How often during the morning, afternoon, evening, ride to work, week, month, . . . year is one ‘actually’ Present?? Embodying acceptance of the now moment is to exist and be present. There is being physically present: consciously occupying a physical space. There is being mentally present: being aware while undertaking and completing a task. There is spiritually present: becoming one with the source of a belief system. Yet, when one is ‘Present’, authentically, in an unattached manner, . . . there is an expanded freedom that subsists in the face of ‘whatever’.
To be Present is to remain aware without any degree of wavering. So many times, there is the performing of daily activities while on autopilot. Once a task or series of tasks is or are learned, rehearsed, perfected, the mind disassociates from the activity. It drifts from thought to thought. Also, there is the other end of the spectrum, where the mind is so focused on a task that all else disappears. Although this is (being) present and beneficial in some instances, it is so from an exclusionary standpoint. To be totally ‘Present’ is to take all into account without drifting or excluding anything . . . . ‘Calmly Abiding’ in the Now Moment!!
Going to work, school, a function, etcetera is to be in a place and to occupy that space. One just has to be there. There may be scant interest or connection to the event. There may only be the adequate modicum of attention given to the tasks related to the event. To be present physically requires that the body occupy an appointed space. Fulfilling assigned responsibilities while physically present is the minimum of being present.
To be mentally present requires that one be focused on a task or job. Laser beam focus is a term that can be applied here. Things that require mental presence . . . . hammering a nail, de-activating a bomb, climbing a rock wall . . . . these are just some of the acts that require mental presence. What can happen is that one may want to do something else while undertaking a task that may not be as mentally demanding. From here, the attention, once again, will drift. Mental presence then is a state that requires the ability for recognizing that focus is drifting.
To be spiritually present is to find the place of oneness within a belief system. The goal is to maintain this state of oneness upon arriving at that ‘place’ (i.e.: God, Nirvana, Nothingness, the Tao, Allah, YHVH) It can be a challenge to maintain spiritual presence in the absence of a spiritual setting (i.e. ashram, zendo, church, synagogue, temple, etc). Being spiritually present does open up one’s faculties and enables the individual to be more aware of their surroundings. What must develop the ability to maintain this level of being Spiritually Present.
What then does it mean to be ‘Present’? Just ‘Present’, with no physical, mental or spiritual components. Firstly, to be ‘Present’ encompasses the aforementioned qualities. Secondly, to be ‘Present’ requires that have sense of ‘Self’. ‘Self’, as the part of conscious existence that is the realizing the connection to a higher existence, is emergent essence that seeks to fully explore the internal and external landscapes of which it is comprised. External being is what supports the existence of ego, internal being is the subconscious aspect that actually dictates life, as such. When the internal and external are harmonized and the individual can consistently maintain ‘conscious awareness’ of the harmonized state, then the state of being ‘Present’ begins.
One is ‘Present’ when they take, into account, whatever ‘is’ occurring, in all totality’ and allow themselves to be with it in the ‘Now Moment’. To be ‘Present’ is to experience a situation without attachment to an outcome or desire for a result. Each situation will provide an outcome and a result provided that one endures until the situation ends. Yet, is there really ever (an) ending? The subsiding of one event is the segueing into another. The act of being ‘Present’ must follow the changes all the way through without wavering, without drifting, without attaching.
Ab-Sutra Wellness and Fitness 