The closer you are to nature, the more present you are – because the more present you have to be.
When walking down a street, you can zone out. Yeah, you have to be vaguely aware of traffic. Yeah, you should be intensely aware of pickpocketers, but if not you’ll generally be fine.
In nature, one wrong step could mean a twisted ankle, a venomous bite to your calf or your lunch escaping your grasp.
Hunters, gatherers and farmers tend to tune into the environment well.
For communities that live like this, only the wisest of them make a habit out of zoning out. Taken to the extreme, they’re mystics who go on spirit quests to commune with the ancestors.
Is that what you do when you zone out on the couch with your phone in hand, shovelling mystery food into your drooling maw? Are you accessing the spirit realm?
You’re certainly disconnected from reality enough for it to count as that.
But something tells me you’re not bringing back divine and timeless truths from your forays into the apps and blogs.
No – the modern mystic is one who can focus. The hidden truths of the world are in front of your eyes, not behind a screen.
I’ll admit, I’m still working on this one. I’m easily distracted by my own thoughts.
But I’m much more focused than I used to be.
Presence is power. Paying attention to the moment gives you advantages that others can’t match. Even growing more focused, as I have, changes everything, from how energised you feel to how productive you are to how many subtle, sublime moments of peace you catch.
It’s a possible side effect of coaching with me.
That’s a bit of a weird one, it’s true. If your view of coaching is talking through your plans, then you might not see how that’s possible.
Then again, if you’ve had a good coach before, you know exactly what’s possible: