1. Patsy defines presence as being connected with the world around you. It is being engaged with anyone you are with and actually listening to them, in which a level of intimacy is achieved. It is when you are curious and ask questions about something. This means that something grabbed your attention therefore you are engaged.
2. Presence can be lost when the other person is not present with you. A person might try to be the life of the party or they could sit around and not talk to anyone. When present, you could either help move this person into second circle, or they could move you into first or third, which means you lose presence. The challenge is to stay present when an obstacle is thrown in your way. If someone tries to ruin your day, it is tough to ignore it, but i do not think you would be present if you didn't. Like you said in class, you can acknowledge it but then go back to the place that centers you and connects you to the world. All of the sudden, you have regained presence. Sometimes people let this person ruin our day and we lose presence. I have let someone ruin my day before, and it is easier said than done to regain presence, but you learn more about yourself from the experience.
3. First circle is when you are quiet, shy, and disconnected from people. These people are present with themselves and no one else. They put up a wall to protect themselves from other people. There have been many times where i have been that guy at a party or event with friends and i felt a lone, scared, and had no motivation or desire to meet or talk to people. It is unhealthy and you could lose friends due to the constant negative energy being displayed. Digging out of the first circle is tough, but in my case it took someone to be present with me that i started to become present as well. I then saw life from a different perspective and was excited for the opportunities to meet new people. I understand being in first circle because you do not want to leave yourself open to getting hurt. You do get hurt when you open yourself, it happens to everyone, but from there you choose to regain your presence and learn or crawl back into the first circle hole.
4. Third circle is when you are overly energized and not really concerned about other people. It is more of a fake presence just so people hear or see you. I am guilty of being in the third circle at times. I have been the person who is loud and excessive at times, and people definitely saw it as annoying and as if i was trying to be the center of attention. At the times yes I was, i wanted to be noticed and i was in that awkward state in which i did not know how to do that. I quickly figured out that was not the way to go about it, and today i am not an attention seeker. At the time, i was trying to be someone i'm not.
5. Second circle is being fully engaged with another person, listening to them, and caring about what they have to say. For me, it was a specific person that made me feel fully engaged and helped me become present. I wanted to listen to everything she had to say because she made me feel important with her presence. I started to become comfortable and found myself being open with her and other people. It was scary at first, but i felt alive. I remember being in second circle with this person when i was rehearsing with her. Nobody was hiding from the other and it was constant back and forth talking about something and then something else would come up out of that conversation that would start a whole other conversation. Before you know it, we were just laughing about random things and got to know the other. I remember feeling vulnerable, but excited and comfortable at the same time. I feel like this experience has allowed me to be more open with people and has lead me to meet some wonderful people as well.
Nice work!
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