Hello again, friend.
Let’s begin the way we always do.
Take a long, deep breath.
And as you exhale, let your whole body soften just a little.
If you listened to Presence Shift 2: Attachment, Presence, and the Rhythm of a Day, you may have noticed how certain emotional patterns repeat through your days. Anxiety is one of the most common ways those patterns show up in the body.
This Presence Shift isn’t about understanding that pattern.
It’s about learning how to return to presence while it’s happening.
When anxiety starts to take over—when your body feels activated and your mind is racing ahead—presence can feel very far away. Sometimes it doesn’t even occur to us as an option.
This Presence Shift is for those moments.
We’re not here to get rid of anxiety.
We’re not here to fix it or improve it.
Presence Shifts are only about one thing:
returning to presence.
We’ll move through the same 5 Inner Steps we always use:
Answer → Intend → Focus → Flow → Begin
Let’s start.
Step 1 — Answer
Take one slow, deep breath.
As you exhale, quietly ask yourself:
What kind of moment is this for me right now?
Maybe it’s anxious.
On edge.
Racing thoughts.
We’re not changing anything.
We’re just naming what’s true.
Notice where anxiety is living in your body right now.
For many people, it shows up in the chest, the throat, the belly, or the jaw.
Just notice.
That’s enough.
You’ve answered.
You know where your nervous system is starting from.
Step 2 — Intend
Take another long, deep breath.
As you exhale, silently say to yourself:
I intend to become fully present over the next few minutes.
Take another slow breath.
See if you can feel that intention landing in your body—not just as words, but as an expectation.
You’re not hoping this will happen.
You’re setting a clear direction.
When you can feel that intention in your body, this step is complete.
Step 3 — Focus
Take another long, deep breath.
Now bring 100% of your attention into this present moment.
Anxiety pulls attention forward—into the future, into worries, into what might happen next.
We’re doing something different.
We’re bringing attention back into sensation.
Back into here and now.
Begin by feeling both of your feet.
Notice where they meet the ground.
Feel the contact.
The pressure.
Now feel the weight of your whole body—how it’s being held wherever you’re sitting or lying down.
Slowly move your awareness upward.
Your legs.
Your hips.
Your torso.
Your shoulders.
Your arms.
Feel your whole body buzzing gently with life.
Notice the quiet buzz of your ~30 trillion cells, all working together to bring you into this moment.
You are not separate from life.
You are a connected piece of life, right now.
Take another deep breath.
Without losing awareness of your body—its weight and its buzzing—begin shifting some of your attention to listening.
Notice sounds close by.
Sounds farther away.
Silence beneath sound.
If your mind jumps ahead, gently return to your intention.
Full focus.
100% attention.
Listening.
Feeling.
Breathing.
Being.
Stay here for a few moments.
Notice the shift into presence.
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Step 4 — Flow
From this more present state, quietly ask yourself:
What’s the next step of my day?
Not the whole day.
Just the next step.
If you like, close your eyes and see that step in your mind’s eye.
See yourself taking it—fully present.
Notice what the first 10 seconds of that step look like.
Feel presence flowing into that part of your day.
Take two slow breaths.
When you can see and feel that next step clearly, this step is complete.
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Step 5 — Begin
A Presence Shift is not complete until you begin.
Quietly ask yourself:
What’s the very first 10-second action I’m going to take to begin the next step of my day?
When this Presence Shift ends, take that action.
One more deep breath together.
And when you’re ready—
Begin.
Stay present.
