The Why, What, Where, Who and When of Presence

The past few weeks, a number of people have asked me about presence. It got me reflecting and so I decided to put something together under the over-arching theme of presence for the moment. Personally, I think presence is similar to flow or being in the zone, however will leave that for another day.

So let’s get started and delve deeper in to the Why, What, Where, Who and When of Presence.

Why Presence?

For me, personally because it was (and still is) something that I needed to learn and start to master. As they say, you end up teaching what you most need to learn and presence was like that for me. Yes, I wanted and needed to learn to be present – present with my own inner and outer experiences of life – the big moments and so-called little moments. On December 20, 2014 I wrote this following post on Giving the Gift of Presence this Festive Season and after seeing the video #givepresence from Lululemon, I knew that was something I wanted and then be able to give!

What is Presence?

One of the authors that has inspired me to practise presence since I first read his book, the Power of Now is Eckhart Tolle. He says –

“You can’t think about presence, and the mind cannot understand it. Understanding presence is being present” (p. 93).

In the book Presence, Amy Cuddy says –

“Presence stems from believing in and trusting yourself – your real, honest feelings, values and abilities.” (p. 5) and “Presence as I mean it throughout these pages, is the state of being attuned to and able to comfortable express our true thoughts, feelings, values and potential.” ((p. 24).

Where Can I Be Present?

Simply – everywhere! Presence begins with you and continues out in to all areas of your life. Be here now – fully here now as you are reading this. Take a breath – inhale and exhale. Yes, I know it can be challenging as over the years we have become so busy mutli-tasking and committing to overly full schedules. In many ways, we have been so busy trying to get some place else, we forget to be here.

However, there are choices involved in those decisions and we and can choose another way. What would happen to your life if you had greater presence in your relationships, health / fitness, career / business?

If you are a teacher and / or work in education – what impact would being present in the classroom have for the students? Would it benefit you as the teacher to have emotional equilibrium, focus and attention within the classroom? If you are an athlete – what impact would presence have on your performance? I certainly wish I had learn how to cultivate emotional awareness and harmony when I was playing tennis 🙂

Who Can Be Present?

Again, simply – everyone! If we go back to Cuddy’s definition above, can you see the benefit of being attuned to your own thoughts, feelings, actions and values, so you can live your purpose? And as I have discovered, the more present we are for ourselves, the more present we can be for others.

When Do We Need to Be Present?

Mmm – think you may be getting the drift of this! Again – as much as possible. Presence starts from when we was up in the morning to when we go to sleep at night. From my own experience, this is a never-ending adventure and practising presence starts with self-awareness and turning within.

How Can I Stay Present? –

Tolle says –

“To stay present is everyday life, it helps to be deeply rooted within yourself…. To always have some of your attention in the energy field of your body. To feel the body from within, so to speak. Body awareness keeps you present” (p. 94).

Personally, this is why I invest time every day to connect with my emotions, body, thoughts and spirit through journaling, mindfulness, gratitude and self-compassion as well as moving my body 🙂

Over to You…

I hope this post has given you some insight in to the 5W’s of Presence. If you have any questions, please leave any questions or comments below.

If you are ready to reclaim your courage and take the next step towards freedom and opening your heart, why not join our Toolkit?

References –

Cuddy, A. (2018). Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges. New York, USA: Back Bay Books.

Tolle, E. (1999). The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment. Vancouver, Canada: Namaste Publishing.