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Existential Playground's avatar

I'm largely in agreement -- that cultivating presence is the natural outcome of removing the inner impediments to it (i.e., the emotional/psychological blocks that get in the way.)

However, I'd argue meditation (and similar activities) also develop meta-cognitive capacities and attentional regulation. Easiest example, phone/tech/social media use has a way of hijacking our attention independently of our emotional capacity. So meditation offers a deliberate means of training collectedness/concentration/awareness, which supports presence versus the external impediments.

(Of course, more emotional blocks/insecurities will lead to more escapist/avoidance behaviors as well, not to down play that.)

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Tigran III's avatar

It's a good article, but the central claim seems flawed, or at least overstated.

Entry into the state of presence seems to get easier and easier with practice, at some point becoming habitual and arguing that presence is not a skill, but a composite of a lot of interconnected micro-skills seems rather semantic here, especially as you're using your own anecdotal experience for it only.

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