Passionate Presence: Experiencing the Seven Qualities of Awakened Awareness [Hardcover]

Catherine Ingram (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 27, 2003

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

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

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

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

and much more.

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

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Trained in Buddhist teachings, Ingram (In the Footsteps of Gandhi) is also the founder of Living Dharma and conducts Dharma Dialogues for devotees and interested students. Transcending traditional religious practices, Ingram here offers a program of how to develop a heightened awareness of the self. This awareness may be achieved with or without a personal instructor (the author's teacher was the late H.W.L. Poonjajai of India) and involves developing the qualities of silence, tenderness, embodiment, genuineness, discernment, delight and wonder. According to Ingram, engaging in meditation (silence) may lead to heightened creativity that eludes those who pursue ego-driven ambition. She also believes that for noble causes (e.g., environmental movements) to have an effect on society, there must be a strong commitment on the part of individuals to treasure the interconnectedness of all life. Cultivating wonder means, in part, an acceptance that most of life is a mystery and what we understand best can only exist in the present moment. In this thoughtful and clearly written exploration, Ingram details ways to achieve all her stated qualities of heightened awareness at length from a humanistic/Buddhist perspective.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Her writing clearly flows out of her own realization....the act of reading her words can become an awakening. -- Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now

The golden thread that runs through Catherine Ingram's excellent book is the possibility of immediate awakening. -- Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Gotham (February 27, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592400027
• ISBN-13: 978-1592400027
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #582,593 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Food for the soul, January 1, 2005

By 

Daniel J. Benor "DB@wholistichealingresearch... (Bellmawr, New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Passionate Presence: Experiencing the Seven Qualities of Awakened Awareness (Hardcover)

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

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

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

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

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

There is also a pleasant current of practical advice.

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

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Priceless, April 13, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Passionate Presence: Experiencing the Seven Qualities of Awakened Awareness (Hardcover)

Many spiritual books have given me great food for thought; this one has actually brought major shifts in my perception. It has taken me a large step forward in my presence and in the way I deal with people, which was immediately noticed by my coworkers. I don't want to get too specific and spoil the effect of a fresh reading, but do get this book. It's one of my top three spiritual books, along with *The Power of Now* by Eckhart Tolle, and *Loving What Is* by Byron Katie.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ending the Tyranny of the Mind, June 19, 2003

By 

Donald O'Donovan (Carlsbad, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Passionate Presence: Experiencing the Seven Qualities of Awakened Awareness (Hardcover)

PASSIONATE PRESENCE is about ending the tyranny of the mind. Living in the mind instead of in the moment causes one to miss the freshness and wonder of life. We may spend hours each day chewing over our past failures, or, conversely, projecting a rosy future for ourselves. The problem with this scenario is that past and future are concepts. They exist only in the mind. PASSIONATE PRESENCE is about getting out of the mind and into the moment, into the preciousness and completeness of the moment, which, after all, is all we have. The qualities that exude from these pages--gentleness, genuineness and delight--are contagious. Catherine Ingram speaks to us from direct experience, and her experience, we realize, if we are truly attentive, is our experience.