Essential Presence 2021

Essential Presence is not just “being in the here and now” it is a dynamic phenomena of Being, it is constant aliveness. Moment to moment, second to second there is an experience unfolding.

As long as we drift to our memory, we exclude Essential Presence from our awareness.

Practicing Essential Presence as Logo Therapists means that we refrain from any “mental agenda” while staying alert , calm and aware of our body and our breath, inviting consciousness to the field.

As Elisabeth Lukas says : you can see and hear the Logo hints or meaning hints. Our Noetic Dimension with the spiritual qualities that are available , will have the space to engage with Reality , thus enabling us, to “see and hear ” effortlessly the calling of the moment, allowing us to respond accordingly.

In Logotherapy the patient is confronted with meaning and purposes and is challenged to fulfil them, says Viktor Frankl in “The Feeling of Meaninglessness” pg.77. Thereby , he continuous, a field of tension is established between what man is and what he ought to do. In this field, existential dynamics, as I call it, operate. By these dynamics, man is rather pulled than pushed…

Man needs the call and the challenge to actualise this meaning.

Elisabeth Lukas in the Chapter of “Ideal Logo therapist” in Meaningful Living writes that the Ideal Logo therapist must be pessimistic and optimistic. This is a great advise to all of us, a guidance not to favour an outcome.

Why should we “translate” Reality into a subjective pessimism or optimism?
Why not be Essentially Present and embrace Objectively Reality as it is?

The meaning of Life is interwoven in the field of Reality in such a way, that we are not equipped by Nature to fully comprehend, still we have the freedom of Choice to Trust Life’s Ultimate Meaning.

Shouldn’t we Logo therapists have enough culture, faith and courage to be Essentially Present in front of ourselves and our patients and respond to Reality without subjectivity?

Isn’t that attitude the most majestic of all, if we sincerely want to help ourselves or another Human Being?

To Be Essentially Present, in any situation, whether a patient, ourselves or as Viktor Frankl did during his imprisonment in the 4 concentration camps?

Practices:
Resources: Viktor Frankl, Elisabeth Lukas, H.A.Almaas ,Thich Nhat Hanh

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Find a tree and start looking at it through your senses, without any mental label (this is a tree, it is so and so).
Just stay alert and aware of your body and breath, while looking at the tree.
It might take you a few moments to refrain from any “mental agenda” .Stay alert and keep the connection with the tree for a few moments. Be Essentially Present.
How is that experience for you?
Take some notes

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Ask a friend to do a dyad with you, alternating roles , sit across each other comfortably, one is simply there, while the other is being essentially Present.
Look at your friend for 3 minutes, keep the connection and refrain from any “mental agenda”
Take notes and share.

Essential Presence – a Logo therapist’s virtue 2021