I could tell a recent student wasn’t in a good state by all the things she didn’t notice.
I pick coaching-students up from their Hotel and drive them to my place. On the way there, I saw a Bear leisurely walking on the road beside the car. I also noticed a family of deer. My student didn’t notice these things. She was busy telling me about her “issues” (Pro-Tip: your issues are never your issues, they are issues of the Ego).
After a day of coaching I drove her back to the Hotel and she noticed much more. She said “Wow, what a beautiful view!” as if seeing it for the first time and “Oh…there’s a gate!” (she hadn’t noticed that we entered a gate on the way in, she did notice it on the way out).
Presence-Level is one way to gauge how well a person is.
Do they notice their surroundings?
Do they notice other people?
Do they have empathy with others?
Or are they self-absorbed, lost in their own story, oblivious?
A few months ago I had a student who noticed things nobody has ever noticed. For example, I had taken a slightly different way to my house than on the way back and he commented on it! He noticed a view from my house that I had posted online not being visible when he visited me and more. Noticing is a super-power. People who notice too much can seem scary. He was fully present before and after our session, so I would have to be at the top of my game to help him progress.
Here’s a recommendation: Don’t get lost in mind-stories. Notice others. Self-absorption is not your friend. Self-absorption is different from meditation. Meditation is observation, noticing, silence. Self-absorption is being lost in stories and judgements about what is supposedly happening with zero interest in what is actually happening.
