Presence is the state or fact of existing, occurring, or being present in a place or thing. Presence is realized in the absence of thought, and while thinking, we are distanced and distracted from the present moment. Presence provides a clear view of reality; the only moment that ever exists is the present moment, the only real moment. The past is a distorted memory; the future is only a predictive thought. The time is always now. Presence is revealed to a quiet and still mind.
So, what is thought? Thought is a mental activity that allows us to intellectualize our experience and can be seen as noise. When we are in thought, we create resistance and distortion - of some kind - to reality, meaning that what is (the present moment) and what we think to be are not aligned. The greater the misalignment, the greater the problem. This gap between reality and misinterpretation leads to much-unneeded suffering like stress, anxiety, fear, anger, depression, etc...
A great way to transform our experience of noise is to quiet the mind of our thoughts with mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness meditation teaches us to be aware of the present moment. To notice what is going on inside of us and all around us without judgment. Meditation strengthens our ability to bring our awareness to the present moment and allows us to reach a flow state. A flow state is when we become so focused on what we are creating we are no longer thinking. Many athletes experience this and refer to it as "being in the zone." The present moment is the zone, the flow, the now :)
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