Inner Work

For the week of May 16, 2005

Telephone Presence

We know the scenario. The telephone rings, or we dial the call, and we immediately lose ourselves in the conversation, lose contact with our surroundings and our body. If driving under the influence of a cell phone, we find it difficult to stay wholly in touch with the road situation. This action of the phone, to collapse our entire awareness into hearing and speaking, presents an excellent challenge for expanding our awareness and broadening our attention.

Just before we touch the phone, whether it’s ringing or we are about to dial, we come back to ourselves, to our presence. As we reach for the phone we bring attention to our hand, to the physical sensations in the hand, to the sensations of holding the phone. If dialing, we stay aware of the touch of the keypad on our fingertips. If using a headset or earbud, we stay aware of their touch on our head or ear. In speaking, we open our attention not just to the meaning of the words we say, but also to the actual sound of our own voice, hearing ourselves speak. In listening to the other person, we notice the sound, tone, and feeling quality of their voice, the meaning of their words, and our own inner responses in thought and emotion.

Conversations draw us willy-nilly into the conditioned patterns of our personality. What presence we may have had soon evaporates. That makes conversations a prime arena for extending the domain of our inner work. The telephone can help because it gives a clear signal of an impending interaction and a reminder to be. If we practice telephone presence seriously, we can gradually train ourselves to awaken into presence whenever the phone rings or whenever we dial a call, and to stay present throughout the conversation.

For this week, practice telephone presence.

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