Your presence is requested...

I love my solitude.

via Flickr

And I love being around other people.

It's another one of those dichotomies that life is full of.


What makes my interactions with others flow that much easier is my moments of solitude. The peace that I gain from a conscious withdrawal that is focused on my inner self, allows my extroverted outer personality not to get swept up in the many distractions that life can offer.

It also gives me the ability to be completely present when I am around others.

Presence provides insight and clarity around interactions. It allows your intuition to strengthen. Best of all, presence strengthens your personal sense of power. Your ability to direct your life in a manner that reflects your highest thoughts.

image via Alaska in Pictures

When we're not fully present in this very moment, our subconscious dominates and causes us to  re act to our surroundings. We play out immature behaviours and retell the stories of our past hurts and disappointments in every action that we take.

This narrative of the past dominates and supports a thought system that acts only to draw us away from the present moment into a cycle of repetition. It fuels concerns and anxieties about our future; destroys our healthy connections to others; and puts up walls to communication.

image via nairaland

We become basic in our behaviours.

Our responses to others when we're in this state are not well thought and can quite often be irrational, simply because we're re acting rather than inter acting. We're unknowingly weaving all of these irrelevant aspects of the past into our present moment and confusing the issue at hand.

Physiological responses are triggered by anxiety, and whether it's high stakes stress, or the just as damaging low grade but constant worry, it's still causing the body to respond in a way that is not ideal.

So how do we put an end to these thought processes?

"Keep some of your attention within. Don't let it all flow out.


Feel your whole body from within... as if you were listening or reading with your whole body." (Eckhart Tolle)




The best solutions are the most simple:

Meditate regularly





If you find yourself too distracted to sit quietly and focus on your breath, with some relaxing music in the background, then get outside and exercise.

image via tooniq8

Walk, cycle or run. Hit a yoga class or practice QiGong in a nearby park. Repeat some affirmations while you do it, but make sure you do it.

Approach it with discipline and commitment and your presence will increase.


So when are you next meditating?