The Power of Your Presence

We often speak of someone having “a powerful presence” or of an organization being “a strong presence in our community”. Yet how often do we stop to think about what it is that creates a strong presence? What is it about that person or organization that makes their presence so powerful?

Your presence can be defined as the energy that you project, the quality or feeling that you bring to a situation or space simply through your being. Presence is all about how you “show up” to life on all levels—physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually. A presence is an energetic space created by a combination of who you are at your essence and how aligned you are with that essence as you meet the world every day. Your presence shows up in how you meet challenges, opportunities, dreams, and visions—how you engage with the world.

A number of years ago, I began hearing the term “presence of being” in meditation. I started to ponder what “presence of being” really meant—what created it, why was it important? I recognized that one’s “presence of being” is actually the first and often most significant thing that they bring to a situation, to a relationship, to life. In time I realized that exploring and refining “presence of being” was one of the underlying themes to everything that I do as a coach, speaker, mentor, and workshop leader—first becoming clear about the energy that I bring to any particular situation, and then helping others do the same.

This journey with “presence of being” has been very illuminating. I’ve learned so much more about why I feel powerful in my presence in some moments and not so powerful in others. I’ve learned that when I am truly grounded in my soul mission and surrender to it as the guiding force for my life, then my “presence of being” is much more powerful and inspiring, both to myself and others. Furthermore, when I expand my awareness to the bigger picture of any moment—what is going on and what wants to happen within a larger context—and become a steward for helping the greatest potential of that moment unfold, my presence becomes even more powerful and impactful.

In contrast, when I am not grounded in my soul mission and not in tune with the bigger picture, I don’t feel very powerful. In fact, when I lose touch with my soul mission and the bigger picture of who I’m called to be and what I’m called to do in my life, I can easily lose all sense of power. It then feels as if life is happening to me and overtaking me, whereas when I am fully in touch with my soul and in tune with the emerging potential, I surf the waves of life with great ease and skill, and sometimes even mastery.

Interestingly enough, I’ve also realized over time that when I am standing in my greatest “presence of being”, I’m simply letting the energy move through me. I’m not trying to be a powerful presence or to be a leader or to say or do the right thing. I’m just entering into the flow, tapping into what wants to happen, and letting it intuitively show me the way to create that new reality. I’m in the flow of unleash, focus, and align—unleashing the potential, focusing my intuition and intellect to be in service of the great opportunity available or the potential waiting to emerge, and aligning energy by doing all I can to create the optimal conditions for that potential to unfold into reality. I’m busy focusing on the “being” and trust that the “doing” will flow out of that automatically if I am truly in alignment.

More recently I’ve been referring to “presence of being” simply as presence. I’ve been observing powerful presence in others and paying attention to what is happening on an energetic level. I’ve observed that when their presence is actually transformational, there is an alignment within their being and with the Greater Consciousness that is extraordinary to witness. I’m also increasingly aware that this is not something that is talked about enough in our education system and training programs. Presence is an art—the art of being.

In July, the inaugural groups of “Coaching For Transformational Presence: Calling Forth Greatness In the Human Spirit” will complete their course work. Creating and leading this coach training program has been the most exciting work I have done in a long time. It’s been a fantastic six months with a group of truly extraordinary individuals from three continents. Together we’ve been exploring what Transformational Presence is, the “art” of it, how one develops and sustains it, how to coach clients in the development and refinement of their own personal presence, and what is possible when you meet the world each day grounded in your own authentic and powerful presence.

We define Transformational Presence as a state of being in which you live, lead, work, and engage in life from a place of profound alignment with your soul, your soul mission or life purpose, and the Greater Consciousness. This presence allows you to perceive the greater potential waiting to emerge in any moment, situation, or circumstance, and become a steward for that potential to manifest. When you stand in this presence, you more readily recognize and call forth greatness in others.

Transformational presence is made up of a deep grounding in love, self-awareness, a sense of oneness with the Greater Consciousness, a genuine desire to be in service of the greater good, and a commitment to making a difference through action. This is the presence of a strong leader, a “mover and shaker”, an individual or organization that is making a significant contribution to the positive evolution of our world.

There is not necessarily a parallel between having a transformational presence and being famous or rich or having a big personality. The power of presence lies in authenticity and alignment of energy, not the size of personality or material success. Some of the most powerful “presences” I’ve known have come from very soft-spoken, gentle, unassuming people. Yet when you are with them, you feel something very special. Truly transformational presence may or may not include a big personality and great worldly success, but it does include genuine authenticity, compassion, and commitment to serving the greater good for all.

A powerful presence can serve many ends, of course. A powerful presence can be self-serving and oppressive of others, or it can be uplifting, inspiring and empowering to others. Imposing your will on others, such as we have seen by infamous dictators throughout history, requires manipulation of energy and forcing an agenda. These people and organizations could be said to be transformational in that a culture transforms in response to their presence. However that is transformation by force in service of the individual agenda and ideology of that leader. By design, it serves only a few at the expense of the many. History also shows us that it is not sustainable over a long period of time. On the other hand, transformational presence as we are defining it here is about inspiration, empowerment and becoming a steward for what wants to happen for the greater good of all.

How we “show up” in the world as individuals and organizations—our presence—is a significant factor in how our society grows and transforms at all levels. The more authentic and dynamic our presence, the more effective we will be in serving the positive transformation and evolution of our world. Of course specific knowledge and understanding within our particular field or area of expertise is also critical. We all have different skills and gifts and areas of brilliance, and they are needed in different circumstances. Yet if that skill set and brilliance is not coupled with a personal presence that truly serves the emerging potential in working with others for great accomplishment, the end results often do not match up to the potential of what could have been.

Both ancient wisdom traditions and modern-day quantum physics tell us that everything is made up of vibrating energy.  You, your soul, thoughts, choices, habits, and practices, as well as your work, relationships, and the organizations you are a part of are all, at their essence, energy in motion.  When we relate to life as energy in motion, and partner with the laws of energy for creation and manifestation, extraordinary things happen.

Partnering with energy on all levels is what Transformational Presence is all about. It’s about alignment of energy and congruence within all aspects of your life. It’s about living every moment in awareness of the bigger picture and our unfolding collective evolutionary journey. While this may seem rather daunting initially, it is an incredibly rewarding challenge to take on. Creating that alignment first within your “being” and then within your “doing”—showing up to life in your full, authentic, powerful presence—is essential if you are going to make your greatest contribution to your world.

Transformational presence is not something that you can “do”. Authenticity will be missing if you try to “do” transformational presence. In a cause-effect chain, transformational presence is a result of many things coming together. Transformational presence then becomes the cause of other effects. It becomes a catalyst, inspiration, or initiator for other results, many of which you will never know about. Your job is to stay in the flow. You may not be aware of the impact you are having on others as you respond to the service to which you are called. Furthermore, your presence will often have a ripple effect that goes far beyond anything you could have imagined. And that’s part of the beauty of it. Your job is to stay focused on being who you are called to be and doing what you feel called to do.

So how about you? What is the power of your presence? What kind of presence do you radiate? How do people feel when they are with you? How do you choose to meet the opportunities and challenges of your life? To what degree are the various aspects of your life aligned with who you are at your essence?

I invite you to take time to ponder how you show up in the world. Notice how the world responds to you. Notice where synchronicity and synergy seem to happen like magic as well as where things feel stuck. What is your presence in those situations? What needs to shift in your presence when things are stuck? And when things are working, what can you reinforce or refine in your presence to become even more authentically powerful? Who might you be and what might you accomplish if your very presence was transformational?