What IS What Is, The Now, and Presence?

What Is has to do with what’s real — the raw unfiltered truth of what’s taking place. The Is-ness of existence.

There is What Is, and there is our relationship to What Is. That “relationship” is our interpretation of what we’ve experienced. Most often that interpretation is based on our history — the lens through which we’ve been conditioned to see things.

There’s nothing wrong with having an interpretation. But on the path of awakening, the imperative is to be able to distinguish between What Is — what’s real as observed in a neutral way — from any conditioned, thought-based or colored interpretation of what’s real.

The great value of being able to discern What Is from the relationship we form to What Is, is that it’s our interpretations that typically cause our distorted emotional reactions that interfere with relationships, clear thinking, productivity, and more.

Byron Katie’s process, “The Work” is a great way to help distinguish what’s real.

Presence is a state of consciousness in which we have a pure, felt, direct experience of What Is, prior to thought. A sense of Being. Being the awareness that we are — living as awareness. An aware Presence.

We’re “being”, flowing, not locked in our minds compulsively thinking.

In presence, what would we notice? We sense energy. It’s often subtle, but not always. When we distinguish the color blue from red, or the musical note F from G, we’re distinguishing different wavelengths of energy. Sometimes we can sense a person is upset, sometimes we can’t.

I’ll take it up a knotch.

Let’s say we’re out in nature, sitting in a state of stillness. In presence, being with nature. A man approaches and says in an alarmed tone, “My daughter’s missing!”

In presence, we sense the energy, tone, and volume carrying the words to us. We notice their facial expression as the the words are expressed. We might sense the tension or fear they’re experiencing.

Next, still in presence, our brains comprehend (not interpret!) what’s been said. The actual meaning of the words.

In presence, our hearts are open, we may feel care, concern, and compassion for the man and his child. But we’re able to think clearly and wisely respond to assist as able.

But where most people generally leave that state of presence is when we start to form a relationship to What Is or interpret what’s going on. Forming a relationship to What Is is essentially making the situation about ourselves in some way.

If in our personal history there was a time when we were not paying appropriate attention to what our daughter was doing and she got lost and hurt, seeing and hearing the man in fear might trigger that old pain and guilt, leaving us somewhat brain scrambled. We might start to panic too. Not helpful.

Note: It’s very challenging to stare at a phone or computer screen and stay in a state of presence. This is why so many of us can get lost in our screens.

We can always come back into presence. It’s actually our natural state. Maybe not our “normal” state due to our conditioning, but it is natural to all of us.

Here’s a short 8 minute audio track, “One Consciousness Meditation”, that can help you return to presence at any time.

The Now is the "field" in which this reality of What Is is happening. It’s the space in which everything is taking place.

It’s always The Now. Five minutes ago when I was washing lettuce, it was the Now. In twenty years when I'll be at a club dancing, it will be The Now.

Our thoughts arise and dissolve in the Now. Our feelings and emotions arise in the Now and then dissolve in the Now. Civilizations have risen and fallen... in The Now.

The Now is not time-based, it's presence-based.

When we are in a state of presence, we are aware of being in the Now.

And it’s one Now. It's not "this now" then "this now" then "this now". Those are references to moments of the Now.

Everyone and everything simply takes place — ever in The Now.

To flow your way more into The Now, read or listen to anything by Eckhart Tolle.