The Upward Pull
It would be near impossible to go online and not see something about the importance of being present and remaining conscious – an undertaking that often feels impossible to accomplish. While the concept of consciousness is important, what does it really mean and how do you achieve a state of present self-awareness?
Some conventional examples of why presence is important include, “Presence is the foundation for human connection.” Presence “sets us up to continue on the path of happiness in the future.” “One major benefit of presence is that it makes you more proactive and excited to take on challenges.”
What do these definitions of presence, and many more like them, have in common? They all focus on achieving something externally. As if being present or conscious is about obtaining more, chasing the ever-dangling carrot, and becoming someone new.
Those outside-in approaches are not only unsustainable, they also provide a false sense of inner fulfillment. In the words of legendary poet Ralph Waldo Emerson, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to lies within us. “
The Discovery
PRESENCE is the conscious awareness of an upward pull into thriving. My colleague and friend, Cara Bradley and I are fueled by these ever-evolving discussions. Presence is the catalyst for the inner impulse to grow and expand your perception of who you are along with the limitless potential inherent in existence. When you’ve moved beyond your hidden subconscious blocks, you evolve beyond surviving and into thriving. Like a pilot flame softly glowing deep within you, presence ignites your spark, illuminating your inherent desire to move past your barriers (inner and outer) and upward into the you that flourishes beyond your brain, body, and worldly achievements.
The upward pull isn’t about your success or greater achievement, it’s about the embedded desire to live beyond the small self and into your emerging awareness of invisible connection to all that is along with your limitless potential for soul expansion.
Author and thought leader Andrew Cohen emphasizes the importance of “disembedding ourselves from a deep preconscious orientation toward stasis that has been created through thousands of years of history.” Cohen goes on to share, “In our emerging recognition of the evolutionary context that has given rise to our own presence here on Earth, we become more at home in perpetual movement than in comfort and stasis.”