Do you have the ability to step out of thought and into presence whenever you wish to?

That is a big question to answer.  If we have that ability we are awake.  If we are still struggling a bit but finding that we are able to do this more and more ( like I am ) we are well into the process of waking up.  If the mere question sends us into a tail spin of "WTF(front door)? Are you crazy?" Then we are not ready. 

It is all good.   Many spiritual teachers, including Eckhart Tolle tell us that there is a dormant faculty in all of us waiting to come to Life.  That faculty is presence...the space beneath thought. It will make Itself known eventually.  In the meantime...we can help it along...if we are so inclined.

It is not that we are going to get rid of thought or stop thought.  That is not the mission.  That would be akin to attempting to stop the wind from blowing. Thinking is going to happen whether we like it or not.   The mission is to simply relinquish our attachment and our identification with thinking.  When we relinquish this, we relinquish ego. 

The thinking is not the problem...our believing what it tells us... is.  We have created these little 'selves' in our mind...these little destructive egos...with the thinking mind. We  use more thinking to keep them going. As long as we feed these greedy little entities with thought,  the more we believe they are us. And the more we believe they are us...the farther away we get from who we really are.  By that I mean...the further we get from realizing, recognizing, and remembering who we really are. 

Beneath this thinking and this ego identification is presence...is being. It is always there, going nowhere.  We catch glimpses of it from time to time and it feels so darn good.  It is just very hard for most of us to stay there.  Ego keeps luring us away with "Oh man...you got to think about this or that!  Now this is an important thought!   I know you are trying toe get all spiritual like but you really have to put some thought into this over here." etc etc

And we follow...one thought that leads to another thought and another until we are lost in some fairy tale woods we have created.  Most times, we are not even aware we are lost.  It all seems so "normal"...so "real".

The thing we need to do  is simply become aware when we are straying off. We need to become aware when we are getting lost in the story so we can gently  pull ourselves back.  Many Buddhist teachings on meditation tell us that is all meditation is...a practice that improves our  ability to bring self back from being lost in thought to  presence...to the awareness of here and now...be it by focusing attention on  breath,  body sensations or the sensual perceptions of what is going on around us.  It is a repetitive act of  "reclaiming" attention away from ego and placing it back on awareness of the here and now. We just catch ourselves straying, guide self back, hold it there until we stray again, guide self back again, watch thought take over again, guide self back and it goes on...and on...and on.  To the Buddhists this is the most profound spiritual practice. "Spirituality", then, is that simple. 

Or is it?

How effectively can you catch yourself straying and then bring yourself back to this moment?  Can you reclaim your consciousness whenever you want to?  Are you even aware when you are slipping into unconsciousness again?

That is what the true "spiritual" quest is all about you.  Can you bring yourself back to Self when you wish too? 

Some of us wake up so fast. We can go from being unconscious to awake in a "holy instant" and...some of us... can even stay awake. I keep dozing off.  :) For most of us to master this staying awake, however,  we need to first recognize the need to do so (few even get here). Then we need to practice, practice, practice.

It is a practice that requires commitment. I believe that commitment is worth it though.  Even the few, rare moments glimpsed in practice make it all worthwhile. 

I  guess, it also important to mention...that it doesn't matter what level of this awakening you are on. No one...and I mean no one...is "more special" than someone else based on how "spiritual" they claim to be.  We are all equally spiritual...it is just a matter of being aware of it...that's all. Where are you in that awareness?  Go from there.

All is well in my world.