Focused Presence

I find myself standing in the midst of an eternity, a vast and inexhaustible present. The whole world rests within itself . . . For my body is at home, in this open present, with its mind. And this is no mere illusion, no hallucination, this eternity—there is something too persistent, too stable, too unshakable about this experience for it to be merely a mirage.

David Abram, The Spell of the Sensuous (1996), pp. 202-203

Abram's presence ritual has found a home in my own memory and practices. It also inspires me to explore possibilities for expansive presence in one-on-one dialogues. Focused presence is the primary modality I offer for verbal dialogues. Whether we are in the same room, on a video call, or on the phone, it's how I tend to hold space for others. In this context, "focus" is something I help cultivate through deep active listening and consensual note-taking/sharing. Together, these practices provide structure and freedom to let thoughts and ideas flow, which I help gather into a meaningful whole. Notes can be analog or digital:

• Live "transcription" gathering of almost all spoken content from a client.
• Summary phrases that "index" main points from the lived experience of verbal sharing.
• Rich outlines of a session.

These sessions are a supportive container for working through internal conflicts, exploring life decisions, aligning with personal creative potential, and making sense of complex experiences. I invite pauses throughout to verify my listening, provide silence and space when needed, and integrate awareness. I like to give my notes to the client after the session as a ritual of reciprocal ethics for shared reality and clarity. Sometimes specific tools I've developed are helpful within focused presence sessions:

Internal conflict mediation (pen-and-paper exercise)

Non-binary decision tree (pen-and-paper exercise)

All my services

Home