Definition
The ability to live the moment, the body and the relationship with available attention rather than automatic.
Presence is the ability to be truly available to what is happening here and now. It involves attention to the body, the environment and the person encountered, without being completely absorbed by memories, anticipations or distractions. It remains dynamic: being present does not prevent you from thinking about the past or the future when they are useful.
To be retained
- Paying Full Attention
- Return to body and sensations
- Reduce preventable distractions
- Stay open to what comes
Origin of the term and context
The concept crosses philosophy, psychology and contemplative traditions, not a permanent mystical state but a renewable quality of attention.
Why does it matter?
The presence improves listening and allows to perceive tensions, needs and choices sooner. It is cultivated in ordinary gestures.
- Improve the quality of listening
- Reduce some automatic reactions
- Strengthening engagement in the activity
- Support a better understanding of needs
How can I practice it?
- Drop phone during conversation
- Observe body sensations
- Do one task at a time
- Return to three sounds present
Misconceptions and points of caution
- Being present does not mean forgetting the past or the future.
- Presence is not a performance.
- It can include uncomfortable emotions.
Perspectives from different traditions
- Zen: Attention in action.
- Phenomenology: a return to the experience.
- Humanist psychology: authentic presence in the relationship.
To go further
- The Power of Now — Eckhart Tolle, spiritual reading
- A Way of Being — Carl Rogers