Presence is the key to spirituality
“Remember that there is only one important time and it is Now. The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion.”
Leo Tolstoy, The Emperor’s Three Questions
Presence is the core of my spirituality. There are many other parts, but presence is the foundation. All the teachings of the modern spiritual teacher, Eckhart Tolle, can be summed up by the idea of staying fully present in each moment. He says we don’t need a lifetime of study to reach enlightenment; we just need to practice staying present.
One way to describe ‘God’ (or the divine) is ‘Absolute Presence’. Other descriptions include energy, space, or consciousness. These terms help us see ‘God’ as a unified whole. They express the idea of a single field as being the source of all things, which aligns with scientific ideas. ‘Absolute Presence’ also hints at how we access the divine: through our own presence.
Presence is the most vital spiritual practice because it is the only way to fully experience life. Our lives happen only in the present moment. Life is always happening NOW. It is an ongoing series of small moments we call now. Presence brings joy as we experience life more fully, engaging with life as it happens. Wishing moments away, or living in constant anticipation of some future moment, is a waste of life. Because then you are never here, now, with life as it is happening.
Everything passes, including our bodies, so we can't find our true selves in things. The only constant is the present moment. When we are fully present, we free ourselves from ego (identification with thought). Presence allows us to observe our thoughts. When we do this, we stop identifying with them. Our true nature is the observer (or consciousness). Christian mystics call this the ‘Christ within’. Buddhists refer to it as Buddha nature. Hindus call it Atman, the in-dwelling God.
Moving away from our identification with thought brings peace. Eckhart Tolle says, “the primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation, but the thoughts about it.” A difficult moment feels even worse when we resist it rather than accept it. Research by Dr. Fred Luskin from Stanford shows that a person can have about 60,000 thoughts a day, with 90% being repetitive. Focusing on the past or future (instead of the present moment) keeps us trapped in our thoughts. Ruminating on the past - or thinking that we will only be happy in some future scenario - are rich sources of suffering.
For example, if you argue with your partner, your mind fills with thoughts about their motivations, past mistakes, and the future of your relationship. If you pause and observe your thoughts instead of identifying with them, you create space that can prevent the argument from escalating. However, this is easier said than done. We must practice presence in all moments to improve our response in these tough situations.
Being fully present makes me better at providing spiritual care. When I am working with clients my primary objective is the quality of presence that I bring to the encounter. This presence helps me connect with the extreme forms of suffering that some of my clients are experiencing. From that place of presence, I am better able to give them the support they need in that moment. Carl Rogers said “When I am at my best, as a group facilitator or as a therapist, I discover another characteristic. I find that when I am closest to my inner, intuitive self, when I am in touch with the unknown in me, when perhaps I am in a slightly altered state of consciousness, then whatever I do seems to be healing. Then my presence is releasing and helpful to the other.”
Presence also helps us with change and growth as we learn to sit with difficult emotions rather than looking to some external source to escape them. Trying to escape difficult emotions only causes more pain. It is only when we are present with them - when we welcome them and learn what they are trying to say - that we can move through them.
Presence improves how we show up in the world and how we experience it. Consciously bringing the energy of Love and attention to the time we spend with people makes our relationships better. Think how the quality of the parent-child relationship improves when the parent is fully present with the child. Presence creates a flow state (the state when we are completely immersed in an activity). The flow state brings enjoyment, mastery, and intrinsic reward. It makes experience itself worthwhile, regardless of the outcome. The Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer said of the flow state; “The absolute simplicity. That's what I love. When you're climbing your mind is clear and free from all confusions. You have focus. And suddenly the light becomes sharper, the sounds are richer and you're filled with the deep, powerful presence of life.” Presence opens the door to joy, revelation and Love.
Eckhart Tolle says the only thing that ultimately matters is “Can I sense my essential Beingness in the background of my life at all times? At this moment? Can I sense my essential identity as consciousness itself? Or am I losing myself in what happens, losing myself in the mind, in the world?”
In presence we find joy, peace, acceptance, equanimity, and surrender to the flow of life. Hannah Arendt says; “Fearlessness is what love seeks…Such fearlessness exists only in the complete calm that can no longer be shaken by events expected of the future…It is only by calling past and future into the present of remembrance and expectation that time exists at all. Hence the only valid tense is the present, the Now.”
Live your life moment to moment. Be fully present, even when the moment is about planning for the future. By improving your present state, the quality of your life will improve overall.
There are many ways to access presence. Focus on the task at hand, fully engage your senses, exercise, meditate, or spend time in nature. Notice thoughts without being swept away by them. When it is dinner time, bringing presence to cooking and eating will help bring divine disclosures of taste. In all moments, large or small, bring your full presence to them.
It takes practice to access presence and trust in the power of the present moment, and I would love to help you with that.