How is Presence different from "being present"?

Part 1: What is Presence?

Presence is not a feeling, action, orientation, or state of being. Presence is not something I can learn, do, or achieve. It is not a time or place that I arrive at or depart from.

Presence is the ground of Being, the fabric or medium (relatively speaking) within which all of Life’s colors become visible.

Presence has no qualities or dimensions of it’s own, thereby making it the perfect and absolute “context” in which all content arises. All of my thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions are rendered knowable by Presence, but Presence itself remains free from any of those modulations.

Consider, for example, if Presence was a pinkish color. Wouldn’t it makes sense that everything that was perceived within Presence would necessarily take on a pinkish hue? The sky would appear pink, my sadness would be pinky, the honed edge of my axe would have a pristine, pink-like sharpness…

It’s obvious that, in order for all experience to arise within and be known by Presence unconditionally, that Presence itself must be free of all conditions.

Because Presence is not itself a quality, dimension, or condition, but is the IS-ness within which all perceivable reality arises, then it is by definition the essential Reality that we are all swimming in. In other words, Presence is another name for Reality (Life, Being, God, Love, The Tao).


Part 2: How is Presence different from “being present”?

If Presence is the ultimate context in which all experience arises, “being present” is the action of paying attention to the content of experience. Being present is primarily a function of paying attention to some thing that is arising in Presence.

When I am being present the implied condition is that there is an object which is being attended to and a subject which is doing the attending. For example, I (the subject) am feeling hungry (the object).

It is impossible to “be present” without being either a subject or object. When I am being present I am always paying attention to some object in awareness.

For this reason, it is actually a profound conundrum to ask someone to “be present” because it implies that there is an action required to know Presence. Keep in mind that Presence is free of conditions, so even one minuscule step in any direction is a step “away” from the already direct knowing of Presence.

It is much more valid to ask someone, “What are you paying attention to?” rather than to ask them to effort to be something that is already the very ground of their being. Asking someone to “be present” is a conundrum because it is literally impossible to not be present.

In other words, I can’t be present, I AM Presence.
What is it that exists when all efforts abate? Presence.
What can I be present to? Anything and everything that’s arising.

In my opinion, it has tremendous value to know what I am being present to, and infinitely more value to inquire into the nature of Presence itself… For this reason, I invite you to dance with me in this inquiry:

“How do I know Presence if Presence is not itself a subject or an object?”
“What is it that knows Presence?”

…Thank you…