The Presence Process Questions - Has Anyone Here Done It?

Has anyone here done The Presence Process?

I'm on Week 3 of it right now. I just want to make sure I'm doing it correctly.

For instance, do I repeat the conscious response for the week in my head, one word at a time with each inhale or exhale?

My posture isn't great when I sit in the chair I'm using. The book mentions posture isn't that important, but it also says not to lean against anything and to sit with your back straight. My back isn't leaning left or right, but it's not really straight. If I sit with it straight, I'm not relaxed like the book says I'm supposed to be.

When I breathe, do I breathe really deep, or just a comfortable somewhat full breath?

Do I forget listening to the radio in the car and just use that time for repeating the conscious response and breathing?

With addictive behaviors, should I wait till the point at which the book says to ease back on those?

Can the emotions be integrated without knowing my history, or must I absolutely track every single one back to its causal point, then forget the story and focus on just the emotion? If the emotion is what's important, it seems like the causal point story isn't that important.

I think I'm doing everything correctly so far, but it's nice to get input from others and check myself. I want to get the full benefit as I go through this process.

I also want to hear other people's experiences with this so I can get an idea for how other have done it and what benefits they got.

Thanks,
Brian

 

I've got the PP book sitting next to my bed, but haven't gotten to the program itself yet. Looking forward to hearing about your experience with Brown's approach.

 

So far my experience with it has been good. Emotions from early childhood have come up and started to integrate, I think.

I used to work with people who had Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD/DID). It always frustrated me that I knew how to help them integrate their personalities and completely heal, but I couldn't use their method on myself since I wasn't multiple. When all of their personalities would integrate and they became one person again, they would lose tons of weight very quickly and get back to their normalized weight without any dieting or exercise. All of their illnesses and diseases would go away, even terminal ones. Sometimes their eyesight would change so they didn't need their glasses anymore (they could actually switch personalities and they wouldn't need their glasses, as well. Even their eye color would change when they switched personalities). They felt peaceful and happy. Their lives, in general, got very good, more or less.

According to Michael, the Presence Process yields the same results (except for the eyesight/eye color deal--I read nothing about that in the benefits). The reason it yields the same results is because it's doing the same thing as what I used to do when working with multiples. It's integrating the different "personalities" (emotional charges) in a person so they can be a single person again rather than "double minded." It was a big relief when I found the Presence Process, because I've been looking for a way to connect with my true self, be in God's presence all the time, and get my self healed up. The Presence Process is the only way I've seen to do that. Michael says it's not religious or spiritual at all, but that it opens the door to the spiritual if one wants to seek that. In my opinion, since it connects a person with their true self, it's connecting them with God, because when I connect with my true self (my child-of-God self), that part of me is in-sync with God naturally, so I'm connecting with Him. Michael calls this real self "Presence." He says it's connected with everything and everyone--that we're all a shared Presence, more or less. I believe that God made everything out of Himself, and that's why connecting with the real me is connecting with God and everything else. But really, Michael is correct--this is not a spiritual practice. It's a practice that gets us in touch with our true humanity--with our spirit. I think man created religion, but before there was religion, there was just relationship with each other and God. And that was basic humanity. So, in that way, this isn't a spiritual practice.

The process takes 10 weeks. Then you wait 3 weeks and do it again if you want. The book says most people say that doing it three times seems to be optimal. However, I've heard of some people doing it 6+ times. It totally depends on the person's needs since everyone is different. I highly recommend this process, even though I'm only about a quarter of the way through it. I couldn't bring up my emotions from childhood before, and I was always scared of the negative ones so I'd stuff them. Now I'm finally able to bring them up and let them process and not be afraid of them. It's not always pleasant, but at least I'm not afraid of them anymore. That's a great first step--huge. We don't realize how much fear of emotions rules our lives and behaviors. But when we really get down to it, that's what's behind it all. And if we just get the emotions flowing properly and let them be, things in our lives start to get a lot more pleasant and easier to handle.

I hope that's helpful. I'll definitely post my results from the process as I get further along it or when I'm done with this 10-week session. Michael says we don't see/feel the benefit from this stuff till a 10-week session is completed, because we're still in transition up to that point, so things aren't quite complete yet. I expect I'll be doing a lot better after this session is complete.

- Brian

 

I'm not familiar with The Presence Process so I'll look it up and learn what it is.
From the two posts here it sounds like something I should practice.

 

I read a little about it online and it sure is something for anyone to read, especially those in TMS.

And I see that TMSWiki already has a forum on it, at

http://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/The_Presence_Process

 

Thanks so much. I hope others who've done it will post here.

Walt,
Thanks for the link. There's a great conversation there I've been reading.

- Brian

 

Brian, I have done the process twice. Let me try and answer your questions:

I repeated the conscious response for the week in my head just as I would speak it out loud, i.e. not thinking about my breathing at all.

The first time round I woke early and sat in a rocking chair, the second time round I sat up in bed leaning against pillows before bedtime, either way worked for me. Sometimes I felt like I was asleep but I think it was more a deep meditation or a hypnotic state as I always “woke up” on cue. I didn’t worry too much, I trusted my body to do the right thing for me.

When I was breathing I tried to breathe slowly and deeply in a circle, not pausing between the in breath and out breath, but not really deep. I found that if I pushed my tongue up on the roof of my mouth, behind the top teeth then I didn’t salivate as much and therefore need to swallow which somewhat disrupted the breathing.

Driving or commuting is a good time for repeating the conscious response. Sometimes I used to sit quietly in the park at lunchtime and try to breathe. Feeling the warm sun on my skin always makes me feel more in touch with myself and nature. At home you can visualize that and still get the same feeling.

I didn’t have any addictive behaviors, but the PP recommends you don’t try to stop those while in the 10 week process, if I remember rightly.

Sometimes I could track my emotions back to their causal point, other times I couldn’t. I am not sure you need to find the source, just recognize the emotion and maybe the pattern.

Hope this helps, it’s been quite a few years since I did the PP!

 

Pandamonium,

Thanks so much for your response!

The breathing is a bit tricky for me, because my nose is usually not clear, so I have to breathe through my mouth. It dries out and I have to swallow several times and maybe take one drink during a session. And sinus drainage has me swallowing periodically, too. Do you think it's okay to take an antihistamine to dry up my sinuses so I can breathe through my nose for the sessions? That seems like it would help.

I like the pillow idea for sitting. Thanks. I'm having trouble finding a good sitting position where I can keep my back straight (my posture isn't great, so I adjust periodically). The PP says it's important not to move while breathing, so I'm finding this difficult. I always have itches that pop up or adjustments I need to make because of arising pains. The PP says it's all drama and not to react to it. I know it breaks my attention on present moment awareness to move and scratch, but I have to take care of them usually, because they're so irritating or distracting. But I'm not sure what I can do at this point. I'm just making the best of it for now. Did you have a problem with this?

The second revision of the PP says to reduce (or stop) the addictive behavior somewhere around week 7, I think. I can't remember exactly.

After a breathing session is complete, did you have emotions come up that you had to sit with for a little bit each time?

When I finish a session, I've had some different things happen:

1. I shake sometimes. Not little shakes, but big movements. It's almost like it's fear, but I don't feel the fear.
2. I usually cry (often tearless). And sometimes when I shake, I cry, too. The shaking hasn't happened often. I'm pretty sure I was warmly dressed enough, too, but maybe not. It didn't seem like shaking I do when I'm cold.
3. I get a burning sensation in my stomach.

I'm pretty sure the burning is worthlessness and shame and anger toward myself for being worthless. I know I'm not worthless, but I think when I was a baby, I felt worthless due to some things I saw happen repeatedly at that age. I felt fear and anger and shame, too, I'm pretty sure. I thought I was a burden to others and that others would be better off if I were to just die (at least I think that's what I felt). I know I felt that way when I was 22 (almost 13 years ago), because I tried to kill myself. Those emotions seem to be a reoccurring theme with me every so often. From the time I was a baby, I did my best to suppress (control) my emotions. It's very difficult to just let loose and completely feel and just "be." I'm very insecure on some levels, and not so much on other levels. It doesn't help that no one's calling me to do jobs for them right now, either (subconsciously makes me feel worthless, and scared due to money being tighter).

How did you feel after your first time through the PP?

How did you feel after your second time through it?

Thanks so much for your help.

 

What a great discussion about the Presence Process.
I haven't studied it but it looks like I should look into it and soon.
I'm especially interested in Brian's spiritual comments.

 

Thanks, Walt. I love the spiritual stuff.
I've spent way too much time researching the mysteries of life (spiritual stuff).
I was way too intellectual about it in the past. I thought knowledge was king, to some degree.
Now that I've been doing emotional work the past few years, I think that intellectually pursuit is finally paying.
Things are making a whole lot more sense now.

If you ever want to discuss spiritual stuff, let me know. I love those discussions.

 

I've always felt more in tune with God when I believed like a child, which is what Jesus said to do.
I think some people get a lot out of deep spiritual reading, but for me, it was better to just accept.

It's like if you dissect a rose petal by petal you just have a bunch of petals and there is no longer a rose.

 

That's the best way to do it. I've tried that in the past, and always had trouble with it. It's these repressed emotions that get in my way.
After reading a few books and researching it, I keep seeing a trend that works best for people and kids. When people learn how to accept their emotions as they are, unconditionally being with them, and allowing them to run their course rather than pushing them away, they seem to become happy and grow close to God. That's when belief like a child flourishes or at least comes far more easily to them.
That's my goal now. Emotional decompression and child-like belief and relationship with God.
After all of Solomon's searching and learning (Ecclesiastes), he came to basically the same conclusion you just pointed out. I think that's key. He said it a little differently, but it amounts to the same thing.

 

I keep thinking I've lost the faith I had for God for all of my life
and want to get it back as strong or stronger.

I recently read that wanting faith is having it.

 

I think it's because I'm in the September Song years
and thinking more about what comes after. I hope something does.

 

From what I can tell, faith seems to be an inner knowing in the heart that God is completely in control of everything--especially my experience here on earth. And most of all, that He is working everything for my, and everyone's, benefit, especially in tough times.

I highly recommend watching some of the after-death (or out-of-body) experience documentaries on YouTube. I learned so much from other people's experiences of dying, having an experience, then being resuscitated. I'll see if I can find some good videos to link you to. You'll love it! I'm very excited to pass on...and yet very excited to experience life right now, too. But death seems like a whole lot more fun when you hear other people's experiences. lol I know...it sounds so backward. My grandmother died not long ago and I'm just a bit jealous, and very happy for her.

We'll have to start a paradise or after-death experience thread sometime. Great conversation. And there's another subject pertaining to this we'll have to discuss, but I don't want to mention it right now so I'm not misunderstood. Excellent subjects that show how incredibly wonderful and loving God is to everyone after death.

- Brian

 

Hebrews 11:1 defines faith nicely: "Faith is the assured expectation of what is hoped for, the evident demonstration (convincing evidence) of realities that are not seen."

 

Brian and Tigerlilly, your posts are so wonderful. I will be 84 next month and am determined to stick around to 100.
My mother died at age 94 by just giving up after her second fall and hip surgery.
I'm being very careful about falling. haha.

I will read Hebrews 11:1 and also look at the YouTube videos on afterlife.

I'm not obsessed or spending too much time on the subject, but it does come and go and at my age, no wonder.

Thank you both. If either of you wants to contact me about this or anything,
my email address is waltmax69@gmail.com

I slept 10 hours straight last night without a wake up even for a pit stop, and had a couple of nice dreams,
and I never have any pain when I sleep, so I must be doing something right and am in God's care.

 

Walt - That's great that you had a good night's sleep, with good dreams to boot! Does Annie get to sleep in bed with you? Right now my hubby sleeps in the spare room since I toss and turn so much from my pain - Smeagle is taking full advantage of sleeping in bed with me!!! But when hubby comes back in he gets to sleep up here until it's actually bed-time, and then it's off to his plush little doggy bed for the night!

And yes, please do not fall - you are the heart and soul of this forum!
Just sent you an email!

 

I have a question about the breathing involved in The Presence Process... The instructions in the book talk about a brisk in-breath and an automatic out breath, I think I'm having a bit of an issues with that.

I feel like I'm having trouble with the calm, automatic out breath, it's not as brisk as my in breath but it's sorta close and doesn't feel automatic. It's only been a few days since I started the process, maybe I'll get a handle on it.

Would that kind of thing have an effect on my present moment awareness? I know the connected breathing is the way to put you into presence. I hope my issue/question made sense.

 

Annie has never wanted to sleep on my bed with me or without me.
She loves the couch in the living room which I cover with a blanket and sheet,
and she also loves curling up on the big round cushion on the living room floor.
She sleeps on the couch.

It must be comforting to have Smeagle sleep with you. I wish Annie would.

I have to be careful but not fearful of falling.
My house is a small ranch all on one floor so there are no basement or upstairs
stairs to fall down, like my sister, mother, and cousin did.

I chose a ranch house 15 years ago because Max, my black Lab before Annie,
was getting on in years and had trouble with stairs, so I bought her a house with none.
Max, and now Annie, can walk right out the front or back doors to a grassy back yard.
I love sitting in the back yard when it's warm and sunny, while Annie sniffs around
the bushes and then lays down on her back in the grass near me and lets the sun
warm her tummy. It's such fun to watch.

I appreciate your warm words about me on the forum. I love it, and the people
I've met on it, like you. And dogs, too, like Smeagle and Daisy.

I'm going to read more on the Presence Process.

Have a great weekend.

Pizza and a DVD movie to watch here tonight. Judi Dench's new one, "Philomena,"
a British film about a woman searching for the son, now grown, she had to give up
when he was a baby. You may have seen it. She was up for the Oscar for it last month.