This is an exercise in Deepening your Presence which you can find on the Lorian Association website - part of the work of David Spangler and Incarnational Spirituality
Lorian Association
Standing
Standing is the core exercise in the practice of Incarnational Spirituality. This exercise has physical, mental, emotional, energetic and spiritual aspects to it. These aspects are designed to be done all at once, but I’ll present them as separate categories.Physical The physical action of this exercise is simple. From a sitting position, you simply stand up. Be aware of the physical sensation and felt sense of standing. Feel the work of your body, the power of balance that keeps you upright. If you are already standing, become aware that you are standing and be mindful of the felt sense of standing. If you are physically unable to stand, you can still
assume an inner attitude of standing, perhaps simply by straightening your spine as much as possible.
Emotional Feel the power of being upright. Feel the strength of rising up against the gravity of the earth. Feel how standing singles you out and expresses your individuality. You stand for what you believe. You stand up to be counted. Standing proclaims that you are here. Feel the strength and presence of your identity and sovereignty.
Mental Celebrate your humanness. You are an upright being. You emerge from the mass of nature, from the vegetative and animal states into a realm of thinking and imagining. In standing, your hands are released from providing locomotion. Feel the freedom of your hands that don’t have to support you but can now be used to create, manipulate, touch, and express your thoughts and imagination.
Mythic When you stand, your spine becomes a magical staff, the axis mundi (center) of your personal world, generating the field that embraces you. The spine is the traditional wizard’s staff along which dragon power flows and the centers of energy sing in resonance with the cosmos.
Spiritual Standing, you are the incarnate link between heaven and earth. Your energy rises into the sky and descends into the earth. Light descends and ascends, swirling along your spine in a marriage of matter and spirit. This energy is both personal and transpersonal, giving birth to something new, something human, individual and unique.
In doing this exercise of Standing, you physically stand if you are able. If you are not able to do so, then be as upright as you can be in your physical situation and “stand” mentally and emotionally. As you do so, work through these levels of sensation, feeling, thought, energy and spirit, appreciating the power, the freedom, the sovereignty and the presence emerging from the simple act of standing. Celebrate the spirit and energy of your unique individuality and presence.
