves. So I ignored him when he did so, looked the other way and focused on ‘humanity’ while brushing. … This did not feel very well. On a healing course this weekend I did make this the subject of a session and was very joyfully unveiled as a fraud here. ‘Humanity’ is sitting next to me, reflected by my sweet husband when I brush my teeth and even if it is not loving to talk while having a toothbrush in the mouth, we can feel us, let each other into our eyes and hearts while we are deeply aware of our moves in teeth brushing.
I love what you share Sandra, and this so humorously shows how we can tend to make things abstract removed and theoretical in our heads when the living reality is right before our eyes. How gorgeous are we and how big is the care that we bring to one another in the smallest of ways.
Good one Sandra, I often completely forget that I am also part of humanity and the best intentions don’t cut it if anybody is left out, including myself and those around me.
Beautiful to read and feel how important every moment and movement is. Letting it slip by unnoticed brings it back in stereo in time – and then we can scratch our heads wondering what’s gone wrong “all of a sudden”. But there is nothing sudden, it has been there a long time we have just missed the connection.
Great contribution, not just about teeth and how quickly things can turn around when we bring our loving attention and presence to them, but about the immense harm we inflict upon ourselves when we live in several places at once without presence to what we are doing at any one moment.
I don’t think I can be reminded enough about the importance of this in one’s life. Gosh, all those moments that I can be reactive, defensive, blaming or even in my head are all never coming from my body but rather from a being deep inside me. After all, the body would never harm itself would it? The key is to live from an even deeper place within, which is my true essence.
Joseph, this story has changed the way forever that I clean my teeth, thank you. When I have moments of being very busy or distracted, I can start to go back into a quick scrub, and feel immediately, NO I can’t do that anymore. It does not take any longer to brush my teeth with the loving focus that you describe, it simply takes presence, and is a great marker to see where my day is going or has been by returning to my teeth. It’ll be interesting when I visit my hygienist for the annual check, she used to be always reminding me of the various ways I can clean my teeth better. I don’t think that conversation is needed anymore. And I know this isn’t just about teeth, this is the re-connection to ourselves for everything.
It’s amazing how one area of our life, like ‘brushing our teeth’ is connected with so many other areas. When I think of how I am brushing my teeth, sometimes settling for a quick scrub less caring than I have before, then I see this playing out in other ares of my life as well.
What a delightful, practical, humorous and insightful blog. You share an important message with us Joseph in such an accessible way. Thank you.
We often get good health advice and then do the opposite – it’s amazing how we can sabotage ourselves, but when we truly listen to our body’s wisdom, there is much we can learn and eventually looking after it becomes a no-brainer.
I love the care and dedication this article is bringing, Joseph. It is an inspiration to bring this level of care in every part of my life.
Indeed Rachel perhaps we have missed the greatest cause of all dedicating ourselves to being fully present in each moment and bringing the fullness of who we are to the world.
Haha – I like it! Conscious presence is the new form of demonstration. Instead of protesting: being present – quite a task for many I’d assume! But one that would unite and bring love into our world, for sure.
It’s interesting what you share about bringing presence to cleaning your teeth and how it changed the health of your teeth. I too have had a similar experience where I had bleeding gums and the gum disease was spreading. As I started to bring more care and presence in cleaning my teeth, the health of my mouth changed. It’s never too late to make the changes, our body is amazing in how it heals.
This is such a simple but powerful sentence, Joseph – “The quality we act in is directly and absolutely linked to the life we get to live.” As well as making so much sense, you are reminding us here that there is so much joy and beauty awaiting us if we so choose it, by living with presence and from our hearts.
Thank you Joseph. Wow, just feeling the enormity of what you are sharing – that every single thing we do we can choose to do for humanity or not. I am also feeling that there is a joy in this – for instance, bringing more presence to the detail of brushing my teeth feels lovely in my body and this feeling can stay with me as I move into my day or my sleep.
I wouldn’t have thought twice to live life and not bother about checking my teeth and what they need. After being inspired by Serge Benhayon and realising that we can’t have one area of our life super duper amazing and not attend to other areas in our lives and bodies. I actually really enjoy the ritual of nurturing my teeth and gums every night before I go to bed.
A deeply appreciated testimony to the teachings our bodies offer us every day and that our willingness to attend to apparently little details can be life changing. I would never have considered the impact of building attentive dental hygiene into my life until my foray with the alarming onset of gum disease and the threat of losing teeth in my thirties. 10 years on my mouth care is an integral, loving part of my every day and I still have teeth!
Brushing our teeth for humanity – wow, what a radical re-thinking of our approach to life. We could have walking for humanity, eating for humanity, working for humanity, resting for humanity, reading for humanity and so on and on… a whole life of service, lived in service – and with nothing less than full, loving regard for ourselves.
“Isn’t it odd that we can be consistently told the best thing to take care of our body, but then go right out and do the opposite thing?” Absolutely odd and completely ridiculous. This shows that there is more at play than what we simply see. If we are so intelligent as a species then it should be simple to follow an instruction. Something as simple as brushing our teeth can be an act of self-care and self-love, therefore, is the choice to care for ourselves more confronting than the simple act of following an instruction about how to clean our teeth?
Love this Lee, and actions which come from wanting to care for oneself seem to be sustainable, where as simply following instructions always ends up being not so fun.
Yes Lee, to do the opposite of taking care of ourselves is completely ridiculous. It never ceases to amaze me how much abuse our bodies can cope with and how absurd it is to go to the absolute limit where the body breaks down before we begin to display the slightest care. Our spirit has no regard for the sacred physical body, and has proven unworthy to be in charge. Our soul works with heart and the harmony of the body can be restored.
A beautiful example Joseph of bringing attention, tenderness and detail to everything we do; powerful and inspirational.
……”it starts to make incredible sense that we ache and experience pain when we ‘do life’ distracted, half-hearted and on auto pilot.” Indeed Joseph this is living in an existence, a functionality that many would call life as we know it. What you have unravelled through your lived experience with your teeth is a microcosm of the macroscopic care and presence we could be bringing to every aspect of our lives. A new level of self honesty and responsibility that feeds us all.
I have found that being in presence of my moments in a day has a huge impact on my energy levels, if I am present and committed, bring myself to everything I do without differentiation, I stay energized. Of course I get tired at the end of the day, but never exhausted as when I experienced when I was depressed or reacting towards life. Therefore, on the contrary, if we go through life distracted and checked out, would that have a (huge) impact in causing our world-wide epidemic of exhaustion and withdrawal presently?
I love the way this blog has been written, quite playful but gently guiding us to see the bigger picture.
Wonderful Joseph. Just shows what consistency and commitment can do – very powerful.
We know what is truly healthy for our bodies and yet there is a part of us that doesn’t want to put into action what it knows is truly healthy. And when this fact is highlighted every effort is made to avoid or dodge feeling this fact and break away from such conversation. Why is this so? What do we get as a reward for avoiding the fact that we know love and yet choose to not express such towards ourselves and others? And is such a stance or reward really worth the amount of energy and effort we put into avoiding the facts of life? We crave the love that we are and that which lives inside us and yet choose to not express it, doesn’t make sense unless we choose to believe that there is something greater than that love we innately come from and put our efforts into achieving.
This needs to be known by all, how many people are off with one thought or another as they go through their day, ‘we are naturally designed to be present in everything we do, and that living ‘absent mindedly’ is a large part of what is causing us to be so unwell’.
There is so much that we overlook when we brush out teeth, usually absent mindedly thinking about the day ahead or in the evening, the day that was. It is so common to not really be present when doing these types of tasks in life. But they really are super important and can be a marker as to how we really are with ourselves, entering the day, or as a reflection on the day in the evening.
“…what he offers is the simple fact that we are naturally designed to be present in everything we do”. The way Serge Benhayon has presented this has for me been an ongoing revelation. It is a very body orientated presence which does not stop at the body but brings through our true connection to our Soul. This means that the quality we walk in and take into every activity (including brushing teeth) comes back to us and confirms our choices. This is the way we can live choosing energetic quality and integrity which is as simple as it is powerful right down to the way our physical body becomes more vital and well.
Joseph, what deep wisdom you share here. I observe that the tension in my body often is like calling me out and I let my mind wander to thoughts which have nothing to do with the action I am doing in this moment. So it is a constantly deepening and refining process to observe and consider my behaviour and the root cause of it, in order to refine and deepen my presence during cleaning my teeth.
We can learn so much from this example of cleaning our teeth, Joseph. It shows us the wisdom we have inside that we can learn from any other choice we decide to make in our everyday lives. Our choices ripple on all day with everything that we do.
I love the reflection of giving each tooth equal care and attention. I have this opportunity each day to bring all of me to every part of my life.
We can never underestimate the ‘hidden consequences’ of our choices so I love what you share here Joseph as it is full of wisdom and clearly illustrates that the ripple effect of all our choices and all that we do has a far more powerful and influential effect on everything else than we think.
Life is actually so simple and in flow with all of life when we are with ourselves all the time or as to the best of our abilities. To me it is the wayward mind that is causing all the issues in life, be it our own personal and physical wellbeing but also on how we live together as a society. Taming our minds to me feels the way to go, and I will start with brushing my teeth with all of me being completely with it.
I have to admit this is true Nico “To me it is the wayward mind that is causing all the issues in life” When I look at my life and what has gone wrong it is because of the choice was made in isolation from my heart.
It seems there are many little unseen things lurking in our bodies just waiting for their time to burst forth and say ‘look at me’. It can take a long while, a lot of lived years but the build up is occurring while we go about our lives thinking we are ticking the boxes. Our bodies can’t be fooled, only our minds play that game.
Once we choose to allow our minds to wander then we allow an opening for anything and everything to come in and as you mentioned in your Blog Joseph there are hidden consequences. We have the choice when it comes to the quality we hold ourselves in but that is the only choice because after that the flow-on is out of our control. Great opportunity to ponder more deeply on the choices we make and to observe what life returns to us as a result.
Visiting the dentist is a great marker as we get to see how our daily choices are impacting our body. Having regular dental checks have become for me, therefore, a part of how I deeply care for myself.
This is a huge appreciation revelation for me, Elizabeth, prompting me to remember my active avoidance of dentists, when now I have regular visits scheduled.
‘The richness of our presence” – how exquisitely expressed that is. And true, the true riches we yearn for are not on the other side of the fence, a faraway country or the offerings of industry and commerce, they are found within.
If brushing your teeth with presence and regard to quality resulted in such a massive before and after for you Joseph I cannot but wonder how profound it would be if we all carried this principle into all that we do, say and feel and if the world around us as a whole would change accordingly.
There is potentially a depth of wisdom we can’t even fathom. Yet if we can’t stay connected to our conscious presence when doing such simple tasks (with our so called intelligence) then we may never know, and this seems to be the trick and point of us checking out in the first place.
Being consciously present when I clean my teeth is something that I have been much more aware of. Making the effort to really stop, making it a ritual, to really be with me. This is now a marker for myself each day to ensure that I start the day really with me before walking out the door.
We all want change . . . .”So many of us will walk the streets with placards, sign petitions and donate. But what would life be like if we simply dedicated ourselves to being present during the day?” . . . but how many of us are willing to actually make those changes? It can be as simple as what you have stated here Joseph. Great blog.
When we ignore our bodies, every little part of us we eventually get to feel the disregard that we have been choosing. At sometime or another our bodies starts to speak up loud and clear, we then have the choice to listen and act on this or ignore and carry on with blissful ignorance. We have the potential for being fully responsible for the quality of our bodies or the absolute opposite being totally irresponsible and expecting someone to fix us when we are not well.
“That the key to life lives in every small thing.” This is a profound wisdom. We so easily dismiss the small things as being unimportant, yet when added to the sum total every small thing mounts up to a whole lot!
I have noticed since I have been seeing my dentist the last several months, I have changed in how I brush my teeth. I brush with them with a quality of gentleness and conscious presence, this has really supported my teeth and my gums, my bleeding gums have stopped, my teeth and gums are healthier than ever, this has completely changed my own confidence.
‘So many of us will walk the streets with placards, sign petitions and donate. But what would life be like if we simply dedicated ourselves to being present during the day?’ – It is so true Joseph, we are great at placing our attention outside of us, anything that serves to distract us away from ourselves really. The difference it makes when we attend to ourselves before the outside world is like night and day.
“the ‘hidden consequence’ to my absent mindedness forming there behind my smile. Well what if there are similar unpleasant and unhealthy consequences happening everywhere in our lives?” This is such a great example that shows how things like this work, if we do things without presence it does have a result that is less than it could be when we would do it with all of ourselves. It is really great to consider.
It’s funny even though not really funny at all that we either need to be shocked into action or scared into action. We all know as you are saying Joseph that to have healthy and clean teeth we need to care for them but a lot of the time we will have the attitude of ‘not tonight’ or ‘I’ll floss later’ etc. Then we get to the dentist and wonder why things are like they are. The dentist asks you all the questions to which you answer yes to and then they show the results and you almost are shocked. What, I brush every night and day and floss how can this be? The care and the quality of that care is what this all comes down to, how do we see our teeth or do we even see them at all. Our bodies are magnificent in every way and mine keeps showing me that no matter what I do it cares beyond where I see.
This blog reminded me that I was recently listening to a audio recording of Serge Benhayon and in it he highlights the way in which we have developed an intelligence which pays absolute attention to the spelling of words and grammar in our writing, but ignores the known and obvious health risks of behaviour such as drinking alcohol, smoking and taking drugs. Why is it that we choose to not take care of ourselves despite the fact that simply bringing care and attention, as in this blog, our body responds readily and our health and wellbeing increases dramatically?
Tooth wisdom. Many people like to keep their own teeth but do not give them the time and space to truly take care of them in different aspects: the cleanng process,, the eating process, the delicate choice of food, the digestion process. Everything influences the teeth and their health. Our body is a whole and every aspect in it needs a tender caring.
I started flossing my teeth religiously every morning and evening around mid July this year. At first it was just a relief to finally be doing it as I have been aware for many years that it is a really important part of dental care and hygiene. But after a few weeks of consistent day in day out flossing a miracle started to happen. The consistency I was living with flossing was supporting me to be consistent in other areas of my life. I have been feeling a strength, steadiness, consistency and trust in my connection to myself – no longer do I abandon myself to so-called issues and dramas. Now I can clearly see I have none, so if something starts to surface I can clearly feel it is not part of this steadiness – that it does not belong and is not me. All this simply from being committed and consistent with flossing. Who knew!
I love the wisdom of the body. When I am connected to my body and listening to its many messages and feedback, there is an absolute wisdom that I connect to. A wisdom that goes beyond my lived experience in this life, confirming to me that we are not just here for one life and that we are infinitely connected to all that is.
I often think of your blog as I brush my teeth each night, it is a gorgeous reminder of how to appreciate the little routine things we do all the time which lay solid foundations for our day or night.
This is such a great insight into taking responsibility for our own health and wellbeing on the physical level but also the self reflections that are available to us every second of every day. The power of being present and with ourselves is more powerful than we care to imagine.
A simple thing that we do everyday, such as cleaning our teeth really is a great way of practising staying present with ourselves. I know from my own experience that when I do bring more attention to this daily task, how much it benefits me in so many ways. And if I can bring my full attention to something as simple as this, then I have to consider what else is possible!
In your sharing, Joseph, I like the attention to detail and how this attention to detail is a support for wellbeing. This is not only for our teeth, but for everything during the day.
Unless they have a problem, our teeth can be all to easy to ignore or over look, but what you’re presenting is that they are a entry way to deepening our relationship with ourselves.
Gorgeous reminder to come back to Joseph, of how the vital our relationship with our bodies are. As it is through this relationship that we are guided to know when we are moving in connection to our love within and when we are not. As it is from this connection to our bodies, through our movements, that we can magnify the presence of our Love through all aspects of our everyday living. This for me is a relationship definitely worth investing in.
A few years ago I committed to regular dental checkups. Previously it was something I left for a very long time or until it was absolutely necessary. My regular visits to the dentist are in the same category as life insurance for me – part of my self love and maintenance and are part of a very loving foundation from which I live.
Joseph this is a brilliant article, I love this ‘what would life be like if we simply dedicated ourselves to being present during the day?And if we find this is hard, isn’t that interesting and something to investigate?’ Since reading this article a while a go I have been taking more care and focussing more on brushing every tooth and staying present, I can feel how my mind often wonders off and so I am bringing it back when I realise, it does make me aware how many areas in my life this happens, great to have the awareness and to be working on this.
“It may sound crazy but what if we wash our hands, sit down in our seat, drive our car and have something to eat, all understanding that our every choice is transforming the world?” – If we can consider or accept that we are all making ripples in the world all of the time then this doesn’t sound so crazy! I’ve been to the dentist too recently and though my teeth were clean it turns out I’ve been brushing too hard which has made me really pay more attention to how I brush and work at being more present when I’m doing it!
It’s pretty amazing what we can do on autopilot without actually focusing or bringing our attention to our movements and the activity we’re doing. Tooth brushing is definitely one of those things in the day that can become such a tick box exercise that we forget whether or not we’ve done it! But as you’ve shared having conscious presence in moments like that can really transform our attitude towards the activity, and tooth brushing can become a highlight of the day (it’s true!) if we really appreciate what it does to support us.
Our bodies reveal so much to us all of the time and what a blessing that is. Can you imagine how far off the mark we would be as a society if our bodies did not pull us into line from time to time? The body just knows when things are getting out of control.
“For what if the beauty, the jewels, the joy, the gold, lives not over any steep incline or hill but right here, right now in the richness of our presence?” I love this question because it makes us stop and consider. So many of us run around as if there is something to be achieved when in fact our greatest growth and evolution lies in us just staying present in our own bodies.
To build a level of consistency in daily tasks such as cleaning our teeth requires an ongoing commitment to build conscious presence in all our daily movements.
Loved reading your blog Joseph and feeling inspired to keep choosing to be with my body and in my own presence too, this is me being a true super-power hero in this world, though nothing more than being with me! In recent times, I too have clocked where I don’t allow myself the time to properly clean my teeth and do so in a rush-job way; what I feel thereafter is not only the lack of presence but the disregard towards my body and equally the loving care that I deserve. My body is the beholder of much wisdom and when I take care of it in a way that supports me I am able to let my super-power out to be seen, by me and by the world too.
Life in general is so much better when we learn to be fully present with our body at all times. Even knowing this, I find that my mind still has a habit of checking out much of my time with me still needing to bring my awareness to the moment I am in now. Thank you for your reminder of the amazing difference it makes to be living in the present and the improvement of not only our tooth health but our body in general.
It is something we tend not to take notice of, but there is a very strong correlation between our movements and our thoughts, and for that matter movements we made earlier in the day and their affect on our mood later on. What I am getting at, is if you decide that the 5 minutes you spend brushing your teeth, or walking to the car to get to work, or for that matter driving to work is inconsequential to the overall quality of your life, then you are missing out on a profound realisation. Instead, we tend to focus on the big moments, and judge the quality of our lives by the number and intensity of these so called high points. We then rest in these as though by themselves they determine the overall quality of our life – when in fact the opposite is actually true. It is the quality we bring to the small mundane parts of our life that actually end up making who we are. It is the way you walk to the car, the way you brush your teeth – that actually affect our life way more than the so called big events we give so much credence to.
Thank you Joseph, I loved reading your sharing and yes I totally agree with you about the benefits of meeting life through being present in our bodies and not checked out in our heads, being present in our bodies allows to connect to something greater for the benefit of all.
Wow Joseph I am inspired to put more attention into many details in my life, so I am starting now by cleaning my teeth!
Starting with the basics when working on keeping present in what we do is the only way we can work towards mastering it. To be able to stay consciously present consistently in one thing is what builds the foundation for the next one and so on and so on.
We give ourselves and humanity a present when we choose to be consciously present.
This really makes Christmas look pretty cheap Jeanette, for our quality lived consciously just keeps on giving. Imagine 7 billion of us sharing this everyday – talk about being rich beyond your wildest dreams!
What a present for our planet!
Thank you for sharing this insight into attention to detail Joseph. Of late, my teeth have been asking for more attention and requiring more support from my dentist. I have been caring for my teeth quite well for a long time, however, I feel that there is a deeper level of care that is now required for my teeth and by extension, a greater attention to caring for the details in my life.
Attention to detail and staying present with ourselves is a simple commitment to make and yet expands our awareness enormously.
What a simply beautiful proposal, that we dedicate ourselves to be present during the day. And everything that we need to be and stay present is within, not without
It’s so simple when you put it that way Joseph, to be present in every task we do, and what a difference this will make to our wellbeing. It makes sense really, I know that I have gained the most satisfaction and most ease in my body from experiences where I have given my full attention, given my all to the task at hand. I always come out the other end of the experience feeling quite brilliant. It is then about living that more and more until it becomes almost the everything, and who knows what might be achieved or how good I could feel if this is my norm.
This is a lovely example of truly taking care of yourself, paying attention to all the details of your life. Thank you for sharing this story Joseph, there are many aspects of my life that I am working on taking this level of detail and attention with.
I recently had the most lovely experience at my new dentist she was so playful and lovely it was a joy to have my teeth cleaned !
This really highlights how we can run with this idea that we are ‘taking care of ourselves’ by simply ticking the box – brushing our teeth everyday, exercising, or eating healthy foods in our diet – and yet, none of the tickboxes cut it for the body, unless there is a deep level of quality and connection with ourselves in anything we choose to do.
We are very good at just assuming that our bodies will carry on taking care of us, working away quietly and beautifully doing what they do while we carry on with our lives in almost complete oblivion as to what is going on inside us. It is often not until something goes wrong, or we have an ache or pain that we are pulled up to stop and consider that perhaps we have a part to play in how our bodies respond to how we treat them. If we were to really consider this, then we would certailnly pay much more attention to how we live and what we are willing to accept and what we are not.
This is such a fantastic example of the way conscious presences works… all too easy is it to be doing something and then find yourself off on a tangent of thought wondering how you got there, which is twenty steps away from the original thought that you had and completely not at all in what we are doing. Once I started to put into practice Conscious Presences I realised it is something that is to be nurtured every second of every day, so starting with a daily routine like brushing our teeth is a great check in. The thing I got to understand is that if I am not choosing to be with me and feeling the Love that is available and to feel this deeply with in and in all that I do, then by not choosing to be present I am in effect choosing to have another energy enter and to take me away from such a precious connection with myself and God.
Amazing to stop and ponder, the ripples that reach out wide and far from our action, movements and thoughts…”If you stop for a minute and start to consider the actual effect we all have in this world – wow – it is so powerful.” My children and I were talking about energy recently and we were by some water, they were throwing stones in and we were watching the ripples, we talked about the action of throwing and that even if we do not throw a stone, if we do the same action the ripples are there to be felt. We talked about how people can get stuck on what they see and so not honour what they feel…all of life happens on an energetic level, but are we willing to go there and consider that to be a fact and how those energetic ripples continue to expand and impact on everyone.
Your blog really makes me think about what else lurks beneath the surface of my apparent health in all parts of my body and how it really is best to take loving care of ourselves before any signs of illness appear. To care for ourselves just for the sake of it and not just because we are forced to.
‘Serge had described how his daughter Natalie brushed her teeth ‘for humanity’.’ This is amazing and I had a true feeling of what this means when reading some news of the devastation and needless loss of life in Syria I instantly realized that I was in disregard of myself in being up when I felt tired later in the evening than normal and I felt that I was contributing to the harm in humanity. Having felt this I went straight into getting myself ready for bed understanding that I was doing this not just for me but for humanity.
“Isn’t it odd that we can be consistently told the best thing to take care of our body, but then go right out and do the opposite thing?” It’s amazing the arrogance with which we disregard our bodies. A friend of mine recently got cancer and was talking to his specialist who was telling him about the “3 month window”. This is the period of time in which a cancer sufferer might change their patterns of behaviour, but that, invariably if they hadn’t made any changes within those three months, they’d be back to whatever they were doing before the cancer was diagnosed. I find this amazing. Even when faced with a life-threatening illness we still drift back to our old ways after as little as three months. I am as guilty at this as anyone. Yup, I have made some amazing and life-changing changes to the way I live and the way I treat my body. But without question, there are still things that I am doing that I know have a negative impact. Only when we commit in full to absolute service will we rid ourselves of this irresponsibility.
Ditto Otto, I also have a way to go to be fully responsible in every area of my life. Like you I have come a long way from where I started thanks to the presentations by Serge Benhayon. When I have changed certain things in my life they have stuck but also others have crept in after 3 months. It is time for me to re-invent my wheels and keep on checking they are not running flat.
I love the simplicity of what you are sharing here Joseph, that we have so many opportunities each and every day to check in with where are we at with our bodies. Brushing our teeth is one such detail, in our very busy lives that can and does get overlooked as a mundane task, so very easy for us to start thinking of all the things we need to do that day, ultimately not being present. So it is a choice to be there with ourselves when we do these kinds of tasks, it builds up a resilience, an honouring and self love that is more supportive than we could ever imagine.
Eating is like reading a book, if you do not pay attention, you do not get anything out of it. This saying really hit home for me as to how important it is to be with yourself with everything that you do.
With support from Simple-Living Global and Universal Medicine I have made an intention to be with myself more. With commitment and patience, this practice of being with myself has brought less tension In my body and a greater sense of completeness at the end of my day.
It sounds so simple -to be with our bodies first in everything we do but it is surprisingly hard to be that present. We have been led by our minds for so long and indeed we have been educated and rewarded when we live in this way. It is no wonder many of us struggle to be led by our bodies rather than our minds. I commit myself to honouring the true connection to my body first, every day. I am far from perfect but I can feel how my connection to my body is growing and I am appreciating this.
Re-reading this blog gives me the opportunity to feel how much attention I pay to all these little examples, down to how I am sitting in the chair typing right now. It is so important to be present with everything we do, that quality of attention to the details is of paramount importance and can be felt from everyone. It is very exposing when it isn’t there, and very obvious when it is.
I agree Gill. Either we are there or we are not there, there is no in between and the question is if ‘we’ are not there, then what or who is in our place?
The majority of us think that drifting off into a daydream is harmless and entertains us when we are doing mundane tasks, however Joseph’s blog calls this into question and brings a whole new level of understanding and sense of responsibility to the quality of life we are living in every single moment, not just the ones we choose to turn up for (with our full presence).
“So many of us will walk the streets with placards, sign petitions and donate. But what would life be like if we simply dedicated ourselves to being present during the day?” And we are applauded for what we do and how many boxes we tick… but how are we doing the things we are getting accolades for? When we are present with what we are doing, we get to feel the ripple effects of that in what we are doing next.
In this day and age with technology and all, we seriously need to take steps away from being checked out, (which everyone seems to be more and more) and focus on the little and the big things with presence so we don’t get lost in a world of checked-outness leading down a path to dementia.
Teeth require attention to detail. As such they reflect to me how much I pay attention to detail over the day and as such bring a deeper love and care into my life.
By bringing our attention to the fine detail of daily rituals that tend to our body we also tend to our soul. I love how simple self care can also be evolutionary.
let’s face it… The average person’s ability to really focus, and to honour the absolute necessity of attention to detail is so poor, that it is surprising that any of us have teeth left.
I have been given some great advice, choose something to be present with and be committed to that moment in your day, be it brushing your teeth, washing up, putting your shoes on. That one commitment supports all of life, it brings new awareness and also allows us to feel when we are checked out and not present. Presence in life, is our natural way, I can feel that, now I am more with myself than not.
‘If you stop for a minute and start to consider the actual effect we all have in this world – wow – it is so powerful. ‘ – we sure are and the question that we all need to take responsibility for is are we using the power to harm or heal. Everything we do, say, think and move in is an energy and what is the quality that we bring to our day. It explains to me the re-alignment that mother earth has to go through considering how much harm is actually acted out and lived on a daily basis. Just like we get ill-ness and dis-ease to clear what we have chosen so to does mother earth need to clear from the choices we make. In this we can’t avoid the responsibility any longer. Every moment our choice matters.
This is a very inspiring blog showing how presence is both a powerful preventative and corrective medicine. I have never heard anyone say that gums can regrow but boy oh boy would I love that to happen in my mouth. I am going to follow your example and I’ll get back to you with the results.
We can commit to continuing our own self care on a daily basis when we know and can feel deeply how important that is. I used to start well, with great intentions, and then get flaky and not be bothered after a while, because I wasn’t feeling I was worth bothering about myself enough. But more recently, I know every little thing matters so this makes so much sense to work on our presence with everything Joseph.
Brushing your teeth is such an awesome moment to check in and to see how consciously present we are or not. If it is a struggle and our mind going off, or the simplicity of just enjoying the action and being with ourselves when you do this. A cycle that presents the truth, that we can’t avoid and each time we have the opportunity to go deeper in the process. Who would have thought that you could get so much out of your teeth other than shining pearlers!
Presence is such a divine medicine and more needed than 1000 good solutions for peace and our environment.
“For what if the beauty, the jewels, the joy, the gold, lives not over any steep incline or hill but right here, right now in the richness of our presence?”
Thank you Joseph for the beautiful reminder of the richness and impact, both to ourselves and others, of our presence in everything we do; which in turn is reflected in our teeth.
Beautiful to bring attention to this Joseph , and how amazing our return and restoration through the detail of love and self-care can be.
I love your example of starting with brushing your teeth, and keep coming back to yourself if your mind strayed, we almost need a little bell to ring to remind us every time our mind wanders off to come back to ourself.
I am understanding the responsibility to be as present as I can be in everything I do – I have also found it remarkable how much space opens up in my day when I am.
There is so much to be said for my teeth! When I stop to appreciate the support that they offer me, I am blown away by their constant activity, function, reliability and steadiness. And when I begin to appreciate my teeth, I cannot but appreciate all of me!
When you are connected and feeling yourself fully, it feels so gorgeous I agree Joseph, ‘If you consider the beautiful quality you can feel when you move in harmony and in tune with you, where you feel every cell and every molecule as you move, with your mind marveling at it all, it starts to make incredible sense that we ache and experience pain when we ‘do life’ distracted, half-hearted and on auto pilot.’
The simple act of presence and how this can transform our life. The question now is do we choose this or not? Simple but not always easy – I love how you have compared it to training a wayward dog, for it is often like that. I used to joke that I wish we could have a special e-collar that could buzz us if we got distracted and were not present with ourselves and lovingly so! But no, it is for us to catch ourselves as much as possible and as soon as possible and come back to the simplicity of being in the moment and lovingly so.
Thanks Joseph for confirming everything we do effects everybody else, thus the responsibility that goes with that awareness.
This makes sense, I am working to being more present with all I do, ‘we are naturally designed to be present in everything we do, and that living ‘absent mindedly’ is a large part of what is causing us to be so unwell.’
I like to say I will never brush my teeth again in the same light, since reading this blog yesterday I brushed my teeth three times and maybe they are the first three times I have ever been truly present in doing this daily task. So big thanks and hugs Joseph for also teaching me oral hygiene and an awesome tool for setting a level of being present in all things especially the ones that over the years have become so automatic.
Thank you Kev, its is very touching to know the blog has connected with beautiful warm hearted people all around the world, such as you.
That is so cool to have experienced this… That in just a month or so of making loving choices and really nurturing yourself in this way your body instantly started to heal itself and was coming back to its healthy normal state. Imagine if you did this daily for the rest of your life! How would our bodies be responding with that much Love and appreciation – it would be off the Richter scale!
It seems like there is this warp in time that happens when we get gently reminded how important self care is, we agree and nod and take it on board, but then as we walk out of the office, lo and behold, all our promises are forgotten and we leave self care behind in the clinic room! How crazy is this – we know what is needed and know what to do, yet it is like a veil that descends upon us, sand that is thrown in our eyes to make us dreary and tired and forget what was said! Is this black magic at play?
I feel it is an accumulation of choices to not make the loving choices that comes back to bite us in the bum!
So for each and every loving choice we make, this veil has all the more trouble descending upon us!
I love this Henrietta, it is like there is nothing new under the sun, our life is but a measure of our willingness to return to this simple truth again and again, without regret or remorse, and recover what we chose to forget.
So beautifully said Joseph! Thank you!
Joseph, this is a great question, ‘When you stand in front of the mirror, do you stay aware and enjoy being there with you? Do you feel each brush, each move?’ Since reading your article I have been much more aware of how I am when I brush my teeth and bringing more focus and presence to this, I am finding that I am actually now starting to enjoy brushing my teeth – it feels lovely to be taking care of them and having this focused moment, I can feel amazing it would be to bring this level of care and focus to every task.
Simply stupendous sharing Joseph, I have to ask myself how often I have been totally present when brushing my teeth or doing it with any sense of love for myself and the answer is almost never. It is one of those things that is like a habit and unless you consciously are aware of what you are doing it is something you do on automatic. What a great way to start the day, to consciously and lovingly brush the old teeth and set up a great foundation for the day ahead to be more present in every thing we do.
So tiny and yet so huge; the same task… but done with real care and love rather than as a perfunctory chore. This article and the comments that have followed presents tooth brushing as an amazing opportunity to establish connection, responsibility and awareness of the impact we have in the bigger picture. Thank you.
‘ “Do you brush inside and out every tooth?” “Do you methodically floss in between?” “Do you spend an equal time in every spot?” “Do you you always brush with care?” – to be honest I’ve never been asked or asked myself these questions and to come across them really makes me stop and consider the care i have for my teeth and am I in the moment when I brush them. It is great to sit with this and be honest that I can put a lot more care into the important things.
Thanks, Joseph. It is really cool when we are wiling to look at the ‘hidden consequences’ of our daily choices, rather than continue with behaviours which we know are not loving, like a naughty child thinking we are getting away with it because no-one notices. Every movement, word and thought has a ripple effect, and the sooner we all come to terms with this the better.
Such an awesome reminder of the attention we do or do not bring to the quality we are in in the way we do things and the effect this has over what manifests from there. Even as I type I am aware that how I have lived and how I press the keys as I type result from the quality I have chosen to be in and will ultimately influence how this comment is felt by those reading it and also the effect it will have. Our bodies are constantly communicating this to us for us to feel, only sometimes it needs to be pointed out to us.
To me we just start to see the tip of the iceberg with regards to what it will bring to us individually and to our societies as a whole when we would live more in the present with ourselves. What you shared Joseph, about the bacteria on your teeth, is showing us that the results can be amazing through being present with you when brushing your teeth. And in the same way, being conscious present in all that we are 24/7 and, in the awareness that all we do is either harming or healing to everyone of us, will in turn clear out every hidden pocket in our bodies and in our societies as well.
A wonderful example of being present with our bodies in everything we do. I love how the little things in life all add up to be the big things in the end. Ultimately, life is made up more of the everyday little activities and less so by the occasional big event.
Self-care, starting with tiny steps like stopping to give our full attention (and care) to cleaning our teeth, might sound less than life changing, but truth be known it is life changing.
Such a graphic example – bacteria bubbling all over and between the teeth, yuck, and then the next time hardly any bacteria. This shows so well what a powerful difference there is in the quality and outcome of any activity depending on whether we are fully present or not. Loads of bacteria or hardly any – can not ignore the difference – it’s huge.
You make a great point Joseph – if in this case you were surprised at the amount of bacteria growing on your teeth due to the disregard of not looking after them to the best of your ability, are there other areas of life where the same scenario is playing out but we are choosing not to see it?
“So many of us will walk the streets with placards, sign petitions and donate. But what would life be like if we simply dedicated ourselves to being present during the day?” When you put it like this it is easy to see how society no longer sees the power in its own way of being, how willing we are to uphold something outside of us like a good cause yet we don’t bring that same willingness to our way of being.
Thank you for highlighting the fact that we are all one, therefore everything we do affects everyone else; we hold a huge responsibility for humanity.
If brushing our teeth can expand our awareness of its effect on everything we do, what will happen when we change bigger things we do in disregard?
Since reading this blog I’ve been experimenting with being present while brushing my teeth. There’s a lot of joy in being with me while brushing my teeth. And the joy expands to other areas in my life. The feeling of being with my body while doing ‘anything’ is simply (!!) so lovely. It’s worth experimenting:-).
Understanding to more depth what I can support through a simple task like flossing, has brought more appreciation to what tenderness means and how every movement even as small as cleaning teeth can support everything else I do.
Ha ha, I love re-reading this blog – the image of the huge screen with the bacteria eating away at the teeth is so graphic and really hits home how important toothcare/self care is! Thank you Joseph once again for sharing your candid experience and how you were inspired to care more for yourself and then with the consistency you were able to really see the results and the benefits. Sadly, so many people in society these days get too impatient and want results instantly – they forget the consistency, the work and the commitment that is needed for something to be long-lasting. But for anyone of us who undertakes this commitment and consistency in any area of our lives, be it tooth cleaning, going to the gym or exercising, learning to express ourselves with honesty etc etc, the benefits and the changes are phenomenal to feel and one can then truly appreciate the time and dedication so much more.
Oh how simple life can be when we are super present with our bodies! I have thought it is too disciplined and perhaps a little boring but not compared to the deliciousness of feeling the beauty of me being with me.
The moment we can think that something, even if it is how we brush our teeth, does not really matter instantly reveals that we have disconnected from our body and our truth.
‘the simple fact that we are naturally designed to be present in everything we do, and that living ‘absent mindedly’ is a large part of what is causing us to be so unwell. ‘ So true Joseph bring it all back to the body.
Re-reading this it strikes me that those things that we take for granted are those which we give the least presence and just go through the motions without bringing the true quality that all of our movements and actions deserve.
Seemingly mundane tasks such as brushing our teeth are actually great opportunities to connect or reconnect as the case may be with ourselves.
‘So what would our day be like if we brought awareness of our super power ‘presence’ to each and every act?’ – I love this question Joseph, and I agree that it would be quite an experiment to try… Holding no action throughout the day as any less important or less ‘worthy’ of our superpower than the others; brushing our teeth or eating dinner being just the same as presenting to an audience or doing a large work project.
It is interesting how we can go to the dentist for years and receive all kinds of useful tips and advice but then slip back into our old ways of doing things, but then after reading this blog my teeth brushing has changed to being more present with each tooth and brushing for longer – I will be keen to see if my hygienist notices a difference, and also if this way of brushing continues.
“…everything we do has consequences that either harm or support ourselves, and if we are all connected to everyone else, then surely what we choose affects everyone and will help them to support themselves too?” I know this to be true, that everything we do has an affect on everyone and it can be either healing or harming. Therefore, when it comes to all the little things in life, like brushing our teeth, the question is then, are we healing or harming?
I love this sentence Joseph in a way it sums up life, we can choose to move in a way that is distracted half hearted and on auto pilot dismissing the wonders of the world, just functioning in life or we can be present with every movement we make whether it is brushing our teeth or driving to work and feel the harmony this brings “If you consider the beautiful quality you can feel when you move in harmony and in tune with you, where you feel every cell and every molecule as you move, with your mind marveling at it all, it starts to make incredible sense that we ache and experience pain when we ‘do life’ distracted, half-hearted and on auto pilot.”
I love this blog Joseph, thank you for sharing.
“For what if the beauty, the jewels, the joy, the gold, lives not over any steep incline or hill but right here, right now in the richness of our presence?” Beautiful reminder Joseph. Thank you. This is gold present as a gift to everyone who cares to live it.
The wisdom you show here Joseph exposes and reminds me in my absentmindedness to return to connect to me. Every time my dog comes up to me, it makes me giggle about your comment about a dog not daydreaming about what happened yesterday, and I see how present she is in each moment. Being with ourselves in every moment becomes easier the more we pay attention and become aware of it.
Brilliant question, very inspiring Joseph, I love it….’ Just how much wisdom does every part of us have to bring if we but choose to be present and appreciate our power?’ I feel so amazing, empowered after reading your blog. Also, when I brush my teeth I remember your blog, I reconnect back to being present and I also do this throughout my day, noticing when my mind wanders off, I simply bring myself back and connect to my body and to what I am doing. Amazingly simple but very powerful.
I love how you have taken this broader than dealing with a sense of personal self-worth and care Joseph. For when we truly get that – and as you’ve shared, we have innumerable opportunities to do so, every single day – we cannot but go beyond ‘the self’, and into the realisation that ‘my’ level of self-care is indeed felt by everyone around me (and more). What if, we brushed our teeth for all – cherishing the love and deep care that every single being deserves to be held in… Enormous food for pondering…
What a beautiful unveiling of the power of true presence, and its impact upon all. Thank-you Joseph Barker.
When something feels hard, it is definitely something to investigate and understand rather than to avoid. There are many such situations for me daily Joseph and being present and unattached no matter what the situations around are, is one of them. And what better opportunity than to practise this daily in the safety of our own homes at least twice a day in consistency? We are given all the chances to learn and develop everything that we require.
Could it be that livng absentmindly leads to dementia? How many of us live absentmindly in the day!
It is amazing in terms of inspiring responsibility to consider the impact of our actions on everyone around us. It is an endless ripple that is not stopped by walls, being inside a car or distance…
It does make incredible sense that body will ache, show tension and dis-ease when we are living against our natural design to live and move in harmony. So when we are half distracted or fully distracted, the body is not going to be emanating at its full capability; there will be a reduction and contraction and naturally the body will not feel great.
I have always been very good at brushing my teeth. I do a very thorough job, however since reading your blog Joseph I have brought more awareness to the task and realised I was brushing too hard. I now do it gently, with no hurry and have you to thank for that.
Joseph your blog and the attention and presence you now clean your teeth with, has changed my life! Big statement I know, but I tried it out, and just bringing my conscious presence to my teeth and brushing each tooth at a time while only thinking about brushing each tooth at a time, has helped me to stop and feel me and not get caught up in the next thing or the business of my day! I love it… it’s surrendering to such a simple act gives so much space for what is then needed after. It’s like a beautiful stop moment and appreciation of me, of my teeth and of everyone.
“This way of seeing us all as deeply interlinked gives a wider much greater understanding of our true effects, and to subjects like global warming” – what a ginormous perspective and responsibility you share Joseph, one thing/event cannot occur without another having an effect. So when i’m brushing my teeth, tapping away on the computer, thinking a thought, everything in the world is being affected. There are not many who could fathom the detail of this, or even want to know this fact, let alone live this inter-connected way.
“So what would our day be like if we brought awareness of our super power ‘presence’ to each and every act?” This way of living would truly change everything, the quality of our own lives and also the ripple effect it would have on every one of us. Imagine if we all lived in a way that did not impose on each other? Living with presence as our foundation, the whole of life flourishes in the space.
‘…this is the love we all deserve’. This is such an awesome article – it asks me to consider how in my everyday activities I can bring a love that yes, we all deserve.
‘If you stop for a minute and start to consider the actual effect we all have in this world – wow – it is so powerful.’ such an important point Joseph – we find it much easier to consider the consequences of our actions on ourselves but we also need to understand that they have an effect on everyone else too.
Beautiful Joseph, – every movement for Humanity, a grace filled, ever harmonious flow.
“You don’t see a dog considering what happened last week and what it fancies for tea tonight – it is right there with you, completely in the moment. So why is it we behave in different way?” Love this example with the dog Joseph, indeed how wayward do we have to be before we are humbled enough to see the universal intelligence lived by the animal kingdom?
Thank you Joseph you have inspired me to take more care while brushing my teeth. This also makes this activity a lot more enjoyable, I am finding fun in the process, really cool.
Thank you for this very powerful blog Joseph, knowing we are all here interconnected and every single movement we make affects everyone everywhere prompts me to take more responsibility for being consciously present every moment to the best of my ability.
To consider that whatever it is we do, no matter what, if we do it with all of who we are, that we are actually having an impact on humanity is quite astounding. But if we stop and really the feel the truth of this for ourselves, it doesn’t have to be a big deal, it just becomes what we do. It then becomes our normal becuase we have a responsibility to live in a way that does not impose on anyone, wherever they are in the world.
Reading your toothy wisdom Joseph it is clear that it is not so much what we do but the quality we are bringing to what we do. Love, care, attention and detail. Love it.
I work with older people experiencing pain every day and am feeling that this may be exacerbated because they are not consciously present in their bodies. In fact all the ” solutions” for pain are designed to avoid feeling the pain and what is exactly going on in their bodies. This is worth pondering, Joseph.
Hello Joseph and so it goes on, this blog just keeps on giving everyday. The whole quality I brush my teeth with as changed. My mouth feels cleaner and clearer and now I have some swelling coming and going. Do I regret I read this blog? No, but do I think it played a part? Yes. This is how things work with energy and it wakes an awareness in you you may not have seen before. I didn’t see this and now there is more and more awareness to how I care for this part which then supports the rest, thank you Joseph.
’Isn’t it odd that we can be consistently told the best thing to take care of our body, but then go right out and do the opposite thing?’ – Indeed Joseph, this fact has had me puzzled many times – the autopilot that we allow to run us is programmed to make disregarding choices.
It’s amazing that even when sweets and sugar don’t play a huge (or any) part in our diet as you’ve shared Joseph there can still be such a build up of plaque on our teeth! It goes to show that cutting things out of our lifestyle can still not be truly caring if we don’t then actively choose to look after ourselves too.
This is gold Joseph, I can feel the level of presence and quality that you have chosen to write this blog with and it is deeply inspiring. Your blog has offered me a stop moment to consider how a simple task such as brushing our teeth can bring us greater awareness, wisdom and lead to healthier teeth and gums. After reading this blog I can feel my teeth brushing will never be the same again – presenting an opportunity to not only support me but the flow on effect this level of presence has on everyone and everything around us.
I agree, Joseph, being present during the day brings another flow into the day and there is a power felt which succeed any attempt to change anything big or small in this world.
This is a great example Joseph of self care and what we are truly capable of in terms of healing. My experience with flossing has gone way beyond cleaning teeth to a beautiful massage of gums and preparing for a great quality of sleep.
What great insights you share and imagine if every child in the world was brought up and educated from someone like Joseph that his lived experience and how nurturing, cleaning and looking after our teeth is very very important. For it not to be presented as a drag and something you ‘have to do’ – to turn it round to a awesome opportunity to deepen our relationship with ourselves.
Detail, detail, nothing can be hidden in the world of energy.
Teeth, feet, hair, skin, nails…. there are so many parts of us that need attention and care, and it’s so easy to overlook this. Taking an interest in how we can care for ourselves, even with these simple outer things, can lead to a greater care of our whole being.
In the moments when we are connected to ourselves we are connected to the rest of life, in the moments when we are disconnected from ourselves we are disconnected from the rest of life.
I used to be a clean my teeth rusher, and was quite slack in that area, not even flossing because it took too long. Now I love spending the time to really get in between my teeth with the floss and I even used the interdentals too, as it feels much more complete when I do that and clean after.
A beautiful blog offering so much wisdom and grace about our presence and the true glory of being with ourselves in all we do and are and the real impact of this on society and humanity. The huge love for humanity by Serge Benhayon and his family is inspirational and a beautiful reflection for all with an integrity way beyond what is offered anywhere else. The awareness of brushing our teeth and the care taken as you share here is so simple and powerful as is the effect of this on everything.
Being fully present offers others the reflection that we are grander than our single body and that our particles are that which belong to the universe. Presence offers the power in which God shines through us.
What a great way to get us to see underneath what is happening on a deeper level by magnifying the picture of the inside of your mouth Joseph. What if there was a way of showing our commitment to staying with our connection to our energy in the day in the same way, by a measurement too? It would highlight it, but we can all feel how much we drift off and how much we stay with ourselves in the day. When we bring our focus to it, it helps enormously.
I have been looking at living with more presence in my everyday, I am feeling inspired, this article is light, playful and purposeful “So many of us will walk the streets with placards, sign petitions and donate. But what would life be like if we simply dedicated ourselves to being present during the day?” We are in a 24hr cycle, a day, a great way to assess where we are at is to feel how often we drift off, check out within that 24hrs. And appreciate when we are with it and also when we become aware that we drifted. Something I will review today – Thank you.
Teeth brushing, cleaning, writing, talking, dressing…any activity can involve being in our body, or in our head, This is a great description: “This needed to happen a lot! Like a wayward dog on a leash I found I often needed to call my mind back.” I have found Esoteric Yoga, very supportive for assessing where we are with our body and head. Stillness is felt and it exposes the wayward head…
After reading this and observing how present I can be whilst brushing my teeth it is very revealing how easy it is to wander off in my mind (sometimes even thinking of this blog), and having to gently bring myself back. If, like you say, being away in our heads whilst going about our day can contribute to our health and energy levels, then surely this is worth studying.
Why is it that we are so consistently good at repeating things that are bad for us, but we find it difficult to consistently do things that are good for us, even when we are given the best advice or support? There must be something else going on in the background here in human life that we are not yet fully aware of, for otherwise it makes no sense at all.
Doing life in autopilot robs us and everyone else of the magic in every moment. When we are present and bring quality to even the minutest movement, heaven sings with joy because another son of God is back in harmony with the all.
“So many of us will walk the streets with placards, sign petitions and donate. But what would life be like if we simply dedicated ourselves to being present during the day?” Great question Joseph, because there is a world of difference in the two activities. The choice to create a deeply caring lived quality through the discipline of staying present with ourselves is a quality that people can palpably feel and engage with, a quality that is in fact totally opposite to the quality of energy present when we take to the streets to protest. One holds, honours, appreciates and enhances us, all of us, the other I feel is sometimes an escape from all we feel frustrated about but fail to personally address.
“The quality we act in is directly and absolutely linked to the life we get to live.” Such a great line, we are forever a product of our choices, this is across all aspects of our lives. We want to run away from this as much as possible, but it is for us to take responsibility for what is happening for us, observe it, understand it and therefore, we can change it.
What an enormous subject you have touched on Joseph. We have been told for many years that all are connected, that we affect each other in everything we do. To change the world we need to change ourselves first!
This is a very inspiring article, I love how it starts with the detail of a tooth and expands to the detail in the stars in the sky, well not literally but you take the reader on a journey from micro to macrocosm. I can’t wait to brush my teeth this morning, I am actually looking forward it, plus I am blessing the whole world if I connect while I am doing it!
Awesome quote….”And consider for a moment the yucky bacteria I saw on the big screen – the ‘hidden consequence’ to my absent mindedness forming there behind my smile.” What we can’t see….so much is happening in our bodies every day, do we know the consequences of all the choices we make in terms of stress, food, energy, moods, emotions…longer term issues build up through us thinking if we can’t see it we are okay. This article is a great example of this and that we are not the only ones impacted by our choices. Something to ponder on and expand into everyday life.
The comment ‘Natalie brushes her teeth for humanity’ can sound ridiculous, far fetched, or simply true. In that moment when we are present as is Natalie, i immediately feel her love for humanity and i feel my love for humanity as we are all connected and awareness makes that very clear.
Absolutely Karoline, isn’t the fact that this phrase sounds funny showing us something too? For how is it we can move about thinking we are isolated, separated and safe somehow when we know scientifically everything in you and me is energy? This delusion is the real thing we should ridicule.
This is a superb blog Joseph, and i can feel that you have been completely aware as you typed every word. I can feel it because i am inspired to be aware every moment and can feel how awareness allows our presence to be and our presence is a fullness of our inner wealth which becomes activated. Thanks for the reminder of bringing awareness to detail, every aspect of life.
I have made commitment to not rush cleaning my teeth, I noticed it was one place where I would not give myself full, complete attention, presence and care, and I thought, if there is this example I am sure being committed with it will support other areas of my life. And it does, offering me the space to clean with care, making it about completing in conscious presence and not rushing off has supported other activities I undertaking, they are occurring with more awareness and care.
The are so many questions you present here Joseph that are so worth considering… for example – “…the ‘hidden consequence’ to my absent mindedness forming there behind my smile. Well what if there are similar unpleasant and unhealthy consequences happening everywhere in our lives?” This really paints the bigger picture – the ripple effect. Its not just the consequences within our bodies but the whole of our lives – every single person we meet will be affected in some way by how we are with ourselves, and that will impact the people they meet, and so on. This certainly brings responsibility to the fore!
Indeed Joseph “…what would life be like if we simply dedicated ourselves to being present during the day?” It would be a very, very different world we live in!
I used to think that being present was like one more thing I had to ‘do’ that I did not have time for. I now realise that being present actually makes space for everything, free from the chaos and jumble of racy-ness and distraction.
What a great blog Joseph, it is revealing a lot of our ways to not live the fullness of who we are. The conscious presence is a big thing, knowing that we are here, as a part of everything. Brings a new level of responsibility to life. And how we are in it.
After reading your blog last night I was so much more aware when i brushed my teeth – although not able to be present thought out the time, I was more aware and more caring in the way I brushed rather than a cursory scrub.
‘If you consider the beautiful quality you can feel when you move in harmony and in tune with you, where you feel every cell and every molecule as you move, with your mind marveling at it all, it starts to make incredible sense that we ache and experience pain when we ‘do life’ distracted, half-hearted and on auto pilot.’ This is so true – and, like you, I am becoming more and more aware of how I have lived most of my life in a distracted way, so now I am focusing on each movement, bringing in total presence more and more so eventually the dots will join up and I am fully present in all that I do, 24/7.
“You don’t see a dog considering what happened last week and what it fancies for tea tonight – it is right there with you, completely in the moment. So why is it we behave in different way?” This is such a great question. We take pride in our ability to randomly choose subjects to focus on. Yet when we drift off to thoughts that are nothing to do with what we are engaged in, we cannot be fully present with the task at hand.
I find when this happens things take far longer, more mistakes are made and there is a sense of anxiousness as I know things are not all they could be. In contrast being completely present in the moment, with my thoughts and actions fully aligned brings an unmistakable depth, quality and a sense of completeness . This is well worth developing.
I have a dentist appointment next Monday and this article presents a deeper awareness not only on healthy tooth care but overall healthy lifestyle choices
“For what if the beauty, the jewels, the joy, the gold, lives not over any steep incline or hill but right here, right now in the richness of our presence?” What if indeed? For a start, we would not have so many exhausted people in the world looking outside of themselves for answers and we would not have the deep unsettlement that most people live in today, an unsettlement that is causing disease and illness.
“Like a wayward dog on a leash I found I often needed to call my mind back.” Up until meeting Serge Benhayon and studying Universal Medicine, my mind wasn’t even on a leash. As a consequence of his teachings, I have realised the immense importance of uniting my mind and body and keeping my awareness in one place. After all if I am not at home in my body 100% of the time, then who is running the show when I decide to abdicate responsibility?
‘For what if the beauty, the jewels, the joy, the gold, lives not over any steep incline or hill but right here, right now in the richness of our presence?’… and in brushing our teeth 🙂
‘Isn’t it odd that we can be consistently told the best thing to take care of our body, but then go right out and do the opposite thing?’ I know from talking to a member of my family that this is absolutely true even when the situation is critical. We can be advised by a medical professional that the cause of a particular health problem is down to a choice that we make to carry out a certain activity and that stopping this will prevent more serious consequences and facilitate recovery from current symptoms. Most of the time at the second visit to the health professional the patient has not made a different choice despite having been made aware that they are the cause of their own suffering. Crazy. We much prefer the idea that someone else will just fix things for us rather be responsible for our own wellbeing and quality of life.
That’s a great blog, so much for us to take into our lives in a practical way. To be able to see the before and after effects would have been so confirming. I will never brush my teeth the same way again!
“Wow what if the reality is that I am not truly present in much of the day? ” Joseph I am now clearer in understanding that being present is the true meaning of responsibility, that we are here to live moment by moment that supports humanity. Easier said than done but your blog has bought me one step closer to the responsibility and the ripple effect in being the reflection for humanity.
My care and nurturing of my teeth like you said Joseph went out the window once I left home, only when I visited mum or dad did they remind me they needed to be looked after. When I was that young I can’t remember being shown how to really care for my teeth. Since understanding that every part of my body is important thanks to the the work presented by Serge Benhayon I can see it is worth looking after my teeth so started a 6 months cycle of check ups and hygiene clean – now I know how to actually clean my teeth properly. Like all things it is always down to us whether we put it into practice or not.
‘When I start to brush, a few seconds later I often find my mind elsewhere.’ I regularly catch my mind off on its own accord on autopilot and even at times when I bring focus to being present in and feeling my body, my mind can still wonder without me noticing it has happened. In truth I know this is a choice I am making not to stay with what I can feel in my body and to go to a familiar escape of my mind. This blog is inspiring to continually commit to being present in our bodies and not away with our minds.
Something as simple as the caring action of brushing ones teeth, washing your face, perhaps lighting a candle or moisturising your hands, can be rushed, left out of the routine or done half heartedly wishing you where already on to the next thing – and yet as your story shows, careful consideration and presence with your actions makes an amazing impact.
“You don’t see a dog considering what happened last week and what it fancies for tea tonight – it is right there with you, completely in the moment. So why is it we behave in different way?” A great question Joseph, how is it possible for us to wander away from our bodies and daydream about other things when the most natural thing to do is simply stay present with ourselves. Disciplining my mind to stay connected to my body is the biggest challenge I have ever encountered, something that is so simple that my dog does it all day long, feels to me at times an absolute impossibility!
If we are willing to bring our full attention to just one small area of our bodies, this has the potential to change so much more than we could ever imagine. By bringing consistancy to one thing that we do every day, we start to build consistancy in other areas of our lives without even realising it, and the results can be profound.
After only a few days of extra care, I see a different glow when I look in the mirror. I’m surprised of the effect (power) of starting to build a relationship with my teeth. How gracious is life and how much influence I have. By choice… And as many have written here, as this is the case with my teeth, I’ve got it everywhere and how important it is then to be with me (as much as I can) at any give moment and place. Could this be the one and only true responsibility we hold in life? And if so, how much time do we choose to give us the loving attention we deserve?
I love your description, “Like a wayward dog on a leash I found I often needed to call my mind back.”
What I have observed from my dog when wayward is that she makes a choice to be so. When my mind is wayward, I have noticed that it is as if I am arrogantly choosing waywardness over presence. As you share, there needs to be a loving commitment (with no expectation of perfection) to constantly bring oneself back to the present moment.
‘When I start to brush, a few seconds later I often find my mind elsewhere.’ – The incessant chatter of the mind can be quite forceful and at first not so easy to let go of – it takes consistency in the way we honour ourselves and our bodies in every moment. Just like you, I am experiencing that presence needs to be developed and re-learnt even though it is our natural way of being.
Oops, a very revealing blog, not enough consistent conscious presence when cleaning my teeth either. It is such a great reflection how we don’t hold ourselves in each moment.
What is touching me is that you found a dentist who takes so much care of your teeth and finds ways to show you the level of care you take for them yourself. It is a loving way to show and reflect to each other the depth of care and love we have for ourselves.
Reading your comment Jane, I realise I see a lot of people around me do things without care and often I react. But, we can simply remind them without judgment or imposing of the difference in quality when we do things, move in a way and express with the quality of being present. I guess the best example is to live this myself and this will naturally inspire others too.
Thank you Joseph, since reading your blog the first time, I have since noticed how much more I am aware to choose to be in conscious presence when I am brushing my teeth, working, walking and in my daily tasks. It is a beautiful reminder that how we are with ourselves is hugely important because it affects how we feel, our wellbeing and how we relate to others. Choosing to be fully present in our daily life actually brings much appreciation and joy, so simple things like brushing our teeth, sweeping the floor, washing our hands etc. done with conscious presence can feel joyful. Amazing really how simple this can be.
“Just how much wisdom does every part of us have to bring if we but choose to be present and appreciate our power” – this is such a beautiful, and powerful reminder – as I am finding it very hard to be consciously present at the moment as I seem to be getting bombarded by a barrage of thoughts and typically ending up with one that is angry and resentful. As you say, it is my choice – not only so that it would make me feel better, but there’s much more at play which, with awareness, becomes our responsibility to claim.
This blog has supported me to at least look at the care I am taking with my teeth. It has gone from brushing to flossing and now to how I use them. A complete clean out has been happening in my mouth. Like any relationship there is a need for it to constantly deepen and adjust at every point. My mouth has changed and it all simply started by reading this blog and then reflecting on how I take care of my teeth. Thank you Joseph.
Today I was back at work after a long break. I could feel myself getting drawn into anxiety because we were given lots of information and lots of deadlines to meet in order to be ready for when students arrive on Wednesday. I usually come home from these days feeling exhausted as if I’ve done two days work; the actual one plus the extra hours I’ve spent worrying in my head. Today I kept choosing to bring myself back into the present, pay attention to what was being said and not start anticipating how I was going to fit it all in. I have come home feeling great. There is a lot to be said for staying present and my body loves it too.
I almost could write a diary about my experiences with my teeth since reading this blog. My teeth respond so differently when I’m with my teeth as I’m brushing. I’m laughing myself as I’m writing this, but the truth is that my teeth feel so clean, light and even joyful after I brushed them with care. No effort needed, just loving attention and willing to connect to my teeth.
And I’ve also found that I’ve become very aware of my level of vitality when I’m brushing my teeth. Often at night, just before going to bed, I can feel exhausted and have to truly get myself to bring the same level of care when I brush my teeth.
This is such a simple lesson in how to begin to stay present, by focusing on how we clean each tooth in our mouth and how by practising this day in, day out, it can unfold into everything we do. Taking our focus to other seemingly insignificant chores is a powerful way to build our stamina so that staying with the big things in life gets much easier.
The understanding that we are all inter-connected and that every action we make has an impact upon everyone else can seem too overwhelming to comprehend. However, through your simple example of your teeth and how when you expand upon, “The quality we act in is directly and absolutely linked to the life we get to live,” makes it comprehensible.
When I find myself checking out or day dreaming I now stop and ask myself what was I escaping from or not wanting to feel?
God is in the detail, every aspect of our lives is so important, we must treat it all with the utmost love and care, whether its the teeth or the toes, each part of our body is precious as its what we do everything with.
love the blog and love the title, its inspired me to bring even more love to my daily brushing routine! its amazing how much a choice like this supports every other choice we make in a day.
Joseph, you asked the question ‘So what would our day be like if we brought awareness of our super power ‘presence’ to each and every act?’ and my response is that there would be love in every-thing.
I love the way you describe the mind as a dog on a leash. I know that I often let the dog get so far away I find it very difficult to call it back. The more I practice conscious presence the easier it becomes.
I love what you have shared here Joseph, that there is so much more to brushing our teeth, that in developing a consistency here of presence, we can equally be brushing teeth for humanity…..this is a grand concept, but I understand also the concept. That we are all linked and have the ability to impact everyone, no matter where we are and being present with ourselves is the best way to connect with the all.
Reading this does make you wonder why we are told what is good for our health and body, especially as there is a lot of common sense advice out there, and yet we still go back to our unloving ways and fall back into our old patterns of disregard. The teeth and how we care for them is a great example – personally speaking I have had years of dentists and hygienists advise me and yet I fall back into my old ways of neglect, rushing while brushing, being absent and thinking of other things, only looking after my teeth more when I know they are going to be scrutinised by the dentist. Even though my level of functional care has improved drastically (I actually go to the dentist every six months now), as this blog presents there is always more.
I love the big screen viewing the dental disaster! Sometimes we need things to be right in our face before we actually listen to what is actually going on! Awesome blog here, Joseph! Thank you!
‘You don’t see a dog considering what happened last week and what it fancies for tea tonight – it is right there with you, completely in the moment’ one of my favourite lines in the blog, so simple and so true. To be met by someone who holds you in such complete presence and absolute love is amazing – you are left feeling absolute, complete and whole in yourself – because all they are doing is confirming you – not needing anything – Serge Benhayon springs to mind on this one.
Taking full responsibility for our own bodies is so important and reading this makes me aware of how much we often defer that responsibility to medical professionals as they ‘know best’. We all know our own bodies better than anyone else so doing this reveals just how disconnected we have been willing to become.
“Isn’t it odd that we can be consistently told the best thing to take care of our body, but then go right out and do the opposite thing?” why is it that we do this? Does this not show us we know exactly what to do and who we are – yet there is another energy running the show and all through our bodies, when we say yes to it and not yes to love.
“Do you spend an equal time in every spot?” I love this – a reflection on life – do we spend equal time, care and quality on every area of our life – or do we bypass some areas? Life become oh so much more simple and joyful to boot when we do.
Wow after you read this blog Joseph you can’t really ignore what there is for us to be responsible for in life. That it is not just the things around you but it actually means having this focused relationship with ourselves. Tooth maintenance is one but as you say it is everything that we do, continuous in our day and what we are doing. Not forgetting about ourselves and just being ourselves in the process.
So powerful, and so true. When we walk out of the dentist we feel great relief and forget all their advice, just happy to be out. There is great power in conscious presence and so much more of life to be lived and shared.
What I am discovering and what you have highlighted here Joseph is that the little details matter. If we can start to clock all of those moments when we check out, when we are on autopilot and commit to changing these to moments of presence, we can change our bodies, we can change how we feel, we can change our lives and can I go as far to say that we can change the world. And it can all start with how we brush our teeth.
I am appreciating the support of my teeth Joseph so much more since reading your blog Joseph. How integral are they to my daily life – speaking, eating, swallowing, smiling and so much more… thank you!
Love this bernadetteglass – I felt like I was able to connect to my teeth in a whole new way when I read your comment. They really do deserve my loving care.
I love that there is such a deep wisdom in every aspect of our bodies, if only we pause to take notice of the wisdom that is being shared.
Hello Joseph, indirectly this blog has supported me to floss differently. I was a quick and often hard flosser. Get the floss in and get the food out. I was watching my dentist floss my teeth the other day and noticed how much care and detail he put into doing it. I smiled and realised he was taking better care of me than I was, so time to turn up the floss care volume. I’ve noticed from this the whole house has now changed in the simple art of flossing. It’s great to see the little flow on effects of how us changing something then changes others. I didn’t speak about it, I just took the extra or deeper care myself and then by magic others around me chose the same. There is a key message in that for all of us, thank you.
Having re read this fabulous blog it feels pretty amazing to be bringing more attention to the mouth. It has become a science that is alive to me now that my awareness has been heightened. We barely think about the action of eating and chewing and swallowing and cleaning it, let alone what we put into it, or for that matter what comes out of it. How we speak and what we say for instance. Yet it has such a primary and pivotal role in our expression and nourishment.
How I care for it is therefore paramount. If I am careless with what I eat and with the hygiene of my mouth, what is the quality of what comes out of it when I express?
Funny Joseph and an awesome bringing of the big picture into our practical everyday moments, if we brought this level of presence and awareness of our responsibility and our part we play in the Universe, then life would take on a greater dimension and quality and joy, living for the all. What greater way to live?
Once we start to develop a sense of presence and experience its effects on ourselves it dawns that there is much more to it, that a power is activated that goes beyond the simple activity itself. The mind may not grasp it in the beginning but it can be felt and observed in the relationship with oneself and also in the response of others to our presence. And then more and more we realize how we affect everything with everything that we do, ie.the quality or presence we live by.
It’s crazy really how we think that we can get away with ignoring the finer details of looking after ourselves, but the impact of this will eventually have an impact on the rest of the body. A great example on how if we take care of the parts equally, the whole will benefit.
. . .“living ‘absent mindedly’ is a large part of what is causing us to be so unwell. “
This makes perfect sense to me. Starting with conscious presence with teeth cleaning has been a little program I have had myself on for some years now. A few months ago I reflected how much has changed in my teeth cleaning ritual. Little by little with a gentleness to return to the task at hand I have evolved from a multi tasking house walker while brushing to creating a seat in the bathroom and sitting for the ritual. Thanks for the invitation to explore even deeper what may be next.
Yes I found too that brushing your teeth is the ultimate moment to think about anything but brushing your teeth. I noticed how I at times am brushing my teeth consciously and then suddenly a minute later find myself going over the same spot again thinking about my day and other things. I could be in the illusion I brushed well, 3 minutes but may have been brushing 2 minutes on one side and the other minute on the rest! Feeling how all our loving, caring acts will support others to also act with this loving care is the ultimate motivation, thank you for sharing Joseph.
I have been reminded of this blog every time I have brushed my teeth since reading it and it has supported me to be more consistent in this area. However I have been having problems with dry eyes and an infection so am now on a regime of hot compresses and cleaning which is revealing another pocket of disregard that needs attention and bringing presence to this supports me to care more deeply for myself and not resent another thing to add to my morning and evening routine which is how I would have viewed it in the past.
Thank you Joseph for a really great sharing, reminding me of the importance of staying present while cleaning my teeth, I feel that my teeth will respond to the loving care I choose to give them. The words ‘doing it for humanity ‘ accentuates the importance of every move we make in the healing or harming for humanity.
Oh my goodness Joseph – whoever would have imagined that so much wisdom would come to light after a trip to the dentist. Super amazing blog which really made me sit up and listen closely for much of what you have shared has given me a bit of a much needed shake up.
Bringing a thorough approach to our lives that is impulsed from nurturing ourselves and all that we do is something that I am really starting to see how much scope there is in it. The depth to the quality in what we live is as infinite as the Universe.
Joseph – what you have brought to the world with this blog is so gigantic. With immense appreciation. Keep those teeth clean – ‘cos the world needs this wisdom.
“This experience got me to thinking that if being present and aware with my tooth brushing was this powerful, how could this apply to the rest of life?” So true, applying presence to exactly how it is you move when you do things – a quality to your actions. How the world would change and everybody would benefit by the impress of quality scientifically proven by Joseph. “If you consider the beautiful quality you can feel when you move in harmony and in tune with you, where you feel every cell and every molecule as you move, with your mind marvelling at it all, it starts to make incredible sense that we ache and experience pain when we ‘do life’ distracted, half-hearted and on auto pilot.”
Reading your story Joseph is like the start of a gruesome film. I had to come back and read it again. I certainly do not want what you have portrayed to be my story too. Why I have come back was to say I now regularly floss – this I started about a month ago after visiting my dentist. I thought it was a difficult task but it prevents a lot of bacteria and possible cavities forming. It takes me less than a minute and I am done. I also wanted to say I too now am focusing on each tooth I brush inside and out since reading your story. it has only a couple of days since I read your blog and It is a 100 x difference to way I brush AND supporting me to live with more of my quality – “That the key to life lives in every small thing.” Thank you Joseph superb blog.
Perhaps that is why the teeth right at the back of our mouth are called wisdom teeth. Because you need full presence and commitment to keep those ones clean and it is through that commitment and presence that you will discover your true wisdom.
I love the simplicity of this statement – ‘That the key to life lives in every small thing’ – and the smaller the thing we bring our presence to means the greater the love that emanates from it.
How often do we go for the ‘quick scrub’ while our minds are on other things. It is so typical, that ‘just gotta get this done’ attitude because we have something that seems far more pressing and important than really taking a moment to properly care for ourselves. That fact that within a few months, just by choosing to really take time to clean your teeth properly the health of your gums has completely transformed, a condition that is often considered irreversable, is a huge testimony to the overall shift in health we can achieve for our entire bodies once we have made that decision to truly care for ourselves.
It always feels quite exposing when we have to open our mouths for the dentist to have a look and in that moment all our ill choices and neglect are there to be seen, and deep down we know whether we have done everything we could to look after our teeth to the best of our ability. Thank you Joseph for giving us the inspiration to take a look at our relationship with our teeth and the level of presence whilst brushing.
The devil is not in the detail when our minds drift during these small moments. But it is an energy that does try to pull us further away from who we are. When these cracks appear and the energy creeps in we come back with those hallway moments of “ what was I doing, or where was I going?” These are good markers that we have momentarily slipped.
This blog has stayed with me since reading it and every time I brush my teeth I’m more aware of where my mind is! The true power of sharing our experiences and the wisdom we have gained.
Joseph I love your honest blog – for me it is an invitation to keep coming back to my body and to be present as it seems to be the best medicine ever.
The power of presence, I am not sure you could have presented a more powerful example. Thank’s Joseph, I think it’s time to look at my Teeth.
When I make what I am doing, about the bigger picture, true quality, and my place within it, my body is so alive and naturally gets pulled to make truly loving choices that are for all, as that innate knowing, tells us without doubt, we are all connected and affected by everything.
What you show so beautifully Joseph is that there are consequences if we over look the simple, and what can often be seen as mundane things in life, if we brush aside how we clean our teeth, what else do we brush aside or over look as we go about our day.
“You don’t see a dog considering what happened last week and what it fancies for tea tonight”. Sounds funny but so true. One of the obvious things when we go into auto-pilot and start thinking of what has happened or what could happen etc., is we then spend overtime looking for something we have mislaid all because we weren’t present in what we were doing this can then bring us into a state of anxiousness and stress leading to frustration and tension within our bodies, which is of course going to have an effect on those about us and that is only one example of how being on auto-pilot simply doesn’t work, consider all the accidents that could be prevented too. The beauty by remaining with yourself in what you are doing is the glorious stillness felt within your body which brings awareness to feeling the connection and harmony within yourself and with everything and that’s gold.
Thank you Joseph, you bring so much for us to contemplate, to see how we can effect enormous change by simply choosing to stay present, take care and respond to every moment of our lives. It is a very powerful lesson to come face to face with our disregard as you did when you were shown the hidden contours of your mouth. It is a profound example of how this disregard can build in other areas of our bodies that then manifests as cancer or heart failure. Years and years of constant neglect that suddenly seems to burst out of no-where, a consequence of not bothering to truly look after our selves. Learning to stay present, to take that extra bit of care, to keep coming back to the quality of my movement is a constant challenge for me, for I too have a mind that revels in wandering off the track and thinking about all sorts of other things other than what I am doing. But day by day, by bringing my focus back, I too have been astounded by the change in my health and well-being and fully appreciate all the wisdom shared by Serge Benhayon that consistently empowers me to be connected to and body-full in all I do.
The more I connect with the fact that everything I do is for humanity and not just for me, the more my awareness opens up and I am shown the responsibility that is there with every word, with every action, with every movement. When I keep things about me, it feels very individual and limited. When it becomes about the all, it feels purposeful and expansive.
Oh Joseph doing one thing while thinking of something else definitely leaves us with a lack of presence and neither is complete, I have to ask myself why would I do that? Why would I think of that email, or that conversation? Could it be that I was not present with the conversation at the time, there was more to express but I left it incomplete. I realize now my life is full of these incomplete interactions that I keep going over in my mind and leaving me not completely present with the next one.
I love how this blog of Joseph’s takes you gently by the hand and walks you through the steps of evolution. Conscious presence and connection to the physical body with loving commitment, this is the way to bring heaven on earth.
I am inspired by your teeth experience…I am just about to prepare for bed and will shortly be teeth cleaning. Inspired by your words I intend to be super present as I brush them!
“So what would our day be like if we brought awareness of our super power ‘presence’ to each and every act?” – great question! And what happens when we switch ‘off’ so to speak…
“Like a wayward dog on a leash I found I often needed to call my mind back. But over time I have developed a rhythm where it stands out if I’m not there doing the action with all of me.” I love the inspiration you are offering in this blog Joseph. Not only did you identify that you hadn’t been present with yourself but you committed to doing so.. with amazing results.
How gorgeous to feel how my teeth actually looking forward now to be brushed and taking care of. Just as the rest of my body, my teeth love the attention and dedication to them, the appreciation that they too do matter. That they are an important part of the whole. Wow. This piece of writing contains more Wisdom, everytime I connect to it and to myself.
Joseph, this is wonderful! I love what you have shared and the power of what is shared is palpable with the one simple example of tooth brushing! It is so true that our super powers lie in the simple small acts and choices of the every day – how we brush our teeth to how we move or shower or sip a cup of tea. Each moment counts, and each movement counts. “And so as I type these words, I do it with all of me, to my bones. And can feel this is the love we all deserve. That the key to life lives in every small thing. For me this started off with a simple tale of a tooth. But my question to you is: Just how much wisdom does every part of us have to bring if we but choose to be present and appreciate our power?” – a wise question to ask and bring to our awareness the actual power that lies within us all, just waiting to be unleashed. Thank you Joseph!
That ” … the beauty, the jewels, the joy, the gold, lives not over any steep incline or hill but right here, right now in the richness of our presence” is the absolute truth, or should I say ‘tooth’, of the matter Joseph.
Understanding that ‘our every choice transforms the world’ is huge. The presentation of this possibility brings me back to accepting myself as part of divinity, part of the greater whole. I only need to make choices in line with God (in connection to the whole or not). Each choice has an effect, healing or harming, seen or unseen. Through choosing to be present, we choose to be powerful.
‘Isn’t it odd that we can be consistently told the best thing to take care of our body, but then go right out and do the opposite thing?’ – This is a great question Joseph, and doesn’t just apply to teeth brushing but also smoking, alcohol, staying up late, under or over-exercising, drug taking and so many other things.
I love how Joseph states that “…the key to life lives in every small thing.” I feel I have always know this so why have I put off putting it into effect?
Inspired by Serge and all that he has helped to re-awaken in so many others I am feeling more and more how, every moment I spend in full presence I am offering something powerful, something blessed, something vitally important to all of humanity.
These are wise words Joseph, “For if you understand that everything we do has consequences that either harm or support ourselves, and if we are all connected to everyone else, then surely what we choose affects everyone and will help them to support themselves too?” It is pretty profound to realise our responsibility to ourselves and to everyone when we consider this truth. Cleaning our teeth is only one example of this, it applies to everything.
This blog is reminding me that there are so many pockets of my life that I do not want to look at. I brush over them telling myself that they are not important when I know full well that each ware is as important as the next. If I have a tidy home For example, I have a tidy mind and when I come back to a tidy home after being away I feel supported whereas when I leave my home in an untidy state and return to that untidy state then it feels pretty unsettling and disorganised. I’m learning that each pocket needs equal attentions do it is no good focusing on one without focussing on all the others.
Wow. Absolute truth expressed with absolute accessibility. Brilliant words that ring so deeply true for me. Thank you.
This blog made me chuckle, I imagined a screen where I was shown the energetic impact of not being present at different parts of my day, revealing the horror of my irresponsibility not only for myself but for others.
I find it so powerful knowing that when I am consciously present in what I am doing that my particles are aligning in my body and with the universe. This takes self responsibility to a whole new level.
This blog can be true for many things we do. How we are with ourselves – the care we take though not always seen immediately, can build up over time to support us. But if we neglect ourselves, even a little, then again this sets a build up of neglect that will soon be seen and felt. We have a responsibility in the way we treat ourselves and others.
Joseph this is a fantastic sharing and your question – ‘ Just how much wisdom does every part of us have to bring if we but choose to be present and appreciate our power?’ – is one that everyone needs to consider deeply. Your experience brings a lot of insight as to how many of us choose to live, neglecting parts of ourselves and life and only focusing on what we do great. Conscious presences is a dedication to ourselves and I loved how you said for you it was like calling a dog back time and time again. This is exactly what it is like and when we choose to be with ourselves, life feels so much easier and spacious.
It’s so true. Why would we not want to take amazing care of every bit of ourselves? The consequences of not caring are not desirable at all, but we still allow ourselves not to care. I love your story of turning this around.
This is a great inspiration of the importance and responsibility of every detail in how we are living and taking care of ourselves and the enormous effect it has. Beautiful to realise and work on and the bigger picture we are all part of and from.
Thank you as always, Joseph for your simple and humourous life lessons that are at the same time universal. I too am finding the power of being in the present moment, connected to the quality of each subtle movement in the body. I am definitely not fully present all of the time (my mind also being like an unruly dog on the leash), but it feels like a expanding and deepening process every day, which brings with it much joy and loveliness.
Maybe we should take our unruly dogs out for a walk together Janet! My mind, old patterns of anxiousness can come back if I am not in the moment, appreciating myself and yes I agree Nick, I can have the to do list going on in my mind when supposedly having a relaxing bath and there are so many other ways I can go out of being with myself.
At the start of the blog I was congratulating myself that my teeth normally get through the dental examination but as I was riding on the wave, I saw how many other ways I lack consistency in all that I do each day. A work in progress! Love this blog Joseph, such a great reminder about everything we do in daily life.
When we do something for the first time, we’re often careful and conscious. Multiply that activity a thousand times and you can do it in your sleep – that expression does have some truth to it as it often doesn’t require us to be present (or awake!) to perform the task. But as Joseph points out, ‘the key to life lives in every small thing’. Whether we’ve done something once or a thousand times, bringing an awareness to a particular activity actually brings a connection to you. And that feels much better than doing it in your sleep.
Wow Fumiyo, great point – taking it further and asking those questions really does make it more real for me. It really hits home what a responsibility we all have in everything we do.
Haha, it’s true though Ray…where do we go when we brush our teeth? My big one is in the shower – I’ve planned my morning, drafted a few work emails and even prepped breakfast all before I’ve finished shampooing my hair! And there are countless other areas of my life when I’m away with my brain. Such a cool story and great reminder.
This absent mindedness or my mind drifting off from the present moment I have noticed is very common for me also and my levels of anxiety and tiredness are much less when I commit to staying present in each and every moment during my day.
You make reading fun and hey, I even managed to remain present while I did it! It’s a great real life example and made me think about how often in my day I’m in autopilot, arriving at destinations or completing tasks without even knowing where I’d been or what I’d done. I also recently started brushing my teeth left handed (I’m right handed) as a way of bringing more attention to what I was doing – the awkwardness and poor coordination often means I have to really concentrate on what I’m doing. While this is a helpful tool, your writing has reminded me that I can choose to be present regardless of how I’m brushing my teeth.
Thank you Joseph, since first reading this, every time I brush my teeth I am reminded of Natalie Benhayon brushing her teeth for humanity and then whilst making my bed and other chores the same thoughts came. This just brings home the responsibility of just how much we affect each other even when we think we are just in our bathrooms alone.
Joseph – thank you for taking brushing my teeth to a whole new level. So often we dismiss things as being mundane tasks but as everything is energy the way we are in one moment directly affects the next.
How the simplest of acts has the grandest of impacts! A great reminder of the fact that we are all connected by energy, and that our small (and large) acts of self care which support our own well-being are in fact offering this choice for others to care for themselves in the same way.
I love this blog. I read it yesterday morning and it popped into my mind on several occasions throughout my busy day. Being present with my body is a forever learning as bigger challenges or responsibility enter my life. The key is the quality of my presence no matter what is going on around me, for it is how I feel and am with myself that makes the difference in the world.
Denial is the antidote for presence, ie is pretending everything is okay while in truth we are harming ourselves. With presence comes awareness and with awareness responsibility; denial protects and sustains our comfort.
It’s really a big one that sits you down: every choice has an impact on everybody in the world.
The comfort seeking part in me definitely prefers this version: life happens out of molecular coincidences and physical death is the end of it all.
Ha! Free entrance to the land of irresponsibility, isn’t it?
Well, this ticket is made of a lie.
This is a beautiful description of choices, their consequences and our power to choose.
“It may sound crazy but what if we wash our hands, sit down in our seat, drive our car and have something to eat, all understanding that our every choice is transforming the world?” I like that, that is true power – a confirmation of the more that we are. We have a choice to transform the world back to love and equality the way we know it to be. It’s not easy, but being simply aware of and accepting that all our choices and movements affect the All is enough to start the unfolding of the wisdom within.
When we connect with the present we can feel energy, this is sometimes scary as we are always trying to avoid feeling energy though distractions, plans, wants/desires etc.
Absolutely love this blog Joseph! its so common to be doing something and having the next thing on our mind or something that just happened, we rarely give ourselves space to just be. I have also loved observing this with myself and “calling my mind to account” so to speak to make it more present with what I’m doing, which when the body and mind are one – we are extremely powerful.
I can’t help but say this: Joseph in your presentation you give us the whole tooth, and nothing but the tooth. You must have a full set of wisdom teeth! Seriously though, this article is gold. Thank you for presenting such a considered and powerful yet light-hearted message.
This is an extremely significant article for it highlights the importance of conscious presence. I have heard Serge Benhayon present that a lack of conscious presence long-term equals dementia and reading Joseph’s blog the connection between the two predicaments seems obvious. Checking out is harmful not only for humanity but our health.
I feel you have hit the nail on the head naming that we live looking at the surface of life or ticking enough boxes to think we are doing it right. Deep down I know when I am taking short cuts and it leaves me feeling dissatisfied and fake, even though I can justify it in the short term. Like your receding bacteria filled gums, life or our bodies have a way of pulling us up and showing us the truth.
I could very much relate to what was presented in this blog. Although I would say I am very consistent with my teeth brushing, most of the time I don’t floss even though I know that I should. Flossing wasn’t part of my childhood routine and I still haven’t made flossing a regular part of my self-care routine. Often I would say I don’t have time, even though I know this isn’t really true. When I do floss, I love the extra care and the way it makes me feel. I am going to experiment with this and see if I can add this into my routine and if not why not.
Living absent-mindedly could well be re-coined living absent bodily! When I am off in daydreams I am not actually in my body but instead off in my head. I can feel my body like a vague background noise but the details are lost and the care factor of how my body feels seems to drop to almost nil.
So I have begun brushing my teeth with more presence with every movement since reading this blog for the first time yesterday – it is surprising as I had always thought I cleaned my teeth well but bringing real tenderness to the way I brush feels amazing.
The word that comes to mind after reading your blog Joseph is responsibility. The responsibility that each and every one of us has with each and every movement, knowing that how we are and how we do it is affecting everyone all of the time. A simple act such as brushing our teeth can be done in a way where it is narrow and small, keeping us individual, or can be done in a way where we are blessing all of humanity with our grace and love.
Your blog Joseph is hugely inspiring. A reminder that God is in every little detail.
Id love to see what you saw going on in your mouth as I feel it would equally inspire me to change the way I care for my teeth and gums and yet, why is it that I need to see the harm and damage before I’m prepared to make a more loving choice?
An inspiration to read Joseph – thank you. It is so easy to skim over, miss or ignore the details but as we know ‘everything is energy’ so every little thing is having just as much an impact as the bigger things.
Thank you for sharing this Joseph. As I am taking ever deepening care of my body I am more and more aware of every aspect of my body and the care it needs. I am aware of how each part affects the whole, and that my body, and the way I care for it, affects not only me but all those around me.
I love every word of this Joseph. When you said how you wrote these words with all of you, to your bones, I realised that when we do that people listen and have the opportunity to hear it to their own bones. If we talk from the head or half heartedly it does not have the same pull to listen. Beautiful article Joseph.
“The key to life lives in every small thing”. We tend to want to make life about big and grandiose things. But it’s not so, as you have beautifully described. All we have to do in life is be with ourselves and present in each moment. It seems like hardest thing in the world yet it is the most simple and what we are designed to do.
All we do is for the all, whether we are aware of it or not.
We are not alone and everything we do has effect on every one else – it is not until I hear about someone so committed that they brush teeth for humanity that I realise there is always an opportunity to bring even more love into my life.
Absolute Nicole. When I return to this blog and people’s comments like yours, it is as clear as night and day that this power to live, to move, to speak with care and consideration applies to everything that is there. Whether it’s brushing our teeth or our hair, God’s Love is naturally designed to be everywhere.
‘For what if the beauty, the jewels, the joy, the gold, lives not over any steep incline or hill but right here, right now in the richness of our presence?’ If we fully felt the truth of what is expressed here, our lives would be transformed. The magic of God in our bodies, simply by being present.
I had been putting off a visit back to the dentist but after reading this it has inspired me to rebook that appointment and stop waiting for a tooth issue before I visit the dentist again.
Thanks to Doctor Max and his big screen we are all graced with the deeper awareness this offered you – this is the magic of life and goes to show that if we are willing to read what is being reflected to us, we have a constant opportunity to learn and evolve.
This reminds me how everything is always reflecting how we are living, even the smallest part of our body has a way of revealing this.
Vicky agreed there is nothing that is not reflecting to us something about life for us and for humanity as a whole, yet I never paid attention to this a decade ago. Today I feel it is the deepest blessing that we have.
After reading this blog yesterday just before I went to bed, I brushed my teeth with ever more presence and care. This evolution led to the experience of even more care and presence this morning. And I can feel that this movement, practised while brushing my teeth is actually supporting me to be more present at the moments there-after. Pretty powerful. So thank you Joseph, once again.
Because of the realness and practicability of your example with brushing one´s teeth, I immediately gave it a go and no wonder – it works. It is in making life and living with presence and quality very practical that we can finally master it so that it is us living life and not life living us.
‘For what if the beauty, the jewels, the joy, the gold, lives not over any steep incline or hill but right here, right now in the richness of our presence?’ A great question Joseph. The magic is available to us in this very moment if we choose to be present.
Dear Joseph,
Since reading your blog, I have found myself being even more present as I clean my teeth. For some time now I have connected deeply and felt my teeth as I have cleaned them, now though, as I am feeling them, I am also aware of how I am whilst cleaning them.
This has greatly deepened the level of care that my teeth and in fact my whole body is receiving.
Thank you deeply for sharing your experience.
“But what would life be like if we simply dedicated ourselves to being present during the day? And if we find this is hard, isn’t that interesting and something to investigate?”
This is huge to ponder. It is obvious that most of us find it very difficult to remain truly present throughout the day. In my case I have felt that I avoid being present in order to avoid responsibility and part of that is the fact that I do not like to feel the consequences of my choices. Serge Benhayon has helped me to understand that I do not need to judge myself or be harsh with myself. The more I have love and appreciation for myself the more I enjoy being present in my own body.
Thank you for sharing much tooth and wisdom here Joseph.
Bringing more attention to the little details is so important Joseph, because this develops the quality we then bring to everything and everyone. This blog is reminding me every time I clean my teeth, how I can always go deeper with my relationship with myself. I think the hygienist may be amazed at my next check up!
Your writing even brings bacteria to life Joseph! It’s the unseen aspects of life that are often the most significant and can cause the most harm if not kept in check – my thoughts, feelings, omissions to name a few. Thank you for a most revealing glance inside your mouth!
Escaping into mental thoughts is so easily done and so ‘normal’ that to be in another way is a game changer. The benefits that come with staying present in what we do are enormous and well worth making the effort for.
Loved cleaning my teeth last night and first thing this morning, life is in the detail!
An awesome blog Joseph – thank you for sharing. It’s so true that properly brushing and truly looking after our teeth can easily be overlooked, but what if we paid the same attention to brushing our teeth as we did an important work project or task? As you’ve shared if we up the quality of these ‘In-between’ moments in life and when we look after our body then there’s the potential for our whole body to respond and greater harmony to be achieved between all the particles and tissues that make us up.
Often it is the task we dislike most and find the most difficult, that if we pay attention to it in the way you describe Joseph, that ends up being the one we enjoy most. Having partial dentures and different size gaps between my teeth I always considered it a chore to clean my teeth, it is such a fiddly business. But now, paying loving attention to each tooth, respecting the health of my mouth, staying present with each move, I find I am beginning to love the process, and it actually can become playful. Because I am not in a hurry to get it done it seems it takes little time at all. The ogre of the teeth cleaning has disappeared, I no longer dread it or put it off so much, and actually look forward to the opportunity to be gentle with myself. Your blog helped immensely to confirm and deepen this experience. There is always more to feel, greater awareness to bring, it is not a static chore any more.
Cool blog Joseph. It can be the simplest things we do in every day life, that are constant reflections to us, where we are at, with ourselves.
As you say how many parts of our bodies and our lives do we live in parts – do we bring equal deep care and responsibility to every movement and act? If not, why not?
Love, love, love this blog and the absolute responsibility it asking us to live. It’s a joyful yet very sobering read as we can often think we are doing okay or the right thing when in actual truth we are living most if not all of our day and life for ourselves, and in our heads. The level of responsibility we have in everything we do for humanity is huge, and actual a joy.
‘Isn’t it odd that we can be consistently told the best thing to take care of our body, but then go right out and do the opposite thing? ” heck yeah – but the question is who – and why are we making the decisions?
Joseph, I love what you are sharing in this article, ‘we are naturally designed to be present in everything we do, and that living ‘absent mindedly’ is a large part of what is causing us to be so unwell’, being present really feels key, when I choose to be present with something like washing my body or getting dressed it feels amazing, it means that I enjoy these tasks rather than just doing them, it changes how I feel about myself and life and so for so for it is bring this presence into all areas of my life and making this a consistent choice.
Imagine if there was a machine or video screen that could show us what energy we are allowing into our bodies and the effects that this has on our bodies every time we do this?! We would not be so cavalier about how we live me thinks. But the truth is we can feel it even if we cannot see it.
Makes so much sense Joseph really, most my life I’ve lived ignoring this fact, that everything we do, say, think and move has a ripple effect on others and the environment around us. There are so many signs everyday that this is the truth… I was hiking just recently and slipped a little and got a fright, I said a word that only my husband and I heard… something I don’t usually say… within seconds a young guy from behind us came out with the same word. My husband and I looked at each other… and there was no denying the instant affect we have on each other.
It makes sense to me too that not being present with ourselves in what we do has an effect on our health. Whenever I have worried placing my attention on something which has happened in the past my health has suffered. Learning to be present with my body in everything I do is one of the most beautiful gifts I can give to my body and therefore my wellbeing.
Our bodies are highly evolved ecosystems that require very little from outside of us to function other than the fuel that it requires, a bit of water and some air. Our stomach is full of acid and digestive system that has billions of little critters that need to be there. When we dis-regard just one, like our teeth, we can affect the whole system.
Is it in the moments of not being present that all our ills and diseases arise?
Is it when we leave our homes empty and unlocked that thieves sneak in?
Is it when we leave our desks at work with our minds wandering towards the weekend that we loose to feel our joy?
Through realising how disconnected I am from my body a lot of the time I have come to realise how disconnected most people are from their bodies most of the time. What is it that we are disconnected from? Ourselves,God, life, each other, truth and love. Therefore when we re-connect to our bodies, we naturally re-connect with ourselves, God,life, each other, truth and love. One choice.
Joseph you have shared great wisdom with the most delightful lightness and humour, an absolute joy to read, as well as an incredibly insightful and powerful read.
As I read your blog Joseph I can really feel your divine presence and wisdom; thank you for sharing such a valuable lesson. I will be cleaning my teeth with a whole new awareness and understanding which in turn will flow out to all daily activities.
Joseph your blog’s certainly inspired not only much closer attention to the brushing of one’s teeth and flossing, but also a nifty visit to the dentist too, because we’re all scared [!!!!] about what picture we might also see when the dentist asks us to ‘look up’ to reveal the extent of potential decay or plaque from not being in regard of this area of our expression. The mouth, tongue and teeth being what we use to speak and express.
“You don’t see a dog considering what happened last week and what it fancies for tea tonight – it is right there with you, completely in the moment” ha ha very true Joseph and a great example, last night coming home from work i was sat next to a mother and her baby and observing the baby’s own fresh wonder about everything, the people around them and how she felt about them, how her interest would lose, then return, smile or not smile to some people. The baby was in her stillness, her fingers, toes, whole body at soft full ease, not caring for anything she did that might offend anyone, except to be herself in the moment as she felt it… and when she didn’t respond with any smile back to a passenger, her cuteness was still loved and adored regardless.
Joseph, thank you for bringing the enormous importance of how such a simple daily task can reflect so much to us about how we are in our lives in general, and the impact we then have on the rest of humanity. There is much to ponder on here.
Living absent mindedly was how I used to live until it was pointed out to me that we are not in the present moment at all when we live like that, we are completely not there. We can be either looking back or wishing our time of our lives away being in the future or simply vague and not engaged with what it happening. When we do regular mundane jobs, like cleaning teeth, again we can check out but the quality of ourselves is not there. To have it pointed out in this way may seem harsh but it does us a favour to acknowledge this.
‘Well…no. I had to admit, that I did not, more often settling for a quick scrub around whilst thinking of something that happened to me that day.’ – a simple statement but so revealing of us all and how we live our lives. Yes Joseph, everything we do either heals or harms and if we are not with ourselves as we move through life then we are not taking responsibility for the choices we make. Lately I have found myself hold in my awareness ‘the finer the detail we commit to the greater the love it emanates’. This is what our livingness is all about. Thanks Joseph for sharing.
Thanks for sharing this with us Joseph. I just read a comment where someone felt ‘stopped in their tracks after reading this blog’ and I feel the same. You cannot squirm your way out of this blog – the quality in which we live, effects the quality in which we all live. I can feel the responsibility and the call to be much more present as our bodies are naturally designed to do.
‘what if there are similar unpleasant and unhealthy consequences happening everywhere in our lives?’ We can live so unaware of the ripples of energy we are sending out every moment of our lives, from our thoughts, from our movements, even how we are breathing.
I love how you brilliantly highlight that there is great power in exploring the details of how we live. How if we bring attention to one are of our lives that we know lacks presence, we can then feel how this builds and brings a deeper quality of connection to Love to all other areas of our lives and interaction with others. When we are willing to surrender to Love, this Love is then magnified through all that we do. What a beautiful way to live.
‘So many of us will walk the streets with placards, sign petitions and donate. But what would life be like if we simply dedicated ourselves to being present during the day?’ Pure gold Joseph. As one who works in the nonprofit sector I see so much of the drive to cure what ails us through adoption of causes and the pursuit of donations to help fund those causes… none of which truly works. True charity could be enacted simply by individuals choosing to ‘brush their teeth for humanity’.
I feel stopped in my tracks after reading this blog – thank you Joseph, Beautiful 🙂
The subtle reference you offer Joseph to finding the joy in life right here with ourselves and “not over any steep incline or hill” is a beauty. How true is it that we simply avoid being with ourselves because we are so driven to get to top, so we can roll down the other side of the hill – which is a time where we can ‘check out’ as a reward for all that push and drive. The drive sustains the ‘checkout’ is what is clear. Thus, if we make presence a drive or have to or must, then we loose the grace and beauty of how natural it is. So while it is important to choose moments such as brushing teeth to work on our presence, it seems clear to me that the true natural consistent presence also is nurtured by reading and understanding those mechanisms we use to not be present and renounce them within our activity. Then, bringing the what is to the what is not is an amazing service to all.
The quality of the lives we live is determined by the degree in which we choose to live connected to the Love we are. This is what we bring to the world. Whether we choose to be aware of it or not we are either healing or harming with every move we make.
I can relate to everything you’re writing Joseph. I’ve started also a while ago to brush my teeth with much more care and presence. I even start to feel my own teeth and how much they love to be cared for and nurtured. The way I’m brushing my teeth is actually reflecting how much I’m either with me or how far I’ve let myself go. It requires a choice to stay with me, all of the time – including brushing my teeth.
Thank you Joseph for presenting the opportunity for us all to consider the quality in which we are living our life and the effect this has in our world we are a part of. Are we in command in every moment, present with every movement bring love to all we do or are we run by the thoughts from mind causing our movements to be not of Love? I have discovered, through being a student of The Way of The Livingness and exploring the Ageless Wisdom Teachings, that with our connection to our essence, our Love within, there is a greatness, a power, a oneness, a universality present, and this presence can be lived with our every breath whenever we choose, which honors all that we are and all that we are part of. As through our Love within we are inescapably connected to all, and so all that we do impacts our world.
It’s very true that there can be things ‘hiding’ in our every day life when we are distracted and not paying complete attention to all that is going on. Energy lurks in the recesses we ignore and becomes a place for things to bread and fester. Be it bacteria, parasites, fungus or thoughts the energy that we choose allows a play ground of these if we aren’t aware, discerning and loving in our thoughts, movements and actions, and bring all these together in harmony. As you refer it isn’t only us we care about it has a reflection to all of humanity.
Hi Joseph,
Thank you for sharing. I am just discovering how simple and powerful it is to choose to be present with ourselves in what we do. From experience and after years of allowing the mind to lead, it’s very freeing as well.
Thank you for sharing this Joseph. My teeth have been revealing their own wisdom to me of late as I have required a root canal treatment. I can feel the healing and clearing on offer with this treatment. The attention to the detail of brushing my teeth is an important connection for me in my day.
“So what would our day be like if we brought awareness of our super power ‘presence’ to each and every act? ” I love this blog and its simplicity in showing us the power of one simple change and commitment to that change.
What a great blog Joseph. What you share about being present is totally relatable about your teeth experience. I was non-committal in the flossing department and I expect my teeth would show the same bacteria build up as yours did. It was interesting that at my last visit to the dental hygienist she stopped me in my tracks by saying, ‘well you take so much care of what you eat, drink and getting the rest you need, why would you not take the same care with your teeth?’ After a few days of being on it and taking great care my routine slipped. I am inspired by your story…by building consistency with taking care of my teeth and being present when I clean them I will support consistency of care in every other area of my life!
An important question you pose here Joseph about awareness of our own internal eco-system – from experience I have discovered that the quality of my movement definitely affects how my body feels and without a doubt this is felt by others around me in how they respond or react.
“The quality we act in is directly and absolutely linked to the life we get to live. This way of seeing us all as deeply interlinked gives a wider much greater understanding of our true effects, and to subjects like global warming. For after all how can our effect in this world be only limited to climate? What about our own internal eco-system for a start?”
“And consider for a moment the yucky bacteria I saw on the big screen – the ‘hidden consequence’ to my absent mindedness forming there behind my smile.” Serge Benhayon has shown me a mirror that continues to expose how much we see what we want to see.
“Well…no. I had to admit, that I did not, more often settling for a quick scrub around whilst thinking of something that happened to me that day.” Many can relate to this check out at the end of the day Joseph, it’s a great microscopic example of a slip sliding macroscopic benchmark that today allows a whole host of accepted abuse.
’Just how much wisdom does every part of us have to bring if we but choose to be present and appreciate our power’ – A profound question. Every part of us carries limitless wisdom – if we but choose to connect to it.
Your blog has certainly made me stop and consider how much of my time is spent being present and how much is spent in distraction. It starts for me with a hierarchy of activities – some I will deem to be important whilst others not so important and it’s during these not so important ones that I can choose to check out. Your blog has brought to light the fact that every thing we do requires our full presence, otherwise autopilot presides and those hidden consequences get to build.
This is a ‘wow’ blog Joseph. You express so eloquently how the simple act of brushing our teeth has far reaching consequences. It not just about the bacteria growing, but an indication of the level of care we are willing to take with ourselves. If this deep self-care is not present, then the rest of humanity doesn’t really get a look in. If you multiply that by the billions on the planet, that’s a whole lot of us acting like we live in isolation, when the truth is that everything that we do, and the way that we do it effects everyone.
Just like a young child enjoys the richness of the simplicity of just being them and the innocence such a posture brings, so too can we re-enjoy the same with life as an adult by bringing the same quality of our fullness of presence to what we do in every moment.
Absolutely Joshua. What you say gives a new understanding to the idea of ‘treating ourselves with care’. What a gift to come to see that every moment is an amazing present it is just up to us to unwrap.
I agree Joshua, children are very inspirational in this way. They are just so at ease with their bodies and what they are doing in the moment and naturally are very present in what they are doing.
If your example of lack of presence and its effect on your teeth is any proof at all of what lack of presence does to the body then there is surely no better example. We often deny what we feel, but we can’t deny what we can see..
‘In my experience, whilst we may settle for looking at the surface, in the end life has a way of showing us always the truth underneath.’ Oh Joseph, this is oh so true, and it often shows up clearly when it comes to our health. I know I lived on the surface, refusing to see how I was living was impacting my health, and ended up with what my doctor believes (and very possibly will be) a permanent thyroid condition. There are always consequences for every choice we make.
Without presence there can be no true awareness, without awareness there is no evolution, hence the stagnation if not seeming regression in many areas of our life as humanity. The proverb ‘ If you don’t go forward, you go backward.’ is very much related to our willingness to be present and everything that comes with that presence. Practicing being present in the little things, tooth by tooth, finally leads to the presence of the power we all bring when being present in our fullness.
Wise words Alex, with each day that passes I feel a greater pull to deepen my choice to be present. It feels as if this is one of the greatest gifts I can allow myself and everyone else.
So true Joseph, we do not appreciate the power and wisdom that is ours in every moment when we are present with the detail and pay attention to the quality of how we are with ourselves in every moment. I can see that ‘it starts to make incredible sense that we ache and experience pain when we ‘do life’ distracted, half-hearted and on auto pilot’ for how would we choose to be anything less when we have experienced ‘the all’ that we truly and innately are?.
I love this story. It’s so well written, engaging, comical, real and inspiring, all at the same time.
The fact is that EVERYTHING we do, think and say matters and makes a difference. It can either heal or harm and therein lies our responsibility to ourselves and each other.
This is certainly a tale of tooth (truth) with a very loving bite.
You have to wonder that if we are not present in each moment then what kind of yucky energy are we letting into our bodies without realising it in the same way as you described the plaque on your teeth?! In my experience practicing conscious presence or having my mind with my physical body in everything I do in the day has transformed my life.
I love your reference to animals, Joseph, highlighting how they are not spending time ruminating on things from the past or the future, but present and alert in the moment. This blog definitely has given me pause for thought about how much of the time I am bringing everything that I am to the here and now.
Awesome Blog Joseph and such an important issue to highlight – with an ever growing number of ways for us to not be present claiming the choice to remain so in all we do is the loving choice for us all. I’m sure I’ll be brushing my teeth with this awareness now – what a great reflection offered.
“So many of us will walk the streets with placards, sign petitions and donate. But what would life be like if we simply dedicated ourselves to being present during the day?” This is great question, Joseph and the best way of finding the answer is practicing that dedication in one’s life.
Joseph, this is a great description of the power of a wandering mind continually pulling away from awareness and conscious presence with the body – my mind has taken much re-training in every area of my life to begin to bring it ‘to heel’ and heal the deep separation it causes.
“Like a wayward dog on a leash I found I often needed to call my mind back. But over time I have developed a rhythm where it stands out if I’m not there doing the action with all of me”.
Joseph, I love this, ‘You don’t see a dog considering what happened last week and what it fancies for tea tonight – it is right there with you’, this is so true and I can feel what a great reflection dogs and other animals are, it seems completely mad that they would be sat there off thinking about other things, and not present with themselves and yet this is exactly what we as humans so often do.
This is a beautiful blog of claiming presence in all we do and the huge effect this has on our bodies and everything else. Brushing ones teeth for humanity shows the power of everything we do and our true purpose on this earth in our every moment.
When we care for self down to the finest detail we are providing a reflection that can be felt and so inspire others.
There is this great reflection here… if we do not stay present and care absolutely for every moment then there are consequences… a build up of plaque, a ripple effect we may not initially be able to see but is definitely going on and will become apparent as it builds. Teeth or life (or anything in between) how we live is never hidden, and it is being observed by our kids, who we know, or humanity as another example of how to live. Do we inspire, or do we confirm a normal that is not supporting humanity in its evolution?
Very true Simon. So often we hit a stroke of ‘bad luck’ but your comment alludes to the fact that nothing is random or by chance. So often the things that come ‘out of the blue’ are actually consequences of long standing disregard.
I like the preciseness and the attention to detail which is in this article and how this plays a big part concerning self care and nurturing ourselves.
Interesting how being present when brushing our teeth is an act of self love and makes it more likely they will be here to greet us in old age.
Joseph, you’ve just very much confirmed the important place ‘attention to detail’ has in all that we do. I find attention to detail can only really happen when I choose to be consciously present with what I’m doing, and vice versa, when I’m consciously present the detail gets taken care of. The feeling it brings to any task is one of completeness, which feels lovely in it self.
Over the years I’ve had an evolving relationship with my dentist, someone I now have a close relationship with. I give him credit for holding my hand through much resistance and showing me how to lovingly care for my teeth in a way in a way I hadn’t before. On my last visit to the hygienist, I observed how meticulously he cleaned each tooth before moving on to the next. I felt immediately that this was a master class on how it should be done and one I could repeat at home when brushing my teeth, and I do. This blog goes further, it offers the possibility that we can bring this same quality of care into everything we do.
Just how much wisdom does every part of us have to bring if we but choose to be present and appreciate our power? This line produces a stop moment for me, to take a few moments to really feel what is being presented here because it feels huge.
This goes to show Joseph that by being more present with our bodies whilst going about our day is hugely beneficial to our bodies, and this is just one example.
You have exposed how every moment of everything we do creates ripples that affect the whole.
Have we ever been told that before, that everything we do or how we are with ourselves has an influence, not only on ourselves but also on everybody else in the world, to all of humanity? My mind says this is to much of a responsibility as it loves to wonder off, away from this moment and where my body is at, while my body understands this as it knows it is part of the grander whole and interconnected with every human being on this earth. Connecting to my body, with the stillness that it holds, brings me back to that awareness that I am divine and that every move I make does influence everybody.
This is such a great blog Joseph… the contemplation, responsibility and inspiration it invites is awesome…. It is so powerful to be reminded of the difference that is possible when one commits to knowing and living that everything matters and should be given the same quality of presence as if done for humanity. Love it.
Joseph, I absolutely love your blog. You have covered so much and what you’ve shared is truly inspirational, deeply wise and full of GOLD. Choosing to be present is so simple yet it is not something I choose very often, so, your gentle and loving reminder is exactly what I needed to read. The power in your expression is incredible and I can feel it rippling out to humanity. I have received a huge amount of support from reading your words which I know will flow out to others in my life.
“… So many of us will walk the streets with placards, sign petitions and donate. But what would life be like if we simply dedicated ourselves to being present during the day?…” What an incredible suggestion Joseph… I would imagine the drop of global tension, angst, reactions etc would instantly cause a silence world wide… like turning off a noisy T.V. What harmony there would be!
Thank you Joseph for this wonderful graphic reminder that everything we do is equal, whether it is brushing our teeth, holding a baby, leading a nation, the same presence and richness can be brought equally, and will be felt by all equally. If we have hidden pockets of slackness and disregard in our lives, they might be hidden but nonetheless felt by all as that quality will be in all that we do. And learning to hold this understanding, not as some judgement but rather a loving reminder of the joyful responsibility we have to ourselves and to all.
The mind loves to wander, that has been my experience but as you say Joseph the more we clock this wandering the more we can bring the mind back to the task at hand. It is when we are present with the task that we create a beautiful space to be in, and that feels pretty magical and awesomely simple, perhaps just how life is meant to feel.
It is interesting how much we actually know is worthwhile us doing for ourselves and how little of that we actually choose to act on.
I am amazed Joseph that even your receding gums started to grow back. WOW!
Me too Elodie, me too. But at the same time I knew somehow that they would. And isn’t this the interesting bit that underneath it all we do really understand the game we play with our life. What would our days be like if we put this power to true purpose? Man! the world would be set alight.
Eeeeek! Actually I started flossing twice daily and holding my brush over each tooth for quite a while now since going to a dentist and being told they will decay if I don’t look after them! This made me sit up and take note, I even had a tooth brushing lesson. However I notice that at times this slips and I don’t pay attention to each tooth giving attention to each equally. Also as soon as I start to brush I want to start walking … literally out of the bathroom, into my bedroom and not able to stay still the whole time and in one place. I noticed this more recently. I love the playfullness in your writing but also what you bring ‘Here what he offers is the simple fact that we are naturally designed to be present in everything we do, and that living ‘absent mindedly’ is a large part of what is causing us to be so unwell.’ Gosh if we are actually DESIGNED to be present in everything we do it just shows, looking at the world, how far we are currently living away from this. I also love what you highlight in that if this is what teeth show what about all the other areas in live that may not be so visible that we are ignoring? Signing off to go and clean my teeth …. making a concious effort not to start walking!
So as I make my way to bed I now have a choice – to stay present and brush for humanity or to allow my mind free-reign to drift off leaving me with a bacteria-laden smile. It’s a striking metaphor.
When you put it like that Lucy, my choice is to work on staying present while brushing my teeth because for the most part my mind takes me way off track…..
Absolutely Lucy, and one I can tell you still rings true with me. As I look to depart to my bed in 1 hour, the same situation asks me – what way will you be tonight, devil may care or the quality of light?
…and you’re just talking about brushing your teeth. Your blog has made me think about getting dressed, cooking, my walk to work…everything. It really does start with the little things.
Joseph your tooth story is a great graphic example of how even when we think we are doing enough, there is lack of care and quality when we are not fully present in the moment. And of course that is a lead in to consider where else and how often in life might I be not fully present. Well not only do we all have a tendency to be distracted most of the time with thoughts and issues, but society actually praises multi-tasking! A wonderful prompt for greater responsibility.
The choice to brush and floss with the true purpose to clean and re-fresh all that is there can be dismissed as fussy. However in the long term our teeth aren’t that forgiving in the sense they will be fobbed off. They are messengers of truthful reflection for how we are choosing to care for ourselves – numerous times a day.
Joseph, you write with so much wisdom and honesty. Thank you for this pearl of wisdom as EVERY word that you write rings true and has a profound message on how we impact our environment and our lives, through whether we are present or absent.
How is it that we can hear something a thousand times, but until we’re ready to change, we just keep continuing with the same patterns no matter how harmfull they are to our body?
Your changes just confirm that when we do take care of ourselves, our body is very quick to respond and heal.
This blog stops you in your tracks and asks you to reconsider the impact of everything you do on everything and everyone, because in truth, that’s how it is. And knowing this brings a huge responsibility for staying present in each moment so we are aware of the impact we’re having all the time. Could feel like a gargantuan task but you show how simple it is to get started – with the little things. And it builds its own momentum from there. Flossing will never be the same again.
I agree Cathy, to actually consider that everything we do, say and think in our day actually affects everyone else, whether we think we are having a private moment or not, is pretty huge. But deep down we know that we are all interconnected with each other in this way.
“Serge had described how his daughter Natalie brushed her teeth ‘for humanity’. At first this conjured up pictures for me of a superhero with a cape and an unlimited supply of floss and dental tape, whose superpower was brushing her teeth”.
I love the pictures this conjured up for you Joseph. Not far from the truth when you consider what an amazing and glorious role model Natalie Benhayon is to all ages of people, from all walks of life.
Hello Joseph, this is great to simply consider, “After all, if I find that I escape into mental thoughts so often when brushing my teeth, is it only happening here? Or is it happening all of the time? When I walk along thinking of that email, when I listen to others while thinking of the argument I had earlier on, or even conjuring up something smart to say? Wow what if the reality is that I am not truly present in much of the day?” As ‘life’ gets busier and busier it would seem that we have less and less time to be aware of how we move and what we’re thinking. But as we are seeing, it’s all about movement and so no matter what you’re doing or where you are moving, consider the quality of everything around you. If it’s not a quality that you like the look or feel of, then stop and change it.
“….philosopher Serge Benhayon…..what he offers is the simple fact that we are naturally designed to be present in everything we do, and that living ‘absent mindedly’ is a large part of what is causing us to be so unwell”.
Until meeting Serge Benhayon I honestly believed I was fairly present and with myself on a daily basis. Ha! that soon got exposed as being very far from the truth and I can see now that this does lead to ill health and the possibility of causing dementia too on an energetic level. Being stuck up in the mind and not connected to the body is like living in two halves, with most of the focus in the upper part above the neck and it is impossible to listen to the wisdom of the body from that place – it has to be bringing awareness within.
Stephanie I would have thought the same thing, that i was active engaged and present in life. Yet today I can say that has been the topic I’ve struggled with the most, the willingness to appreciate my presence is the most important choice I have along with the quality of my presence.
Beautifully said and explained Stephanie.
“This way of seeing us all as deeply interlinked gives a wider much greater understanding of our true effects…” It sure does, if we consider that every move we make sends out a ripple to everyone that either harms or heals..
We are tricked into believing that attending to the details of daily living is just being ‘over the top’, OCD, etc… and yet it is the details that truly count and bring about so much positive change for ourselves and for others by way of inspiration.
“And so as I type these words, I do it with all of me, to my bones. And can feel this is the love we all deserve.” It is warming to the bone to read and feel the quality of your words Joseph. Thank you.
This is a great reflection Joseph… I have been noticing how I clean my teeth lately also, and specifically how my arms are when I brush – and discovered they become tense and hard! And yet if I bring focus to my arms whilst brushing they don’t actually need to harden at all, the whole process is much easier, and the brushing is completed just as well. And so what else can be exposed if I pay attention to my body?!
Thank you for sharing this Joseph. Being present with ourselves in all that we do is so super important. I know that I have a greater awareness of all when I am present with my body. It feels like having a marker or a check in point, like brushing my teeth, is a great way to develop consistency and rhythm with being present.
Joseph, love your honest sharing. I too had a similar experience, I had avoided seeing a dentist for a long time and when I went a few months ago, I found out I had gum disease and bleeding gums. My dentist put me on a cleaning program and changed the way I was brushing. I made my brushing time about me and followed it with mouth wash as suggested. When I went back 3 months later, my dentist was very surprised how they had improved so much, she said you’ve done a great job, keep up what you are doing as normally we do not see this much improvement. What I learnt from this is how important it is to be present in each moment, even when we are brushing our teeth.
Another great reminder that our body will always communicate the truth. How wonderful that we have many amazing health practitioners, such as Dr Max, that can support us in learning about our body and guide us into more caring, supportive and nurturing ways. Do we listen is the question?
This is a gorgeous piece of writing Joseph, crystal clear in what it’s presenting and engaging to boot! I love your writing.
If we were taking care of our ‘internal eco-system’ with the same dedication as we do in developing green-minded technologies like in e-cars, solar plants etc naturally our environment (energetic and emotional effects on other people) would be taken care of or said this way: Love your self and you will be loving with everyone else naturally.
My goodness! How we make life about the big things and ignore the little details which actually make it all possible. It is like ignoring the importance of every screw on a giant aeroplane and focusing on just getting the aeroplane looking and functioning the way we like. The consequence is massive in this case, if it were to fall out of the sky because a screw came loose! So why do so many walk around with loose screws?
It really all does come back to us being truly present with ourselves in everything we do. Your illustration with teeth cleaning is such a good one , Joseph. It has really hit the spot for me!
When we consider how self care emanates to everything we do and then consider that we are all connected and that everything is energy, it is logical to realise our responsibility to everyone and everything. This simple process would solve everything. There would be no separation or conflict if we all felt the truth of how equal we are.
An awesome part of truly caring for ourselves is learning to stay present. I find this quite difficult as I have been running with so many thoughts for so long however I am so much more present than I was and I really notice when I’m not. Also my thoughts are calm and positive.
“Isn’t it odd that we can be consistently told the best thing to take care of our body, but then go right out and do the opposite thing?” Yes it is odd and your blog should be one to lay out in any dental practice waiting room to read before having the treatment. It is so important to feel the importance of our every action and how our presence does make a huge difference in other peoples lives. We might think it is selfish to focus on us but I can see how if we are trying to focus on everyone else the quality we bring to others is also scattered. If we focus on being with us with everyone else, others get the ‘full’ us.
“You don’t see a dog considering what happened last week and what it fancies for tea tonight – it is right there with you, completely in the moment. So why is it we behave in different way?” It’s ironic that we consider ourselves to be the most evolved species on the planet and yet the animals around us are reflecting that we are not as smart as we think!
Joseph,
Whenever I choose to be fully present in my body, it is felt how everything, every way of being I live from my body is for humanity. This feeling is palpable, but when I become distracted and let my mind wonder, I no longer am connected to just how important my being present is to all of humanity. My thoughts then become racey, and they tend to be more self absorbing.
This to me is clear proof as to the importance of being with our body in every moment of our days.
Such a great analogy Joseph. Being present is healing – you have demonstrated this beautifully.
“So many of us will walk the streets with placards, sign petitions and donate. But what would life be like if we simply dedicated ourselves to being present during the day?” – such a great point, true change begins at home with us. If there is disharmony within ourselves, then of course there will be disharmony with and amongst others.
You have bitten into a huge topic here Joseph – everything matters in every moment and what I do now (cleaning my teeth for e.g.) as you have so clearly described, impacts the all. Understanding this is key to the wellbeing of humanity.
True Joseph, this makes me stop and look more closely…to brush our teeth for humanity, to be willing to stay present with oneself to bring all of us to what we do, so that the world gets the deeply nurtured all-of-us rather than the distracted mind. Brushing one’s teeth is so seemingly insignificant in the ‘grander scheme of things’ yet it’s clear here that brushing our teeth with presence is indeed everything in the greater scheme of things!
Ah Joseph the way you write is so lovely to feel. I can see that you have a great understanding of people and the choices they make and you show the way with absolute tenderness. “For what if the beauty, the jewels, the joy, the gold, lives not over any steep incline or hill but right here, right now in the richness of our presence?” This line true gold for me. I spend my whole life hoping for something great waiting around the corner when I could be connecting to heaven in each and every moment.
I had the big TV screen showing me the state of my teeth not long ago too, like you it was a bit of a shock and so I committed to a program of more awareness and loving care which has resulted in a mouth that feels and looks rather more lovely. I know what you mean about the mind skipping off to other things and it has been a challenge to bring it back to what is actually happening. Brushing teeth is a good way to begin noticing this.
Great blog that highlights every moment is as important and weighs as much that we determine how we will be in the next.
Joseph, I love this blog and how you have pointed out the simple fact that we all have a responsibility to see the consequense of our choices and that every detail matters in the bigger picture – we are all interconnected.
Awesome blog- Joseph- lots to ponder about. It’s interesting that sometimes unless we are shown “in our face”, or on a big screen in your case at the dentist, how our inner health is being cared for e.g. teeth, we don’t actually bring our awareness to it and just get on with our life, assuming all is OK, until down the track we get a rude awakening by getting sick, feeling pain or get diagnosed with something more serious.
“This experience got me to thinking that if being present and aware with my tooth brushing was this powerful, how could this apply to the rest of life?” A very valid point Joseph. I recall hearing Natalie Benhayon saying that brushing her teeth was as important as presenting on stage. ‘Brushing your teeth for humanity’ – now there’s a thought! Every single thing that we do, say and think ripples out into the world.
Ah Joseph, the times I’ve felt resentment with the hygienist when she’s said I could do better, cleaning my teeth! Does she think I don’t know how to clean my teeth? Well our actions, or more clearly the lack of attention to the details of our actions obviously speak louder than our words. This is a great reminder that EVERYTHING we do, especially all the daily mundane things make up the rhythm and the quality of our day. We could maybe do with carrying the magnifying glass everywhere to expose us for a whole day everywhere. I’m sure it would probably be very revealing.
Gill, I am wondering out loud if things only appear ‘mundane’ because when we do them we are not connected to who we are. If who we are in essence are the living sons of God then I reckon if we are connected to ourselves then the word ‘mundane’ would disappear from our vocabulary.
The richness of our presence is our super power and I am inspired by this article… just for today to consider the ‘what if’ of attending to my super power, clocking and appreciating the impact, the moments I slip away, all that I am shown. Thank you, Joseph.
Thank you for this little gem ‘the key to life lives in every small thing’ which I will take into my day. No need for showy grand gestures but just a commitment to be present in every moment and to lovingly bring ourselves back when our mind goes walkabout.
Wow, what a powerful blog. The power of presence is so obvious and tangible from your writing. And something so simple like brushing our teeth is such a great example of how we can bring our presence to everything that we do and enjoy the consequences as a result.
Thank you for sharing your experience and reflections Joseph, I was amazed how hard I found it to stay present with me whilst brushing my teeth when it was first suggested to me and it is still a work in progress. On recent visits to my dentist he has worked on a particular area where I have had a build up of plaque and then I focus on that area and when I go back that area is fine but another area needs work thus exposing my lack of consistency with this simple task and thus in my wider life. I love how something so seemingly simple can reveal so much.
I love how you have brought a simple act of cleaning your teeth Joseph, to the bigger picture and the responsibility we have in staying present with every movement we make. It can be easy to skip over the small things that we take for granted like cleaning our teeth, parking a car or walking in the street. What if we were truly aware that every movement affects the whole. In a recent session the question arose do we park our car based on humanity?…, a simple every day act and I knew that I didn’t, I parked where it was the most convenient place to where I needed to be or where I knew my car wouldn’t be scratched. Being aware that whether we stay present with ourselves or not affects the whole; and that if we are willing to see the bigger picture we can make dramatic changes to not only our lives, but the lives of others. Maybe your words here Joseph are not so crazy.. “It may sound crazy but what if we wash our hands, sit down in our seat, drive our car and have something to eat, all understanding that our every choice is transforming the world?”
What vibrant truth delivered from your tangible lived presence, Joseph Barker. From a tooth to the All of life you present that there is no difference in the seemingly small or big things but that it is the quality of presence that makes every moment and every detail count just the same. Like taking loving care of each tooth one by one so we can take care of every moment one by one and bring to it all of us for all of Us.
Love the image of we’re all super-hero’s with a cape and so on – every movement counts and has an effect on the whole planet. It is great to realize our power…and the responsibility it comes with.
So, next time I am not in the mood to do something what is needed to be done I will remember humanity which is waiting for me to do so and is affected if I am not.
‘Here what he offers is the simple fact that we are naturally designed to be present in everything we do, and that living ‘absent mindedly’ is a large part of what is causing us to be so unwell.’ We are brought up in a way that teaches us the opposite: we are taught to think and plan and not to waste time, but our constantly thinking about things other than what we are doing is definitely paving the way to dementia, the tension our thinking causes in our vascular system is causing heart conditions, high blood pressure, and holding on to anger is causing hardness in the liver. These illnesses are not natural to the body, which is designed to work in harmony with itself and everything around us.
Thank you, Joseph, for asking us to be more – more responsible and more appreciative of the enormous power there is in every moment when we choose to be present. If we lose presence by getting caught up in thoughts or worries and leaving the connection with our body, it is no wonder that things no longer flow and start to go downhill, which ultimately results in illness and disease as you have deftly demonstrated here with your dental story.
A simple blog that starts off about tooth hygiene and ends up with a call for global responsibility / absolute energetic integrity. Pure gold.
At first while reading this I could feel an attatchment to my thoughts, ready to defend that because the world is so horrible or I am somehow defective in my ability to be present that acted as an excuse to remain not being present. But then as I continued reading I understood how weak those excuses are. What if not being present wasn’t a defect but it would bring to us an awareness of how much we do and can change the world. I ask myself then – what is my relationship with my power? Thank you Joseph.
Joseph, this article is brilliant, I love this, ‘For what if the beauty, the jewels, the joy, the gold, lives not over any steep incline or hill but right here, right now in the richness of our presence?’ I have found this to be true, the greatest joy is when I am present with myself – no holiday or fancy gifts come close, being present with myself feels amazing.
Thank you Joseph for a most glorious and down-to-earth illustration of the inter-connectedness of everything.
Joseph I simply loved reading your blog, the reflections that Dr Max provided and the changes that are possible through making choices. What an incredible difference. Yet something that I know I don’t consistently apply my presence with, yet the bigger picture is what if that care was applied everywhere, somehow in the same way that I forget to floss after a week of being at the dentist the same applies to life – Reading your blog reminds us of what is possible, very inspiring.
Several years back the feedback from my dentist was that I was brushing my teeth to hard, which I was totally unaware of. Her assistant compared the gums with a tomato and that I need to brush in a way, that the tomato would stay intact and not be bruised. It was a bit of a shock to me to realize how hard I scrubbed my teeth and gums, which showed me how absent minded I was when doing so and also how hard I was doing things overall, applying far too much pressure.
Brushing our teeth for humanity sounds funny – but when we apply the principle of being fully present to all we do, the change in the quality of our experience and what we bring to all that we do is self-evident – as is clear from the way my fingers and the rest of my body feels as I type this comment. Thank you Joseph for sharing your insights here. Wisdom can come from any experience if we are open to seeing it.
Sometimes we walk around totally unaware of our true state of health until, a microscope, scan or episode shows us the truth in fine or painful detail. It’s then left to us to act on what we’ve been shown and thankfully for your teeth, you did. It’s remarkable how with love, care and attention your once receding gums, grew back. With love, you receded the rot.
It’s awesome that by your being present with your dental hygiene including brushing your teeth your gums started to grow back again. Most dentists would say this is not possible or at least highly unlikely.What also impressed me was doing such a simple and otherwise mundane task ‘for humanity’. This puts a completely new angle on things. I just walked for humanity and I can feel the vast difference there is in that and just walking. Great blog, thank you Joseph.
Joseph, ‘Tooth Wisdom. this is. To expand our awareness that everything we do (even the smallest thing) contributes, or not, to the well-being of humanity supports us to reflect more deeply on the way we live our life and the quality we bring to each activity.
Could you say, the tooth of the matter is when we pay attention to the small things the big things in our life are easy?
A great question you pose here: “For after all how can our effect in this world be only limited to climate? What about our own internal eco-system for a start?” It does make sense and we do affect everything and everybody else because of our interconnectedness, whether directly or so-called indirectly. Is there any ‘indirectly’ when we really think about it? Or does ‘indirectly’ only mean that we can’t see it with our eyes or that it hasn’t happened yet but could or will at some point?
“So many of us will walk the streets with placards, sign petitions and donate. But what would life be like if we simply dedicated ourselves to being present during the day?” This is a superb question. Changing the world does not happen by forcing change upon the word (others) but through living by example so others simply feel inspired when they see and feel the truth in it.
“the key to life lives in every small thing” Thank you Joseph. As Serge Benhayon has said, on many occasions, “Everything matters” and it highlights the responsibility we all share in being aware of the everything.
Brilliant Joseph, it started with a tooth but you wrote about something much bigger. Perhaps it is easy to go into overwhelm about how we can change the world for the better, but what if it does indeed come down to the small details and the care and attention we are willing to bring to such things as cleaning our teeth, typing on our laptops, all the thousands of little movements we make each day, they all add up to a rather big whole. If we know we can be affected by how others move, think, speak and express then we have that opportunity ourselves to be expressing in a way that others can benefit from feeling.
“If you consider the beautiful quality you can feel when you move in harmony and in tune with you, where you feel every cell and every molecule as you move, with your mind marvelling at it all, it starts to make incredible sense that we ache and experience pain when we ‘do life’ distracted, half-hearted and on auto pilot.” This gives the mind a great focus – how great does it actually feel when you are in control of your movements and feeling them. Giving power to your body and the quality of its movements is a far wiser choice then to give power to your thoughts.
Human beings, not human doings 🙂
I have never been so inspired to floss my teeth in my life – thank you Joseph, for sharing how flossing, anything and everything can be done with love, care and dedication
A stunning blog Joseph and on a topic I have recently become more aware of also. It is a seemingly very small thing in a day, but reading your blog is a great reminder of the power in bringing our full presence to even that.
I too have a tale about my teeth which starts off like yours Joseph, and then I bought myself a chair for my bathroom, and wow, did my tale take a different path! From the simple choice of sitting down to brush my teeth instead of wandering around the house gazing out of every window, to sitting in stillness on my chair and bringing my full focus to each tooth, to each brush stroke, the health of my teeth has improved out of sight. In fact my dentist shared at the last visit, that if I hadn’t done what I have been doing I would have lost a couple of teeth by now. But as you say so wisely, it’s not just about teeth, it’s about bringing that same focus to every single thing we do in this life, then miracles will become everyday occurrences.
Thank you Joseph. I thought I was looking after my teeth in a responsible way, but you have taken it deeper for us to see there is much more at stake here than just clean teeth. The health of our whole body could also be affected by the way we look after our teeth! This shows that living in conscious presence truly is healing and love for the whole body.
“The quality we act in is directly and absolutely linked to the life we get to live”, deeply reflective Joseph, yes, and equally what we all get to live too, and our collective disrespect to this is what has given rise to the wide scale disharmony in the world.
The simple tale of the tooth – wow Joseph, really fascinating and also that your dentist let you see the bacteria and then the marked effects afterwards having you’d taken closer attention to responsibility to “clean up”. And as you share: ” If you stop for a minute and start to consider the actual effect we all have in this world – wow – it is so powerful” – indeed and we can only imagine what your action to be present has had on everything and everyone in this.
Awesome sharing, Joseph. This is another level of self-care where there is no self in it. I love what you shared about Natalie brushing her teeth for humanity. We are actually all doing that with our every single movement whether we are conscious of it or not – so we are either healing or harming humanity – constantly. So what is it that I am offering to the world at this very moment with the way I am typing, the way I am sitting, the way I am looking at the screen…? This is a big wake-up call for responsibility.
Wow Joseph, it is great that you have brought to our attention that how we are in all we do is worth deep consideration. Our wily minds tell us that some tasks are more worthwhile than others, delegating certain activities to the ‘it’s boring’ category, when in fact this is a nonsensical notion. Your blog illustrates beautifully the depth of meaning behind the words ‘Everything is everything’.
Joseph your sharing has bought to my attention the detail in which we can support ourselves in even the simplest act, when we not only dedicate all our attention to a regular brushing of our teeth but a commitment to be present with everything we do which naturally connects us to the Wisdom and power we have in abundance which is there for humanity.
Wow Joseph, what a beautifully clear and simple call back to presence – and to responsibility, not just for ourselves, but for all of humanity. Thank you.
Your blog has made a very visual and solid point on the responsibility we all bring to every moment we live. It is mind blowing to imagine what we would be faced with if we were confronted with a picture of the ‘bacteria’ in our lives and the choices we were making – much like what was presented at the dentist. We all choose to believe that we are ‘doing’ the best we can and as long as the choices which are not loving remain hidden then no-one need know but it all can be felt. The impact of the changes you made in a simple regime of cleaning your teeth confirms that this is available to us all and not only for the benefit of ourselves but to benefit Humanity.
Joseph, this is just super, you cracked me up imagining a dog out walking wondering what they’re going to have for tea – it’s just ridiculous and yet we who consider ourselves intelligent do this. As you say life is found in the attention to those small details and they change the world, everything we do causes a ripple so starting with those small things opens us up to all of life, to acknowledging and living that everything we do matters and that we matter, each and every one of us and we are so much more powerful than we often allow.
I can very much relate Joseph, I have used brushing my teeth as a gauge for how consciously present I am with myself, or how distracted I am. It’s a small period of time but it can really highlight how I am with myself in general. I notice how beneficial it is to brush my teeth with gentleness and tenderness, and how assaulted my gums feel when I’m not present and absentmindedly rushing through it. Very inspiring blog.
Hello Joseph and as soon as I started reading this blog I had a sinking feeling. The detail of teeth cleaning is a great one to check in on and frankly while I floss and clean my teeth twice a day there room for expansion. Great to chat and I’d love to stay but it’s teeth cleaning time. As you are saying, it’s not about spending more time but it’s about quality of the time. No more watching TV, making my lunch and walking the dog all while brushing my teeth, I’m kidding but my mind does wander. Thanks, Joseph.
Wow, that puts another spin on tooth brushing, I admit i had never really thought of how this action could be done for the benefit of all others. I really need to step up and reconsider how I brush my own teeth. Sure there is a practical element, but also there needs to be the reality of how we do everything effects the all.
“..what would life be like if we simply dedicated ourselves to being present during the day?” More people choosing to be present would change our world forever. The simple act of choosing this for ourselves also changes the world around us, as everything is felt and we are connected.
Great point, Annie. Being present brings with it purpose. And with purpose we can then further understand how we can serve humanity.
It is very interesting to consider that we will happily give our time to ‘doing something good’, where we will be seen to be being actively engaging in supposedly supporting others, but are so reluctant to spend time taking real and deep care of our own bodies. We expect them to just carry on keeping us alive without paying the slightest attention to what we throw at them, until something goes wrong and then we want it fixed right away, just as we do with our cars. But you pose a great question here Joshua, “So what would our day be like if we brought awareness of our super power ‘presence’ to each and every act? It may sound crazy but what if we wash our hands, sit down in our seat, drive our car and have something to eat, all understanding that our every choice is transforming the world?” What if indeed….?!
Our physical ailments are the end product of an ill energy we choose to get caught up in and thus express. Our ‘absent mindedness’ is a clever trick we use to hide the fact that we know we are moving in a way that is not true to the love that we are.
I really enjoyed this toothy tale Joseph, in a very sobering slap-in-the-face way. Teeth brushing is also one of my absent pockets in life, a task I hurry through so I can get on with my day/sleep. By applying your reckoning, I also have many other such numb pockets where I rush through them on autopilot in order to get to the ‘good stuff’. By how good can this good be if we have not lived true in the moment that precedes it?
Slowly I am learning (as there is a lot of ingrained behaviour and stubborn resistance in the way) that the quality we move with in one moment will directly affect the quality that we are impulsed to move with in the next. So the way I wash the dishes for example, will then affect the way I move to the next ‘more important’ task. The key here being to see that in order to live our Whole self and nothing less, we cannot compartmentalise our life for every part is of equal importance to the grand whole that together they make up. That is, our every move is deserved of the great love that we are.
I love, love, love this blog Joseph! Very true and very inspiring. What you have shared is the anti-dote to exhaustion, anxiety and nervous tension. Pure magic written is a simple practical way. Thank you.
Thank you Joseph for sharing your tooth brushing experiences, and I feel quite inspired to brush my teeth with more presence and for longer. Maybe there is a superhero in all of us.
wow I love what you shared here about the before and after of the quality of your teeth. That is amazing the difference in your teeth simply by being present when caring for them. So often I’ve used teeth brushing as a reason to think about things, but this takes away from the quality in which I brush. I suppose I use the excuse that I can’t see all my teeth so it does not matter – but what a throw away – I have a responsibility in every action I make and my responsibility can have a huge impact.