Embracing Presence: Expanding Your Creative Space – Part 5

Working with presence is about opening and filling the space with your entire being. It’s about awareness—fully aware allows you to fill the creative space, giving you more resources to draw from in your creative endeavors. Let’s dive into how this works and how you can practice it in your daily life.

Opening the Space

The more aware you are, the more you can fill the space. Imagine your awareness expanding to fill the entire room. You can pull from a broader range of creative resources when you’re fully present. Specifically, in creative work, you want to:
  1. Create an open space: Be aware of your surroundings and the space you occupy.
  2. Fill the open space: Allow your presence to permeate the space.
  3. Maintain a point of view: Understand how your character thinks and feels and allow that point of view to fill the space.
Your character’s point of view will inform their state of being or how they carry themselves in their environment. This baseline will influence their actions and reactions.\

Example: The Art Gallery

Let’s illustrate this with a narrative example. Imagine your character is attending an art gallery opening filled with elite, affluent, and somewhat snobby art enthusiasts. Here’s how you can apply presence and point of view:
  1. Create an open space: Your character enters the gallery, aware of the people and the atmosphere.
  2. Fill the open space: Your character’s presence fills the room.
  3. Establish a point of view: Your character thinks and feels a certain way about this event. Perhaps they feel out of place or disinterested.
Your character’s state of being reflects this point of view. They might want to get through the event quickly, or perhaps they might want to engage with the attendees playfully. The point of view remains the same, but the state of being can vary.
Now, imagine your character meets the artist—a charming, passionate individual—and they fall in love. This new experience changes their state of being, but their point of view about the snobby attendees might remain unchanged. This shift is potent and adds depth to your narrative.

Practicing Presence

You can practice this awareness and presence anywhere. Here’s how you can incorporate it into your daily life:
  • At the market: Cross the threshold of the market and begin your improv practice. Focus on your point of view and state of being as you navigate the aisles.
  • At the post office: Use the time in line to observe and expand your awareness.
  • At the mall: Engage with the environment and the people around you, practicing different points of view and states of being.
These exercises are excellent ways to develop creative skills outside formal classes or sessions. Incorporating these practices into your everyday life enriches your creative process and brings more authenticity to your work.

Your Turn Now!

Try it out! Next time you step into a new space, consciously create an open space, fill it with your presence, and explore different points of view and states of being. Share your experiences with me—what did you discover? How did it impact your creative process? Let’s continue this journey together, making discoveries, mistakes, and successes in real time.

Personal Stories

Feel free to share your own stories of practicing presence in everyday situations. How did it influence your perception and creativity? Let me know how you are doing so we learn and grow together, constantly pushing the boundaries of our creative spaces.

Also, don’t forget Part 4 of the series!