Presence & I: Mastering the Dance of Life

By Niki Kapoor

Presence & I is a guide to mastering the journey of life. It helps the readers create a beautiful life and meaningful relationships. The book presents life as a dance between the Presence and self. Each moment of life is a step in that dance. We are all here to ultimately discover the Presence. That is the purpose of each soul. We are all making our way towards the Presence through each life experience. How we nagivate life and its moments determines if we move closer to the Presence or away from it. The book guides the readers towards the Presence by showing the roadmap to choosing higher consciousness in everyday life. This is an interactive book with guided meditations, reflections and stories that make the content very easy to follow. The language is very simple, clear and the practices are easy to apply. Presence & I is a journey into your Higher Self and a higher destiny.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Sep 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9798765226988

Niki Kapoor

Niki Kapoor is a spiritual teacher and a guide who is dedicated to helping people discover inner freedom and connection to the Presence. She works with people from around the world supporting their awakening journey and helping them connect to their higher self. Niki Kapoor experienced profound transformation over the last decade and a half and came into a deep connection with the Source. Niki lives in a state of constant connection and clarity that brings forth all her teachings and wisdom effortlessly. Her vision is to help other seekers awaken to this state that is available to each one of us. Niki is from USA. She travels the world sharing wisdom through workshops and online programs. We need right knowledge to do right things for a good life. Presence & I is meant to help the readers with this right knowledge.

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Copyright © 2022 Niki Kapoor.

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ISBN: 979-8-7652-2697-1 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-7652-2699-5 (hc)

ISBN: 979-8-7652-2698-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022906319

Balboa Press rev. date: 08/29/2022

Dedication

In memory of my late father Colonel Satish

Kapoor, with all my love and gratitude.

You had a bigger impact on my life than

I can ever put into words.

I dedicate this book to my parents- Mrs Ashok Kapoor and Col. Satish Kapoor. You are the giants on whose shoulders I stand. Thank you for your undying support. You are always there for me no matter how I choose to live my life.

This book is also an offering of gratitude to my beloved teachers: Sri Amma Bhagvan, Sri Krishnaji, Sri Preethaji, as well as Ekam and Oneness University faculty.

My teachers and mentors are the foundation of my journey. It is because of their love and support my journey has unfolded as it did. This book is an outflow of their love and wisdom. Umaji, Kumarji, Kiranji, and Chandraji I am specially grateful to you for nurturing me as your own family. Your wisdom, grace and love has had a huge impact on me.

Most importantly, my deepest gratitude to the Presence within and in everything. This work is a creation of this Presence. It is an offering to this Presence.

CONTENTS

1.     The Dance & I

2.     Connection & I

3.     Trust & I

4.     Choices & I

5.     Inner Truth & I

6.     Resistance & I

7.     Acceptance & I

8.     Gratitude & I

9.     Complaining & I

10.   Me/Not Me & I

11.   Conflict & I

12.   Forgiveness & I

13.   Giving Meaning & I

14.   Surrender & I

15.   Present Moment & I

16.   Heaven on Earth & I

CHAPTER 1

The Dance

& I

This Universe is a movement. This movement is a dance.

A flow. So I can come home to everything and nothing

A student asked a master,

Please explain how can I live life well.

Master smiled and replied: Dance. The student was baffled. He asked: How can I live life well by dancing?

The master replied: "See life as a dance

with the Presence. Take each step towards growth.

Everyday choose what will take you closer to the Presence. Soon life will flow effortlessly."

I magine waking up one day to the deepest love you have ever known. You feel safe, seen, cherished and accepted. You are free to be yourself. There is a sense of freedom within that makes you fearless. A deep calm fills you. You feel connected to all life. There is a genuine concern for others and an effortless ability to be present to those around you. Life feels effortless and joyful.

Take a moment and reflect. Did this possibility touched something deep within? Is this what you truly want? If so, how can we attain this love? Before we move further, close your eyes and inhale deeply. Exhale slowly. Do this a four times with full attention on your heart. Now visualize a golden lotus in your heart. It is radiant and shiny. The lotus is filling your chest with golden light. You feel a sense of calm and joy. Take another deep breath and exhale slowly. Now gently open your eyes with a smile.

This life journey is a beautiful dance between the I (self) and the Presence. The love we seek has been there all along. All we have to do is discover it. The I is the self. It is commonly known as the mind and ego. Simply put self is an identity created within the mind. The Presence referred to here is the Higher consciousness, Higher Self or the One. The Presence lives in each of us. Always.

If we observe closely, every moment of life is a dance between the Presence & I. In each moment, either the I moves closer to the Presence or it moves away from it. Based on this movement, either our life becomes beautiful or stressful. The closer we get to the Presence, the better life flows. This is the true focus of the journey of our life. We are here to discover this bond. Whether we believe in a Higher Consciousness or not, this is what each of us is doing. Based on how well we dance, we are either evolving or regressing in each moment.

If we process a situation through an expanded consciousness, the I moves closer to the Presence. Expanded consciousness is when we process a situation from the inner state of kindness, compassion, love, inner peace and other such connected states. If our movement is towards the Presence through expanded consciousness, we see our life unfolding with ease and grace. We find ourselves becoming happier and more connected individuals.

If we process a situation through a limited consciousness, I moves away from the Presence. Limited consciousness is when we process life from a state of fear, jealousy, anger, frustration, blame and other such limited states. If our movement is mostly away from the Presence into limited consciousness, we find more stress in our lives. We experience unhappiness and disconnection.

Let me tell you a story to illustrate this better. Two sisters lived in a remote village in Japan. The older sister Akie faced a lot of problems and felt alone always. There was a great deal of stress in her. One problem would end and another would soon crop up. She held resentment towards life and had difficulty in connecting to others. The younger sister Masumi was light-hearted and rarely faced any life challenges. Life flowed beautifully for her. She was happy and always felt connected to others around her.

Masumi’s secret to effortless life was that she processed each experience from an expanded state of consciousness and trust. She didn’t play the victim. Instead, she chose to learn from life experiences. She surrendered every life situation and each day to the Presence. She did everything with the Presence. So, she never felt alone. Her movement was mostly towards the Presence.

Akie on the other hand tried to problem solve her way through life on her own. She lived in a state of stress and processed life from a limited state of consciousness. She spent her time in resentment, blame, and being the victim. This created movements away from faith, trust and the Presence. Life felt hard and unforgiving to Akie.

Let us take a moment and check-in. Take a deep breath in and exhale slowly. Bring awareness to your heart. Become still. Now think which of the two sisters reflects your life experience? Be honest with yourself. No need to judge what you discover. Just see the truth. As you see the truth peacefully, a change will naturally begin to take place.

Remember that: Our state of being and condition of our life is a beautiful reflection of this dance. It shows us if we are flowing towards the Presence or away from it.

As our spiritual inner dance evolves and our connection to the Presence grows, our experience of life expands as well. We begin to find the Presence everywhere. A feeling of joy and well-being takes root within. Life becomes effortless. This dance culminates in the ending of all separation and a state of oneness with the Presence. We begin to experience life from a state of unbroken peace and love.

Now imagine yourself at a dance studio learning the waltz. At first, your steps will be awkward. You will tend to move away from the instructor instead of moving closer to the instructor. You will step on toes and trip. There will be moments of flow and moments of pain. As you practice and improve, the dance becomes easier. There is harmony in the movement now. Slowly the steps are happening naturally. You are able to surrender and allow yourself to be led. You are no more dancing. Now you are the dance as two become one movement. The dance has evolved from being awkward to being graceful.

So is this journey of life. The awkward movements in life are limited consciousness states where we want to control and refuse to let go. As we begin the practice of choosing an expanded consciousness in life, we learn to trust. We learn to surrender. We seek growth in each experience over winning or being right. As we relax into this new way of being, resistance melts and we become calmer. Our being unlearns old harmful habits of resistance and fight. In this relaxed state, we can flow with life.

69939.png EXERCISE

- Reflect on your life as this Dance between the I and the Presence. Are you flowing with the Presence smoothly or are your movements awkward?

- Is your life becoming effortless or more complicated? Become aware of where you stand in this dance.

- How do you wish to dance this dance? In flow or in ignorance? Make a clear decision to refine your dance as you move forward with this