The Relationship Between Presence and Purpose

We humans have two dimensions to our lives: Being and Doing. Both dimensions are always present, but most people are far more engaged with Doing than Being. Thinking is a main feature of the Doing mind.

When we talk about being Mindful, or being fully Present, it means we bring our dimension of Being forward in our awareness. The activity of our Doing dimension — physical activity, emotional reactions and the flurry of conceptual thoughts and planning — all recede into the background, while the immediate experience of awareness itself comes forward.

A full experience of Being is spacious, peaceful, quiet, sensorially rich, and radiant. There is also a sense of freedom and unboundedness, as well as a feeling of connection with other people and beings. Spending time with Being at the front of our awareness is very nourishing, and re-sources everything we do, once we shift to re-foregrounding Doing.

When our body-minds become re-acquainted with Being, it shifts the the quality of our Doing. Even if subtle and unconsciously at first, we find ourselves being less reactive and more responsive. We have a truer sense of the real weight of affairs: minor issues are easily handled, instead of turning into big things, and our sense of time shifts and deepens, as our awareness becomes more full. Time can even seem to slow down.

Our intuitive wisdom, as it emerges from our bodies, our hearts and our minds, is alive and accessible in Being. So when we act from Being, it is informed by this wisdom.

As our experience with Being becomes even deeper and more conscious, it inspires us to our deepest work and relationships. Work that arises from this dimension is always purposeful, in that it is responsive to the conditions at hand, instead of being reactive.

This is why being fully Present gives your work Purpose.