Practicing Presence Guide — Kim Gebro

Practicing Presence Guide

PAUSE

When you notice uncomfortable physical sensations arising, unsettling emotions, or judgmental thoughts.

This might appear as physical dis-ease, emotional sensitivity, or mental rumination. Tightness in the shoulders, hands, feet, face, jaw, stomach, holding breath, nausea, or muscle tension in other parts of the body may be intuitive signals to direct you where you are holding toxic emotional patterns.

Everyone has their own unique set of patterns. That is what you are identifying in this practice….what is arising. You are not what is arising. You are an observer of it. More will be explained about what to do with what is arising in the Notice section of this guide.

BREATHE

Just feel the body breathing itself. That is enough. There is nothing to force here. Feel the breath sweeping the inner walls of the nose, throat, and lungs during the inhalation and the exhalation. Sense the breath at the chest and at the abdomen. Notice the best way for you to keep attention to your breath. There is nothing to change here unless it feels right. Just feeling the body breathing itself is enough.

If the body seems to be inviting in a deeper breath allow it to be smooth and gentle and really feel into the exhalation leaving the body.

You may even choose to gently squeeze the belly button into the spine when the exhalation is almost complete in order to release slightly more carbon dioxide and toxins from the body and create more space for oxygen with the next inhalation. Only use this releasing technique when you feel the breath moving steadily and comfortably.

Using a passive breath is enough. You may also want to use another active or passive breath practice that resonates with your body. Passive breathing means you are watching the flow of the breath or even visualizing a path for it, without deepening the breath. Active breathing, like counting breath, consciously controls the flow of the breath to either increase relaxation or create more energy.

NOTICE

Perceptions - Are you interpreting and creating a story about what is arising in your experience?

Emotions - Label what emotions are arising. Emotions are 1 word.

Thoughts - What beliefs are co-arising with the emotions?

Sensations - Where in the body are these thoughts and emotions revealing themselves as physical experiences?

*Consider using the language ____________ is arising when noticing the PETS. This reinforces that you are the observer of the heart, mind, and body. You are not tethered to every changing circumstance in your inner world unless you choose to live unconsciously.

What physical sensations are being created by the focus of your attention on the thoughts and emotions moving through your field of awareness?

Explore the connections and patterns in your mind and body with curiosity and neutrality. There is nothing to judge here. You are gathering information. Keep breathing and feeling while just being the witness of what is present.

**HOLD THEM (PETS) UP TO THE LIGHT**

Place what is arising in the palm of your hands and notice….

Does this feel life affirming or life diminishing?

If it feels life affirming, savor it and notice what circumstances are present creating this experience.

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR PRACTICE,

starting to focus more attention on that which feels right and is resonating with

your mind, heart, and body. This choice to feel into higher vibration experiences

will reinforce these chosen patterns via your neural networks and over time they

will become your default setting.

Visualizing and feeling into that which you do want to welcome creates new

energetic patterns that shifts your attention from suffering to peace,

dis-ease to ease, helplessness to hopelessness, weakness to strength, and from

agreeing to a victim story to agreeing to be the conscious creator of how you experience

your world from moment to moment.

If it feels life diminishing, explore and notice what circumstances are present creating this experience. Consider incorporating a mind-body practice to shift the energy.

CHOOSE

Now that you have paused to notice what is arising in your inner world and engaged the breath to help ground you and create more space, you can **consciously choose the response that feels right for you rather than letting conditioned reactions determine the energy that is being created.** You have the ability to create an energy that supports more ease in every moment

This is where you step into your own sense of power. Old patterns will continue to arise. Each time it does you may feel a sting of self-doubt, hopelessness, helplessness, frustration, etc. Your attachment to what is arising will decrease over time.

Notice how you have unconsciously allowed old conditioned patterns of thought to arise and engage the nervous system. This has shaped your perceptions and actions. Consciously choose how to respond to your inner and outer worlds in ways that create ease in your mind and body.

Meet everything with inquiry and curiosity, not criticism. When criticism arises, keep breathing and noticing what physical sensations arise when critical thoughts and low vibration emotions arise. Make a choice, peace or suffering. Although the pain may be present, choosing to be the witness of the pain allows it to start to dissolve and provides more space for you respond consciously rather than react unconsciously.

Imagine your PETs being like a room full of puppies running around aimlessly. Witness their energy and notice that eventually the puppies tire themselves out and calm down, sometimes even passing into slumber. When we can be a conscious observer of the energy of what passes through our minds, bodies, and hearts that validation and connection with the breath and body sensing is enough to begin to dissolve the patterns that inhibit our ability to feel flow and ease in our lives.

The amount of time you mix and mingle with self-diminishing PETs will be less and less and you will notice that you are able to identify triggers closer to their actual arrival rather than after you have already spent minutes, hours, or days ruminating over stories about the past or future.

When we can skillfully discern between the patterns that are life affirming and the ones that are life diminishing it enables us to be more aware of what we want to nourish in our field and what we want to acknowledge and release and acknowledge and release until it understands that it is no longer part of the story that we choose to create for ourselves.

REMEMBER

You are not what you notice. You are the observer of the circumstances arising.

Pay particular attention to repetitive, judgmental, and self-defeating thoughts. Welcome them as another guest here to help you clear the space without getting lost in analysis.

The more you become the embodied witness of the ever changing weather in your mind, body, and heart the more you are creating a spacious, safe, and strong place to be the designer of how you truly want to be and feel.

The practice helps you dissolve unwanted reactions and replace them over time with patterns that feel right for you, that support all aspects of your health and wellness. Life affirming intentions are an integral part of the practice. These will shift your attention and your actions to create the energetic patterns that you want to guide and sustain the relationships you have with yourself, other people, animals, and nature in general.