When we are socializing, we are googling on our phones. When we are googling on our phones, we are socializing. Being present offers you a state of mind that is not only pleasurable to the senses, but practical as well. There is sweetness in each moment that belongs to itself. Besides, when we are present we are focused and better able to really attend to the nowness before us. When we are with another person and we answer our phone whether that person is offended or not, we are sending a message. The message we are sending is that "you don't have my undivided attention".  Another message we are sending to ourselves and life in general is that there are no sacred moments. There are no moments that exist just for the sake of that moment. In other words, all moments must be shared with other moments. Like a wave that overtakes the crests before it, every moment is blurred and distorted- this is in our message as well.

This polluting of moments has far reaching ramifications that most of us don't realize. On a spiritual level, the mind that is never still and never hears the soft voice of intuition. On an emotional level, the mind that is always busy never knows the ecstasy of now. On a business level the quality work is sacrificed as we do our reports while we converse with a client simultaneously. When it comes to relationships eye contact is not only important- it is essential. Without knowing it, when we look at another we are acknowledging their sacredness, which is why when we are upset we tend not to look at others. It is also why when we are in moments of intimacy, we tend to gaze at the other- we are sending the message that the other is beautiful, captivating and worth being seen. Seeing and being seen is essential to our self worth, especially when it comes to children. For children, being seen is almost as important as physical contact.

When we are constantly on the computers while at the dinner table, habitually watching TV during what was supposed to be quality family time, and constantly texting and googling we are missing the entire reason for our existence. We were made to connect to each other and not to machines. We are connectors. Everything about us infers this, our eardrums connect to the vibration of sound and we hear. The rods and cones in our eyes connect with the vibrations of color and we see, and the nerve ending in our skin connects with the vibration of textures, and we feel.

We were created to connect to Life, to those that live, to the Spirit that lives eternally so that we might be a vessel for God's love. We were meant to make a difference in each others' lives by being a blessing, by revering the spirit within them through our acknowledgement of their specialness. Instead what many are opting to do with our sacred and exquisite consciousness is to connect it with inanimate contraptions that are absent of life and soul.

 The good news is that more and more people are choosing to discipline themselves by deciding not to check their email after a certain time of day, not to text while they are driving and not to answer their cell phones while they are in a conversation with another. More of us are becoming aware of how we are dishonoring ourselves, the sacred moments that we have been given as gifts of life, and each other by our inattention. More of us are returning to our eye contact and to that time when we hung on each others' words and gazed on our children as they slyly look our way to see us, in hope that they are being seen by us.

Copyright Donya Ture'