The Buzz of Being: Reality as Embodied Presence

The Sacred Hum: Under the Influence of Embodied Presence

From a spiritual and ontological perspective, presence is the fundamental state of being and awareness that underlies all existence. It’s the ground upon which the dance of consciousness plays out, an ever-present buzzing beneath the noise of daily life. Is there a comparable experience of embodied presence in the body that most of us can imagine?

Before I get to an experience likened to embodied presence in the body, let’s do a quick review to become more sensitive to the phenomenology of presence.

Spiritual Presence

Imagine spiritual presence as a bridge connecting the tangible earth to the ethereal heavens. It’s the whisper of the wind through ancient redwoods, the glimmer of sunlight on a tranquil lake. In this state, you transcend the limited self, stepping into the vast expanse of your true spiritual nature. You become a conduit, a luminous being grounded in the physical yet soaring through the spiritual realms.

• Transcending the limited personal self: Like shedding an old skin, you emerge anew, free from the confines of past identities.
• Inhabiting both realms simultaneously: It’s like walking with one foot on the earth and the other in the stars, a dance between worlds.
• Manifesting spiritual qualities: You radiate light, embody emptiness, breathe freedom—each moment a spark of the divine.
• Experiencing phenomena as luminous expressions: Everything around you shimmers with the glow of unity, every leaf, every stone, a testament to the underlying field of consciousness.

Presence isn’t a distant mountain peak to be climbed; it’s the very fabric of being, the silent-humming pulse of the universe itself.

Presence and the Imaginal Realm

The imaginal realm is a concept that blends the tangible with the intangible, the seen with the unseen. It’s the space where the boundaries between the physical world and the spiritual world dissolve, creating a bridge for profound experiences and transformations. Imagine it as a vast, shimmering landscape where dreams and reality intertwine, where symbols and archetypes dance in the twilight between waking and sleeping.

Cultivating presence in the imaginal realm involves thinning the perceptual boundaries that typically separate us from this in-between world. It’s like peering through a veil and seeing the world as it is, infused with deeper meaning and vibrant energy. The soul embarks on its alchemical journey in this realm, transforming everyday experiences into spiritual gold. It’s a place of deep receptivity, where the material and spiritual infuse each other, leading to profound insights, transcendence, and embodied presence.

Presence in the imaginal realm is the soul’s capacity to simultaneously inhabit multiple dimensions of existence. It’s integrating our spiritual and material aspects into a unified field of radiant awareness. It’s like standing at the threshold of two worlds, grounded in the physical while reaching into the mystical.

Embodied Presence Through the Eyes of Spiritual Teachers

From a spiritual perspective, presence is a concept that transcends the ordinary perception of time and space, inviting us into a deeper connection with our true essence and the present moment. Various spiritual teachers have articulated this concept, highlighting its transformative power.

A.H. Almaas, the founder of the Diamond Approach, emphasizes the importance of presence in spiritual growth. He describes it as the foundation of true self-realization:

“Presence is being here without being self-conscious, without a self-image, without a self-reflection. It is simply being, just being. Presence is spontaneous, natural, effortless being.”

Eckhart Tolle, renowned for his teachings on mindfulness and the power of now, speaks extensively about presence:

“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have. Make the Now the primary focus of your life.”
He also says, “Presence is the space in which thoughts exist when that space has become conscious of itself.”

Adyashanti, a modern spiritual teacher, provides a clear and direct approach to understanding presence:

“True meditation has no direction or goal. It is pure, wordless surrender, pure silent prayer.”
For him, presence is about being fully engaged with the immediacy of life.

Meister Eckhart, a mystic and philosopher from the 13th century, speaks of the divine presence in all things:

“God is at home; it’s we who have gone out for a walk.”
He implies that presence is about returning to our innate divine nature, which is always accessible and within us.

Ram Dass, the author of “Be Here Now,” encapsulates the essence of presence:

“Be here now. Be someplace later. Is that so complicated?”

The Sufi poet Rumi beautifully describes the transformative power of presence:

“Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form. The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”

The Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh highlights mindfulness as a path to presence:

“Breathing in, I calm my body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is the only moment.”

Presence is not an abstract concept but a lived, embodied experience that requires a shift from habitual modes of thinking and doing to the simplicity of being. It’s about cultivating awareness untainted by the past or future, rooted in the now. Through the lens of various spiritual traditions and teachings, presence emerges as the essence of spiritual practice, guiding us toward a deeper, more authentic way of living. It invites us to experience life with full attention and openness, unveiling the sacred in the mundane and the divine within ourselves.

The Experience of Embodied Presence

If you’ve ever experienced the mild tingle of electricity from a battery, it won’t be hard to Imagine a low-voltage buzz of electricity coursing through your body. It’s a gentle hum, an activation that starts at the tips of your fingers and toes, gradually spreading inward. This sensation is not overwhelming but rather a soft, continuous current that permeates every nerve cell. Your entire nervous system feels alive, vibrating with active energy, connecting you to the substantiality of your body.

The hum, the buzz, the tingling intensifies as you become more attuned to your sensitivity in the present moment. You feel your body infused with a substance, a tangible present energy buzzing through you, filling you with aliveness and presence. You’re fully active. Under the influence of this buzzing, perception changes. Your senses sharpen, and you become acutely aware of intricate details around you—the texture of the bark on the trees, the distant call of a bird, and the faint whisper of a breeze.

This sense of embodied buzzing, the body humming, is similar to the experience of presence, as presence is a “felt sense,” a sense of substantiality, a fullness. It’s not a huge leap to imagine perceiving this hum or buzz in everything perceived, not like electricity in the air during a lightning storm, but exactly the same as the experience in the body imbued in perception. Everything perceived is you; this humming substance is you, and it’s everywhere. You not only see the tree, but you experience the “buzzing” of the tree as inseparable from your buzzing – you are the tree, the sky, and the sidewalk…

Allowing this buzzing as part of your experience doesn’t impede functioning; it heightens it. This infused presence is not just a mental state but a physical sensation. This humming energy anchors you to the here and now, your embodied experience and its influence on your immediate experience.

Presence, as an experiential state of consciousness, is vividly illustrated through this encounter. It’s not an abstract concept but a lived embodied experience. This state of consciousness, this buzzing aliveness, transcends ordinary awareness, bringing a heightened sense of being alive and connected to the present moment. It is a shift from doing to being, from thinking to sensing, where the mind quiets and the body becomes a vessel of embodied awareness.

A.H. Almaas describes this state as:

“Being here without being self-conscious, without a self-image, without a self-reflection. It is simply being, just being.”

Similarly, Eckhart Tolle emphasizes:

“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have. Make the Now the primary focus of your life.”

Through the lens of embodied presence, each moment becomes a gateway to a deeper reality. A walk is a spiritual experience where the ordinary becomes extraordinary, and the mundane reveals its sacred essence. Presence is an invitation to experience life in its fullness, to connect with the inner buzz of existence, and to be fully alive in the Now.

It’s a buzz!