At times you speak of the Beloved's presence. Any current thoughts on that subject?
Mainly that, at best, one can be open to this presence, that it can be invoked, invited, consented to but not created or forced. There's no technique to bring this about, only a willingness to receive it.
So who does the invoking, the inviting?
We only do our best to be wholehearted, to let ego-mind's sleeping dogs lie, assuming they can be lulled to slumber or at least be quiet down.
What if no such presence is experienced?
There's always presence present--that's a matter of recognition and trust on our part. One can somehow 'know' there's the active work of that presence eating away at the perimeter, even the core, of our false self, even without our direct perception of it. It's where wisdom and skill in dealing with our wayward self kicks in.
So it's always happening, working either way.
I think this is the key: not to be attached to either way, not to assume one or the other experience of presence is to be expected or preferred over the other.
