How to Cultivate Presence in Your Life
Presence is the greatest gift you can give yourself and to others.
In a world of constant unconscious action, rushing, forcing and pushing, presence can be a rebellious act. Hit pause, cut through the noise, and return your focus to the here and now. Be present within your body, in your environment, and pay conscious attention to what is in the moment. Be entirely immersed in your present experience, without thinking, expecting, or doing. Simply be. Notice the subtleties of your experience, your senses, your feelings, your breath. Feel what it really feels to be present and alive in this moment.
Like a muscle, presence is cultivated. Presence is a way of being and engaging with the experience of life. An art of being conscious in the here and now, as a soul in your body. Conscious of your energy, your breath, and the constant current of energy flowing through and all around. A feeling of solid constancy while also being attuned the very subtle and minute changes flowing through life.
There is an art to living that requires us to learn how to navigate our whole selves in the world while also flowing with it. Life’s journey can be compared to navigating a river in a kayak. Life is the river. Your body is the kayak. Either your unconscious ego or conscious soul is navigating the body.
The unconscious ego will actively try to navigate the kayak, controlling where it goes at all times. It may have an illusionary idea of where it thinks it should go, and will spend all of its energy trying to get there. It may even try to go back to where it once was in the past by paddling upstream. And it will not want to change course out of fear of the unknown. It may stay in one particular spot that seems safe and knowable, will use all its energy to stay within the confines of that area, and will avoid venturing elsewhere. Or it may give up all together and park itself on the bank watching the river of life flow by.
The conscious soul navigates the river of life with presence. The soul is connected with the body, it is a master of the kayak. The soul steers the kayak with the flow of the river in the direction it’s meant to go in, as if the soul, kayak and river are all one. The soul and the vessel merge with the flow of the river, and together, it gets the soul to where it needs to go. The soul knows how to flow with the currents of the river and uses it to its advantage. The river currents indicate when its time to go with the flow, pause, or go in a different direction.
Presence as a way of being is what helps us slow down and navigate our life’s journey with conscious attention and participation. Its cultivation can support shifting our driver perspective from unconscious ego to conscious soul. Simply being present and aware of who is in the driver’s seat, the state of your kayak/body, and the conditions of the river/life, one can know the direction they’re flowing in and how they are to act. Such as when it’s time to act/go, pause/stop, turn directions, maneuver obstacles, rest, refuel or repair. In other words, presence can help you navigate the conditions and challenges of life. Presence is what allows you to see what is right in front of you and what is coming up ahead. If you are too busy looking behind you and too worried and stressed about what’s coming in the future, you will not be able to see the river right in front of you. And when those boulders come in your path, they will hit you by surprise. Or when the beautiful moments and vistas open up, you will miss them. The goal of life is not to just get there, but to be present in the river’s journey. The journey is what gives life meaning and is how one is able to learn and develop in its experience.
Presence can be cultivated simply by taking plenty of space, time and rest for yourself. Having periods of time throughout the day regularly to do absolutely nothing is the best way to practice presence. This time is best taken outdoors in nature. Park yourself at the park, go for a leisurely hike in the forest, or go for a light swim in the ocean. Or just sit on a park bench or lay on a blanket and be in the present. Anchor your full self in your body, feel, sense, and be. Let go of all worries, concerns, or to-do’s in this moment, as if you’re leaving them all behind. Time is not running out. Admiring nature is the easiest way to get lost in presence. Allow the sunshine to recharge your body, the wind to clean your spirit, and the Earth to ground your presence. Turn off your mind. Breathe and purify your energy. Look up at the clouds and fall into them as they float by. Watch the wind blow through the leaves of the trees, as the sunlight scatters and dances amongst its shapes. Admire birds flutter around. In this moment, there is nothing to do. You can simply just be.