It’s Real and Accessible
Core, n:
– the central, innermost, or most essential part of anything
– the seat of one’s deepest thoughts and emotions
Many, perhaps most of us sense that we have a core of our being. A deepest part of our personhood. We might think of that core as embodying classic virtues like character, courage, kindness, and integrity. Perhaps we associate our core with ‘having a gut feeling’ – a trusted internal sense of good and bad, right and wrong. If religiously or spiritually inclined, we likely identify the core of our being as our soul or spirit. Many other words are used to designate an innermost part of ourselves: center, psyche, ground, heart, mind, self, source, being, essence, root, and more.
All these ways of referring to and regarding our vital center are valid and relevant. Of primary importance is what they have in common: an implicit, embodied knowing of a creative, spacious, attentive presence at the core of our being that radiates love, strength, and wisdom.
We may not be aware of or feel connected to this conscious center of potent goodness often. In fact most of us, the great majority of the time, are not consciously aware of our spacious core of being. But whether readily accessible or deeply buried, I believe we all have at least some intuitive sense of a wise, compassionate, awake presence at our core.
I contend that this sense is entirely justified, that the core of our being is a genuine presence that we can know experientially and become increasingly familiar with, to the profound benefit of ourselves and those around us.
“Believing in God”– Welcome But Not Necessary
This can sound ‘spiritual’ and/or seem to suggest a belief in God. And if that perspective works for you, the existence of a conscious core of being can certainly be understood through that lens. But the existence of a centermost vital presence does not need to be viewed in religious or mystical terms to be valid, understood, or – most importantly – experienced.