Presence

The Path Principles start with Presence - because therapy, like all approaches to personal growth, depends on us being here for our experience, so we can learn from it and live from it.

Presence as the Foundation of Awareness

Therapy cultivates awareness—of what we are feeling emotionally, of the patterns that shape our lives, of the layers of our experience, and of what we tend to welcome or push away. All of this depends on presence: the capacity to be here, now, and to notice our experience more deeply than we usually do in the flow of everyday life.

Being Present in Relationship

Therapy offers a space to slow down and be present with what you are experiencing. Because therapy takes place within a relationship, this noticing happens together. I am present with you, and we can explore and reflect on what emerges in real time. As trust develops, being fully present with yourself—and sharing that presence with another person—can become a powerful way to grow in self-acceptance and to deepen your relationship with yourself and with life.

Presence Beyond the Therapy Room

Presence is not limited to the therapy space. As part of our work together, we can explore ways of cultivating presence in your everyday life, if that feels helpful. Mindfulness practices such as breathing or mantra meditation are one option, but they are not the only ones. If formal meditation does not appeal to you, there are many other possibilities. Almost anything we do in life can be done with greater presence and can become a meaningful practice. What matters most is engaging with it regularly and with intention, much as physical exercise supports the body through consistent practice over time.

Presence and Emotional Suffering

The benefits of developing greater presence extend far beyond getting to know yourself more deeply. Your experience of life itself can begin to change. Much of the mental suffering we experience arises when we become lost in imagination—replaying stories about the past that can fuel low mood, or projecting ourselves into an uncertain future that keeps us caught in anxiety. What these experiences share is that they pull us away from what is actually happening here and now. Yet it is only in the present moment that we can respond, cope, and care for ourselves.

Returning to What Is Real

Mindfulness teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn once wrote, “I’ve had a lot of tragedy in my life, and some of it actually happened.” This captures something essential about the human mind and its tendency to create suffering through thought. One of the foundations of therapeutic healing is learning how to return, again and again, to what is real—to what is happening now—and to discover that, in this moment, we are often more resourced than we imagine.