Meditation

“Understanding” Presence

written by

Anthony V. Lombardo


a candle in a dark room on the floor by a hole in the wall symbolizing presence in meditation.

A Mental Experiment To Explore The Present Moment

You can’t escape the word “presence” when talking about meditation, mindfulness, or any spiritual growth modality. It may seem like “becoming present” is the simple answer to every problem.

But what exactly is presence?

Many philosophies and traditions assert that the mere act of trying to understand presence is paradoxical—because the moment you try to think about or conceptualize presence, you fall out of the present moment. The mind just can’t fully comprehend it—because the present moment is meant to be directly experienced.

Others argue that intellectual understanding can complement direct experience. This perspective is prominent in modern mindfulness-based psychology, which emphasizes the importance of comprehending the nature of stress and anxiety. This understanding is then applied in practical, experiential exercises where one pays close attention to how these emotions manifest in the body.

What do you think?

2 Thought Experiments To Explore “Presence”

Below are two simple, yet powerful thought experiments, designed to help us explore and “understand” enigmatic concepts such as presence, mindfulness, and the nature of thought itself. They can also be used as an anchor in meditation to navigate racing thoughts and distractions. So, instead of focusing on your breath or trying to “clear your mind” during your practice, you can utilize the following exercises to ground yourself in the present moment.

1. “What thought is going to come out of the mouse hole?”

In The Power Of Now, Eckhart Tolle offers a little experiment to “understand” presence.

“Close your eyes and say to yourself: “I wonder what my next thought is going to be.” Then become very alert and wait for the next thought. Be like a cat watching a mouse hole. What thought is going to come out of the mouse hole?” — Eckhart Tolle

2. The space in-between thoughts.

Alternatively, in her book Taking The Leap, Pema Chödrön speaks of “the gap” — the space in-between thoughts — as “the most important thing in the world.”

“All spiritual teachings come from that place of not being caught up in yourself. When you get out of the way, that is the gap experience, the pause experience, the stillness experience. It’s the experience of strong, direct communication with the world, and that’s when all real communication happens.” — Pema Chödrön

In the spirit of Pema’s wisdom, we can remix Eckhart’s experiment.

Once again, close your eyes and say to yourself: “I wonder what my next thought is going to be.” This time, as the steady stream of thoughts resumes, focus your attention on the tiny space in-between each thought.

Can you rest into that? Can you put your awareness solely on that space?

Then, when a new thought arrives, give yourself permission to acknowledge the thought — but become extremely interested in seeing if you can notice those few precious seconds of empty space that will be right behind it.

What resides there?

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