Being present

### Summary
The video transcript presents a rich, heartfelt conversation among women from various countries reflecting on themes of presence, aging, personal health, and connection to self and others. Beginning with brief personal updates from Italy, England, Austria, Germany, Canada, and South Africa, the participants share insights about their current lives, weather, family celebrations, and ongoing research activities. The core discussion revolves around the concept of “being present”—what it means to be fully aware and grounded in the moment, both internally and in relation to others and the world. The women explore how presence changes with age, health challenges, and life experiences, emphasizing breath, mindfulness, and conscious choice as keys to cultivating presence.

They acknowledge the complexity of being present to the wider world, recognizing boundaries are necessary to protect emotional and energetic wellbeing. The conversation touches on the interplay between mind, body, and spirit, with breathing and prayer highlighted as practices that anchor presence. Personal stories, including coping with illness and celebrating milestones, illustrate the importance of presence in managing life’s difficulties. The dialogue concludes with a shared understanding that presence is dynamic, layered, and deeply personal, offering freedom and clarity to navigate life’s ever-changing moments.

### Highlights
– 🌸 Women from multiple countries share personal and cultural springtime experiences.
– ⏳ The central theme is exploring the meaning and practice of being present in life.
– 🌬 Breath and mindfulness are emphasized as foundational tools for cultivating presence.
– 🎂 Personal milestones, like birthdays and family gatherings, highlight the passage of time and aging.
– 🧘‍♀️ The group discusses how presence relates to awareness of body, mind, and spirit.
– 🛑 Boundaries are essential to maintain healthy presence in a complex, often overwhelming world.
– 🤝 Presence is seen as a choice that deepens connection with self, others, and what truly matters.

### Key Insights
– 🌱 **Presence as a Practice Rooted in Breath and Mindfulness:** Several participants emphasize breath as the anchor for presence, linking it to life force and spiritual energy. Breath is described as a constant tool to bring awareness back to the moment, especially when the mind wanders or the body feels tension. This highlights a universal and accessible method to cultivate presence across cultures and age groups.

– 🔄 **The Dynamic Nature of Presence Across the Lifespan:** The conversation reveals that presence evolves with age and experience. While younger participants reflect on learning presence, older members share how health challenges and life transitions have deepened their awareness. This dynamic nature suggests presence is not static but grows with maturity, self-reflection, and life’s trials.

– 🌍 **Limits of Being Present to the World vs. Self and Others:** A poignant discussion emerges about the impossibility of being fully present to the entire world due to its complexity and overwhelming nature. Participants agree that being present on a smaller scale—with oneself and in personal relationships—is both more realistic and impactful. This insight underscores the importance of setting compassionate boundaries to preserve mental and emotional health.

– 🧘‍♂️ **Integrated Awareness of Body, Mind, and Spirit:** The participants convey that true presence involves holistic awareness, including physical sensations (like pain or breath), mental focus, and spiritual connection. This multidimensional understanding suggests that presence is a full-bodied experience, not merely a mental state, resonating with many mindfulness and contemplative traditions.

– 🤲 **Presence as an Act of Compassion and Purpose:** Stories about supporting loved ones facing illness reveal that presence is not passive but an active choice to be fully with what matters most, offering emotional support and connection. This highlights presence as a compassionate act that fosters deeper human bonds and personal meaning.

– 🔒 **The Role of Boundaries in Maintaining Healthy Presence:** To avoid emotional overwhelm, participants stress the necessity of protecting one’s energy by selectively choosing where and how to be present. This insight points to presence as a skill intertwined with self-care, where filtering external stimuli is vital for sustaining wellbeing.

– 🌟 **Presence Offers Freedom and Clarity Amidst Life’s Uncertainties:** The group concludes that presence brings a sense of freedom by allowing individuals to accept “it is what it is” and focus on the here and now without being pulled into fear or anxiety about the future. This perspective encourages embracing impermanence and uncertainty with grace and groundedness.

### Detailed Analysis
The transcript begins with a casual check-in among women from diverse geographies, establishing a warm, inclusive atmosphere. They share everyday details—spring flowers in Austria, chilly weather in Canada, heatwaves in South Africa, and blooming daffodils in England—which serve as metaphors for renewal and the cyclical nature of life. These personal moments ground the conversation in lived reality before transitioning to deeper reflections.

The topic of presence is introduced through personal struggles and observations. For example, one participant reflects on shoulder pain and how mindfulness of the body helps manage discomfort. Another discusses how awareness of physical sensations, like where attention is centered in the body, changes the quality of presence. This highlights the somatic dimension of presence, showing it’s not just about mental alertness but embodied experience.

The conversation then explores existential questions: “Who am I?” and “What am I here for?” These questions open a philosophical dimension, inviting participants to consider presence as linked to identity and purpose. The group shares different ways of understanding themselves—not fixed roles like CEO, but evolving beings connected to a larger universe. The metaphor of the earth hurtling through space serves to put individual existence into cosmic perspective, encouraging humility and light-heartedness.

Presence is also discussed in relation to aging and health challenges. Several participants mention dealing with personal and loved ones’ illnesses, emphasizing how presence helps navigate fear and uncertainty. One woman describes how being present allowed her to offer meaningful support to a friend with terminal brain cancer, highlighting presence as an active, loving engagement with life’s hardest moments.

A recurring theme is the tension between awareness and overwhelm. The participants agree that it is neither possible nor healthy to be fully present to all external events or people’s thoughts. Instead, presence requires discernment—choosing where to focus attention and when to set boundaries. This protective mechanism is likened to how human senses filter stimuli to avoid overload, underscoring presence as a practical skill that balances openness with self-care.

Breath is repeatedly mentioned as a central practice for presence. It is described as life itself, the “holy spirit,” and a connection to the feminine energy of creation. Breathwork and prayer are framed as ways to cultivate presence and inner calm, particularly in times of stress or aging. This spiritual dimension enriches the conversation, linking presence to longstanding contemplative traditions.

The dialogue also touches on cultural nuances, such as the difference between casual greetings in Canada and more genuine inquiries in Europe, reflecting how social norms influence the opportunity for presence in everyday interactions. The participants observe that being truly present with others deepens relationships and reduces regrets by preventing missed moments.

Finally, the group concludes with a communal affirmation of presence as a choice and a practice—not a static achievement but an ongoing journey. They emphasize the freedom and clarity it brings, allowing them to live authentically despite life’s challenges. This collective wisdom offers inspiration and practical insights for anyone seeking to deepen their awareness and connection with themselves and the world.

### Conclusion
This video transcript captures a profound and nuanced conversation among women from different cultures and life stages about the essence and practice of being present. Through personal stories, philosophical inquiry, and practical wisdom, they illuminate presence as a multifaceted, evolving state grounded in breath, body awareness, and conscious choice. Their reflections affirm the power of presence to foster compassion, resilience, and meaningful connection, while also recognizing the need for boundaries to maintain wellbeing in an overwhelming world. Ultimately, the dialogue invites viewers to embrace presence as a liberating and grounding force in the complexity of modern life.

00:00:03
Women matters in March 2026. We are here again in many different countries. Italy is missing this this time. I’m in England and then Mona in Austria, Gatra in Germany, Gina in Canada and Han in South Africa. America is missing. >> Oh, we’re we’re part of North America. We can just say North America if you want but >> but normally we have an affluence of of California. No, this is missing today. >> Okay. So check in. >> Huh? >> And Oregon. >> Yeah.

00:00:45
>> Mona, you are always the first in the room. You have the presidents and then you give up. >> Okay. Okay. Okay. Well, I’m the first because I have the timer set and that’s why I just open and it’s easy to get in. So, yeah, no problem there. Uh, the weather report is we have nice spring weather and I can’t wait for the leaves to come out, but it’s still I’m too impatient. But every it’s every spring the same and it takes about another two weeks now or three even. But I buy

00:01:20
flowers and I bought what is it? Yeah. And yeah, they are just so beautiful to watch. It’s every day there are some more flowers blooming. And we have we had Sahara dust which means that the sunsets are beautiful but there is a lot of sand in the air. And uh our trees they are pollinating now and there are it’s amazing when the wind goes you just look outside and you can’t have the laundry outside anymore because would be all dusty. So that’s Vienna right now and lots of people are visiting Vienna

00:02:10
and Shambun Park is just filled with people milling around and it’s so desolate because there are no no there’s no green. It’s just the trees and but people Yeah, they’re just we have an Easter market of course where you can buy very expensive Easter eggs. That’s about Yeah, that’s about my statement. I pass on to Gina. She’s next to me. >> Good morning everyone. Um, calling you from Victoria where um, we do have inulating weather so nice and warm on the weekend and quite chilly this

00:02:48
morning. Uh, my car says be beware of ice because it’s a bit of a nanny car. Um, we have cherry blossoms and we have tulips up but not blooming yet. Um, and for Cythia in bloom and Chameleia’s in bloom, so we’re happy there. In terms of how things here, um, I’m pretty excited because, uh, in terms of my research, I was able to have my first interview with a woman last week and I now have this morning made another interview and then then another one on Wednesday. So, um I’m quite quite excited that people are

00:03:26
responding and you know sometimes you have to be patient and wait for a bit because it’s just a poster to get their attention. It’s not an inerson meeting, but it’s nice to have the calls coming in and it’s more invigorating to do your research when you’re actually doing it versus writing about it. So, that’s my happy moment and I will turn it over to Gertrra. >> Yeah, thank you. Um here I mean the sun is coming out, the light is um longer and and so it feels yeah just

00:04:04
and of course the trees are not in green yet. But um but I think it’s it’s a matter of light and um yeah I’m I’m pretty tired not only today but like recently and um yeah it’s not so much going on at the moment. I’m I’m pretty occupied with my health after the accident and my hip and things like that. Old ladies uh stuff and um but I got some new clients. So So that’s skipping along my life. Yeah, there’s some nice things happening, but it’s pretty quiet quiet

00:05:08
at the moment. And I got um an invitation. I’m going to turn 70 in May and May. and my three girls with their whole family. And my sister and one or two brothers will be coming in um yeah to a this is like a a farm or a something where the kids can play and they invited us to to be there for a whole weekend. So, the whole the whole clan is coming and and um yeah, I thought that was a really nice idea. So, so I’m going to celebrate my 17th birthday. I I’m not such a birthday girl, but um but that’s

00:06:09
that’s a very nice idea of my my daughters. Yep, that’s the latest news here. Honey Lee, >> that’s >> something I’ve never seen. >> That’s amazing. Good job. Yeah. Two weeks ago, I wanted to come, but we had a crisis with my daughter’s dog and he went to the daycare and he came back with fleas and we had to sort him out first. It was like a little bit chaotic. So I missed the call. But yeah, we have got very interesting weather. We have got extremely cold weather and then suddenly

00:06:56
a heat wave. So currently we have a heat really hot heat wave. So during the day it’s it’s too hot to go outside. Um yeah, it’s interesting weather and I’m not looking forward to winter. So when you girls are speaking about spring, I just like, oh, I wish I wouldn’t be there because I’m more a summer person. And yes, with us, we can see it’s autumn. The leaves are coming down and the different shades of the greens and the browns and yellows. Um, and you can also see the sh sun sun has shifted

00:07:34
and it be it becomes um light later. So my body is very attuned to the sun. So I wake up with the sun usually. So suddenly there’s this shift. So I’m feeling it as well that something is going on that’s different. Genuinely I just I sense a lot of what’s happening in the world around us um on different levels. Not because I want to. I’m just feeling it in my body. Um and yeah, so it it is what it is basically. But a good that’s amazing with your 70th to have something like that.

00:08:13
For my 60 for my 65th birthday this year, I said to my daughter, we should take the train up from Cape Town to Dar Salam to Tanzania. It’s a beautiful journey. It’s just very expensive, but it’s a wonderful journey. You go for the whole of all these Afric Central central African countries. So, we’ll still see how that plans out. But yeah, thank you. I’m completely I’m passing to you Heidi. >> Yeah, thank you. Yeah, I’m here in England looking on a lot of houses, low houses

00:08:50
and behind is a school with a training um football. No, I don’t know what a lawn uh sports field I think that’s the right name. I have taken on the challenge to drive on the left side and I’m quite good in it now. But it was really at the beginning, you know, but it’s I’m quite confident with it now. I’m here a week now. I came last Tuesday and today is Monday. with the other two weeks and um we are preparing Marcus um Transloco in Italian um move to Italy. So getting the documents ready what you

00:09:40
need because the UK is not Europe anymore. So they’re considered um strangers and they are quite uncomfortable regulations. Anyway, I enjoy it here apart from I’m missing my garden. I’m missing my you know and the worms missing. Oh, but by the way, the nice thing here, I went through little streets around here almost everywhere. Daffodils and masses, thousands along the the hedges, along the houses, everywhere. Some you go and then there is a a half a meter of just coming out somewhere that duffers. That’s amazing.

00:10:26
I mean in our my garden for instance I’ve put them in certain places but here it seems to be wild almost and it’s really nice and also they say it’s cherry trees they have pink flowers and the western what is western hthorn something um is um white sometimes you go drive along these huge white streets with um you know this roundabouts all around. I hate these roundabouts. Anyway, and then it’s about a kilometer of white uh hedges right and left. This is really amazing all together for me. It’s too cold.

00:11:13
I like it better at home. But it’s nice to stay here to be with Marcus and to prepare the future. I’m also tired often because it’s quite tiring to first to go to processes of all sorts of things and then to adapt and the at the beginning from the airport to here uh driving the first time really long long uh an hour and a half that was challenging but I made it so I did it somehow also for real uh I wanted to prove myself that I’m not yet old so that I can still learn a little bit.

00:12:04
So what will be the topic today? Old doesn’t mean tired and tired doesn’t mean old. >> 70 birthday doesn’t mean old. 65, even less. Tina, you >> Well, I’m I’m I’m just sort of laughing because I think um I think Christine’s topic for next week is more more in that line about how do we feel about aging? And um I actually saw another article recently that said you actually people don’t like this when you say it, but aging backwards. People who actually decide to invest in their own health and

00:12:46
energy apparently do become somewhat younger. Now there’s all sorts of physical things you can’t control but it’s possible. Um in terms of a topic I don’t know if we’ve already done this but I’ve been I’ve been asked to do something rather unusual and I’ve been asked to speak um in terms of being what is being present mean? And I don’t know if this interests anybody, but in terms of the self, being present with the self, being present for others, and being present in the world.

00:13:13
And I’m like, why am I struggling to talk about that in terms of in terms of life? Like, have we covered this enough that that’s not our topic? Maybe we should just talk about being tired. But, um, I don’t know. It’s it’s I I find it interesting that I’m I’m putting too much time into thinking about what does these what do these three versions of uh being present really mean? And um and I’m being asked to do that in the context of my own life. So my life experiences and I’m like

00:13:44
>> I’m not sure I’m not sure the answer to the question. We >> can do a collection of what we understand about being present. I think that’s a good idea. It’ll it’ll help because I wake up at 3:30 wondering what I’m going to say and I’m very present at 3:30 in the morning. >> Being present to myself, I can say something to that because I’m realizing I have for a long time shoulder pain and now and lately I I realize as soon as I’m not present with it, I’m doing this,

00:14:21
you know, it’s up. So then I present again and say come on come down relax da da da da da da you know this but it’s difficult to be present in this sense to the whole body I can do it when I’m really getting concentrated lying in bed and start with the feet and go up and da da da da da and then it might happen that I can be present to my whole body and feel the relaxation which is coming with that but it’s it’s work so far to me and >> I guess the the other question I would

00:15:07
put out there is have we always been as present are we more present now like is there a transition is there times when it’s is it a maturity thing so I have questions Go ahead and >> yeah do you know I because what I just said earlier about being present to what’s happening in the world I realize more and more just for myself the moment I identify with anything of it then I’m not present so I can’t perceive what’s really going on because I’m identifying with it or as

00:15:49
So immediately I block or everything else that might be emerging along the way because I focus on that my awareness onto that for myself. Your question about are we more present now than before? I do sense from my personal point of view, yes, there’s definitely something happening in my awareness every single day that I can there’s something more coming into my awareness that I’m and when I’m present to it, I can feel it in my body. I can feel where my awareness is in my body personally. So, I can feel it. It’s

00:16:30
either my feet or my legs or my stomach or my shoulders or my head. But what I’ve been doing lately as well because I can easily go off on somewhere else easily for me to do that is to focus my awareness on my feet. So that when I’m then present it’s grounded. It’s more grounded awareness than all over the place all at once. I don’t feel fragmented when that happens personally, but I’m aware of it. Like it’s behind me, it’s in front of me, it’s around me. Whereas when my when

00:17:07
my awareness is in my feet, it’s something else is happening. So it’s like there’s a visceral experience that’s different from whatever is busy happening around me or with the people close to me in the space that I am. So I think there’s definitely something happening that has transformed how we are present. I can’t tell you what it exactly is, but I can just personally sense it that there’s another quality to it. It’s like there’s another layer that wasn’t there before perhaps.

00:17:56
>> Yeah. Thank you honey. I came to the conclusion that I cannot not be present. So it’s like everything happens now no matter where my mind is. And when talking about being present, I think it’s more my awareness, my mind being here, not so much because I think there is no other thing than the present moment. And and so that helps me often to to say okay wherever your your mind goes there is no other way than to come back to the present moment. So that that was an insight some time ago

00:18:58
um and a helpful one. So I think it’s more the question where my mind what my mind is occupied with or dealing with my husband’s um illness. Um, I could easily go into worries and anxiousness and I don’t know what, but it felt like it is like it is and and um I might as well stay here and look what’s necessary at the moment and what needs to be done and And then there were some friends coming to visit and they were astonished because they knew other friends that were like um very much occupied with the prognosis

00:20:01
and with uh yeah all the anxiousness and it’s not that there is no fear. I mean I mean the cancer hasn’t gone. It’s it’s still there. but like to capture my me and my whole being with this and um I think there was the stress was more on the on the cellular level. So I I I don’t know what you see but when I look into the mirror I feel older than last year. Um so I think on a cellular level there was a lot happening and and maybe there is the the oxit oxitative stress is there and and uh undoubtedly

00:21:01
but yeah I’m I’m I’m I’m thinking of my mom when she passed. So the last sentence I heard her say was when she had a stenosis. So the auto was not 4 cm in di diameter but 0.4. So she could yeah she had a stroke and she had two heart attacks and and and she had such a hard time to breathe and I said mom what can I do or and then she came down and yeah could breathe again and then she said oh it is like it is and that’s how he how she left I mean it was like Um and and when my

00:22:04
my mind is here, I can act more precisely or better according to what’s happening than just wonder off. And I know there I mean I had a I had a um conversation with somebody and it was really hard and so I had somebody to help me and did an instant change uh session with me and before was my heart was pumping here and my everything was going somewhere and I couldn’t I couldn’t do the there was no center nothing and after that session I was present I could say what I wanted to say and and uh

00:22:54
yeah so yeah bring my mind back to to the present moment because there is no other something like that and when they are coming together I’m I’m able to act according to life not to my fears And when I had the accident, it was was very >> So I was sitting there in the car before the the shock came in. I was sitting there and said, “Okay, breathe.” And then I did some of my my uh yeah the the exercises that I showed you. And so and then I mean then it took over but um it was really like okay I’m now in the

00:23:56
field so car is done. Um yeah, >> too much adrenaline in my bodies so it took over but but yeah >> well actually I was it’s exactly my point GRA mentioned uh it’s the breath to be present for me is always connected with my breath when I know how I breathe I’m present And it’s I just read a book about by Sheldrake going beyond which is quite interesting and he speaks of the holy trinity and of course there is the father the basic then the logos the son the form and spirit

00:24:54
and spirit is breath and it’s also energy and it’s the shakti. So all these um terms we use but being alive means to breathe and if you don’t breathe you’re probably dead. So breathing has always been a major exercise for me. And uh right now at my old age I’m trying I’m not trying I’m doing it. um not thinking, not doing, just being. And being is being present. So there is no other way to uh to be than to be present. And this is probably now the exercise I’ve been doing exercise. It’s

00:26:03
it’s the the way of being for the past couple of yeah weeks, months maybe. maybe a year already. And as Gadra mentioned, you stop worrying. You just you do what is necessary. And this is quite a lot for me as well because my husband is slowly getting older and older and weaker. And yeah, I do what is necessary. And then in the meantime, I sort of when I walk, I do uh exercise walking, lifting the foot. It’s it’s uh I’ve been doing that also a very long time and I’ve been also saying

00:27:02
a prayer now because Sheldrick also mentions praying as connecting with what is beyond your mind and the prayer is uh to my guardian angel and I sort of I learned it as a child um and in German of course I’m trying out to translate it, but it said in the original version it said keep us away from sin. And I know that it’s much more important now at my age not to be away from sin, whatever sin is, but uh not to be dizzy. Keep me away. So I’ve changed that prayer uh uh hide the mikind keep away dizziness

00:27:58
and um so far it works. So it’s that’s my prayer now my childhood prayer version for old age. Yeah, that’s about and and I was very uh of course you all you are always very satisfied when you are confirmed with what you’re thinking but uh about the Holy Spirit which is feminine in most traditions. So um that’s life. Breathing is feminine and it’s life. And it helps you be present. >> So Gina for your question uh has it changed? Um I think it might be the quality of the

00:29:02
time which is making us more now I hesitate to say present because in some way present for me and awareness and consciousness they are somehow interrelated. One thing is the um quality of the time. The other thing is I think getting more growing up a little bit more. I often end up asking myself did I feel these things before 10 years ago? Was I aware of certain physical things or whatever you know or also thoughts and yes I think it is changing and it’s increasing at least in my in my case I

00:29:49
think people as well can decide not to want to to be more present and then they are not I mean but I have decided I want to become more more conscious and uh and I find it not so easy I have to say because sometimes I think ah it would be so nice to just sleep and you know be happy in the sun and something like that you know for longer than 10 minutes or 15 minutes but uh doesn’t seem to be the case so not yet maybe it comes who knows Gina is this okay if did you find some inspiration >> yeah thank you and and Hley I have to

00:30:32
say one of the one of the things that because this challenge and I I’m calling it a challenge because it’s clearly challenging me but being present in the world and I’m just finding like you mentioned I don’t know if I can be truly present in the world um what I can be is I yes I can be aware um and I know at some point I was you know I was I’ve joined meditation classes where we’re bringing healing energy to the entire planet and we’re focusing on sending out healing energy and I’m like okay that’s

00:31:05
one thing but there’s so much I just don’t know if that’s I guess I’m challenging that but I stay informed so is informed and awareness the same thing I’m informed because I think this world is complicated and and I think you have to know what’s going on in this world because it’s affecting us in so many ways not definitely not positive but I I came to the conclusion that I I can be aware but I don’t know if I can be present in the world. So I came to the conclusion I can

00:31:40
only be present in myself or present with someone else and that was considered the community. So I can be but it’s on a very it’s on a very small level and so if if my small level is enough then okay but I just even though I come from a you know a enterprise architecture systems view where you have to keep track of everything I’m like actually I can really only be present in this little tiny space either by myself or with with whom I with who I’m I’m at the time and um cuz that And as you were

00:32:16
talking about control and focus and the other thing that popped up for you this morning is what it’s like to have a conversation with somebody who’s not present. And um there’s my friends are across Canada and I’m like if you call me and you’re doing your housework at the same time I don’t think you’re present cuz then they start talking to the the dog or something else. I’m like if you’re going to call me you should actually be present with me. And I think that’s one thing that I learned over

00:32:50
time is that if I was thinking too far ahead, um like the next thing versus the thing now, then I would miss the things that are now. And later I would go there was a clue and I missed it. I didn’t pick up I wasn’t present with that person. Um, and I was also reminded at one point that um, I don’t know if it’s just Canadian culture, but in Canada we you say, “Hi, how are you?” I’m fine. >> And we never and we never expect to continue the conversation. One of things

00:33:23
I was taught about believe about Europe is if somebody says, “How are you?” you actually have therefore opened the door to hear what they have to say versus, “I’m fine.” And so that little lesson along life helped me be more present with other people. But it’s it’s just an interesting thing. I think uh I gain a I gain a better uh understanding. I think I have less regrets if I’m present. I guess because I don’t want to miss something. And I think there’s

00:33:59
it’s just opening up. And I can feel the difference between when I’m f when I’m thinking about school and and how distracting that can be. And I’m like, “No, you your whole like the intuition and the peacefulness and I can feel I can feel the difference between when my intuition’s working and not because if I’m present, it it’s pretty good. I’m not it’s like there’s too many channels on at the same time. So yeah, I I think it is interesting. I think I’m becoming

00:34:30
more present with time and I think it’s because I’ve learned the loss of when you’re not present which you you lose out on something. You said something about uh you cannot be present to the world and you get informed and everything. I think we can’t because it’s so many layers of what is going and what you hear is maybe this and all the rest you. So I think for me I think we can be energetically present but not to to what is going on and also to to oneself and the surrounding. I mean we have a limited

00:35:11
span of attention and multitasking we are quite good in but being present to many many things at the same time difficult. I think the only thing that’s my experience to I can be present when I really am going into myself to my body and to my my that’s not only body to let’s say myself and feel it as a whole that I can do and maybe connect to somebody else a limited amount of other beings or you know But with a one at a time I would say it’s the whole presence I don’t think it’s

00:35:56
possible at least not with the the mental abilities we have at the present moment of human uh development maybe later they say we we use only 10% of what we could use I don’t know maybe in when we meet again in about 30 lives then it might be different. >> I don’t think it’s healthy to be present to everything that’s happening in the world. I I think we have a we have a system like of um yeah a protection system as human beings to to have like boundaries towards specific people. I mean you can

00:36:45
you it’s like it’s not against other people but like to to be in your heart and your heart is five,000 times more potent uh potent than our brain and if we expand our our heart so it’s vice versa to what you think you have to to shut up and and close your heart. I think when you expand your heart, you you are more protected than when you shut it up. Um but I yeah, I think there is a healthy way of not letting everything uh mess around in your um in your energy field. So um as our ears they select what you hear

00:37:50
like the I mean you you know your baby crying and you can distinguish that from another baby crying even if they’re in the same room or um the voice of somebody you want to hear. So I I I think we have a healthy system to um not to be forced to be present with everything that’s happening. I think uh people like with autism or um ADHDs or so they they suffer from that or hyper sensitive people. Um yeah. So, so I allow myself not to be present with each and everything that’s that’s

00:38:43
happening. And I even I mean to be informed is good. So, not to completely um but I don’t want to be present with what’s going on in Mr. Trump’s head or Yeah. I I can decide what’s healthy for me and and exclude others or other things and have natural and yeah boundaries and this is more like compassionate boundaries. So, it’s nothing against you, but um keep out of my you don’t trample over my tulips in the foreart. So, um yeah. Or you don’t just come into my house no matter what and and mess around

00:39:44
here. So, there’s I think that’s that I don’t want to be present to everything. Well, I agree with you and there is a filter. We have a filter >> that saves us. Uh because if you think about that because I read it just today and it it keeps me really smiling all the time. The earth is hurtling around the sun at 30 kilometers per second. So we are just going through we don’t notice it and that’s a it’s a fact it’s a fact that the earth is hurtling around like mad in our opinion

00:40:35
and we don’t notice it. So this is a kind of not necessarily being present of this awareness that the earth is hurtling around because looking outside it’s just quite calm and uh another thing uh I have been reading Molinski for the last couple of weeks and he has this question this exercise uh who is thinking ing that thought you are thinking right now. >> Who is thinking? >> Who is thinking this thought? >> Yeah. Okay. >> And then you say me and then he ask who

00:41:22
am I? >> And usually when you ask who am I there is a slight pause and this pause is all the possibilities that are possible. And so this is an exercise I’m doing now as well and uh it’s quite fascinating but it always ends up in my breath. So that’s where I end up. >> You remind me of I think therefore I am. And then if I if I purposely breathe I am present. So >> yeah. when we worked with businesses or leaders or so then we copied that from somebody else I don’t recall his name um

00:42:18
the so when we come together it’s who am so three people together or not more than four and one gets three minutes to say who am I and what I’m here from and then the others reflect in an appreciative way what they heard. So, I heard you say this and um or it touched me when you said that. And then you do that over the weekend like the whole and after every bigger break like the meal break uh you come together in another formation and ask and and have that same question. And the interesting thing is is Friday morning

00:43:11
it’s like yeah I’m a CEO of I’m you know um and during the weekend it shifts to towards purpose and and deeper longing and um yeah more like who is that person? And sometimes people just don’t speak. They just take the three minutes to just breathe and and at the beginning they they are really more in their heads and and then slowly shifting. But I love those questions. I mean they and they are very similar to what Mona said. So we asked the question because we are we have 15 minutes but we could do a

00:44:07
little bit of just either going around or just put in what you think um who you are at the moment. Who is this entity? Who am >> I and what I’m here for. Yeah. Yeah. I have to say I asked this question. I’m starting to write poetry and uh about a week ago it was just this who is that who is living this you know and um sometimes I think oh that’s me yeah and sometimes think without saying anything in Italy you just see just reminded of one colleague who who said I’m I’m here to bring heaven on earth.

00:45:30
Not right the first time, but And everybody was like, “Whoa.” But he said that in in such a I mean, you really believed him. I actually believe I’m here not to bring heaven on earth, but let’s say to pre bring peace on earth. I’m here to bring smiles back on Earth. I’m going to try. Sorry, I had a slip wave for a second. We have some people working in the house. When I think of who I am, I think of I am this very young spirit who hasn’t been around many times. And I think in terms of this in terms of

00:46:44
what is your self-importance in this in this world and I do Mona all the time think about but the world is spinning and we’re hurdling through space. So this moment isn’t it isn’t an eternity. Well, at least not in the physical form. Um, and I’m like, so nothing should really be so immense when every moment is so small compared to the whole universe and the universe is expanding as we know. And I’m like, yeah. So, don’t like just lighten up a bit, be kind, like make the best of it.

00:47:19
But who I am, I think I’m still this very young um learning spirit. I feel people accidentally call me kid all the time and I’m like how come everybody calls me kid and then these women these women that are calling me to be interviewed they go you sound so young and I’m like okay well wait till you see me I’m older than you my my professors but I don’t know it’s to me it’s I’ve always had that awareness of like fractals of fractals of cells on leaves and little pieces so if one cell on a piece of

00:47:58
grass is am I like a cell in the piece of the universe? And so I yeah that’s how I I think of just temporarily in this body and learning how to be human. >> Well me what comes up is more and more that my being and my listening Yeah. to make a difference in the world a positive of like almost like a catalyst or so because I’m here something good happens so that that’s my along for a pretty long time it was like being source of appreciation for people and organizations and this like melted

00:48:53
together from that doing more from like yeah if I really take the place I’m I’m here not to teach people or to bring something to a specific thing. It’s it’s more Yeah. that people through my being that they that something shift is shifting for them to the better. So that’s what comes up and even that is not specific. It’s more what they need and what they want and how they want it. So comes up for me is with these types of questions when you ask it in this moment every time there’s a different answer

00:50:13
and what comes up now and it doesn’t make any sense. It’s I’m undefinable. I think in my heart now as I say that May I share something that happened recently with me relating to your question Gina about being present to the world? A dear friend of mine is she’s got brain cancer and really terminal now. Nothing helps anymore. So her brother and she decided instead of her one day having a funeral, she want all her loved ones and family because some of them live quite far in other countries as well to come and

00:51:29
spend time with her while she’s still with it. Well, she can still recognize everybody and so on. So they made tents for different groups of people to come and visit her and we went together with some of her own friends which we didn’t know. We knew some of them but not good not well. And I went there with under knowing that I’m quite, you know, I’m very sensitive. I pick up energies very quickly. I went then with a knowing that I’ll have to have my boundaries because of what’s the situation

00:52:07
in a small place, you know, it’s not a big place. All these people and her and she was really very tiny. She lost a lot of weight. and sitting next to her, I was just present with her. I was aware of the other people in the room. But for the first time, I didn’t worry about them. It was very interesting because usually, you know, I would yeah, I would pick up all their energies as well. My daughter is the same. My daughter did exactly what I did because on our way there we decided to do that

00:52:46
and but it was most beautiful. But I realized something happened in me as I was with her sitting next to her holding her hand that I could sense more about her. I could be more present to her because I was cutting the others off. And when we left there was this literally like you’re pulling a plug of of grasping energy because of situation being sad and also joyful because it was quite joyful lots of laughter. It wasn’t sad in that sense, but you had you felt the sadness because don’t want her to

00:53:29
suffer, but that energy pluck. It was an incredible feeling in my body to know that I have the power to put out that boundary and still be present to what matters most. So when we speak about being present to the world, for me it’s a conscious choice to be present to what matters most. for me where I can bring my contribution >> and the rest I can’t do much about and like you said I don’t want to be in somebody else’s head. Um it’s but I can focus my attention, my awareness on what

00:54:08
I want to bring more of into the world and that’s for me now. Gina, you have brought up the topic. Would you like to wrap up for us? Mhm. >> Um I I I think what I appreciate most is um Henley, first of all, thank you for sharing that intimate moment, but um I I think the conclusion is as Henley said, we’re undefinable. And I think that with that, it’s something that gives us a lot of freedom to be whoever we are in that moment or whenever the next moment. But uh so I I I appreciate the conversation and uh

00:55:07
I hope that as we go through the next day and the next day that every now and then we think about am I present? How am I doing? Yeah. So thank you all. >> Yeah. Thank you also for giving us the topic. I continue um Hani I find it so remarkable to to what you shared to ju just be present with the person in this situation. I think that is so much more than talking. I’m slowly learning that talking is not the main thing. So >> yeah, >> thank you for still talking because a whole hour sitting only together and not

00:55:49
saying anything wouldn’t be so but when we are in real presence we might even pass an hour without talking you know that’s my conclusion you want to say do a check >> I’m Just >> waving goodbye. >> Okay. >> Undefinable. >> So, let’s be present for the important things in our lives and come back in two weeks. Thank you. Bye-bye, ladies. Bye. Bye.