Present in body, absent in mind
George Clark, February 2007
Inspired by Yvonne Rand's audio dharma talk on "Presence"
Note - the link is to an mp3 file - click it and it will probably speak to you
It is common in school for a student to be present in body but to have their mind in another time and place. In this sense most 'normal' people are absent most of the time.
Being present means living in the immediate here and now; being absent means living in an imaginary past and future.
The bad news is that most people are absent most of the time and are locked into thoughts of the past and future which are often tinged with anxiety and negative emotions. These people are locked into habits of judgement and story telling.
The good news is that the capacity for presence is hard wired into everybody. We all have the capacity for freedom, peace and happiness.
More good news. Most people have several flashes of presence everyday. They can learn to notice and label them. By doing so presence comes to feature more strongly in the mind set. New habits of mind are formed and its becomes easier to return to the here and now more easily and more often.
It is perhaps overstating the case but those who are absent are like the walking wounded and the living dead. They are conditioned, programmed, and predictable. They have been encultured to the level of indoctrination and are not much more than robotic zombies.
On the other hand those who are present come across as detoxified human beings. They are kind, humorous, safe, attractive and they have noticeable charisma. They quietly stand out from the crowd through being alive, aware and spontaneous.
The following table offers some contrasts between the two mind states. Have you noticed flashes of presence in yourself? Have you noticed the joyful peace given off by other people when they are present? Would you want to experience more of it? What can you do to make this happen?
| Present in the here and now | Absent in the there and then |
|---|---|
| Alive | Robotic |
| Aware | Blinkered |
| Ease | Dis-ease |
| Fearless | Fearful |
| Free | Conditioned/ programmed |
| Generous/ kind | Greedy |
| Happy | Unhappy |
| Humorous | Glum/ depressed |
| Liberated | Encultured/ indoctrinated |
| Non toxic | Toxic |
| Optimistic | Pessimistic |
| Peaceful | Anxious |
| Proactive | Reactive |
| Selfless | Selfish |
| Specifics | Generalities |
| Spontaneous | Predictable |
