Hello friend,
One of the most useful things we can learn about presence is that we do not need to wait for the perfect moment to return to it.
We can begin from wherever we are.
In the middle of a busy day.
After becoming absorbed in a screen.
While carrying a feeling we have not completely understood.
Or simply at the point when we realize that we have moved a little farther away from ourselves than we intended.
The goal is not to remain perfectly present all the time.
It is to become increasingly familiar with the way back.
That is the deeper movement we have been exploring throughout this Year of Presence.
Not forcing ourselves to feel peaceful.
Not trying to make every difficult feeling disappear.
Learning how to meet what is here, connect with presence, and begin again from there.
Today’s 60-Second Presence is a new experience assembled from moments you may recognize from some of our earlier Shifts.
Consider them callbacks—or reminders that we can return to the same doorway and find something different each time.
Before you begin, take a moment to notice:
What’s the strongest feeling inside you right now?
One word, or one sentence, is enough.
Then let the experience guide you through the five Inner Steps:
Answer → Intend → Focus → Flow → Begin
A Way Back Into Your Next Hour
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When the minute ends, do not rush past it.
Notice whether anything feels different.
Perhaps your breathing changed.
Perhaps your body softened slightly.
Perhaps the feeling you named is still there, but you are relating to it differently.
Or perhaps you simply feel a little more here.
And if the ending played with your expectations a little, that was intentional.
I say, “Stay present.”
Then the door opens.
And opens again.
And again.
Because presence is not a door we walk through once and leave behind us.
We keep returning.
We keep noticing.
We keep beginning again.
A Presence Shift does not need to be dramatic to matter.
Sometimes the Shift is a small change in pace.
Sometimes it’s a little more space around a feeling.
Sometimes it’s just remembering that you can choose how you begin what comes next.
Picture your next hour now.
What is the first 10-second step you can take to begin it?
Take that step.
Stay present,
Sean
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P.S. Next Sunday, I’ll invite you to join me live on September 6 for a full guided Presence Shift.
We’ll begin with one minute together and then move more deeply through the same five Inner Steps using one private, ordinary moment from your own life.
I’ll share the complete invitation next week.
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Sean Sullivan, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and creator of The Presence Shift®.
60-Second Presence and The Shift Room Live are psychologist-designed presence training and wellness content—not therapy, diagnosis, medical care, or crisis support. Do not use a guided experience while driving or whenever directing your full attention elsewhere would be unsafe.