Customer Reviews

The Presence Process: A Healing Journey Into Present Moment Awareness (v. 1)

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Similar to Dr. Bahder, I am both a physician and a spiritual practitioner. As a physician I specialize in integral psychiatry and work with people in a holistic fashion (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual) to get to true cause in the matter of their suffering. In over 15 years of practice I have not found a guide that helped myself or my patients to such an extent... to face themselves and their own undigested emotional experiences from the past.

In contrast, I have read many of Eckhart Tolle's books; but like Krishnamurti, Tolle's work is more a description of a level of consciousness and less a set of specific and ongoing instructions that lead you there in a relatively ego-proof manner. (The instructions "Listen to silence. Observe your thoughts. Be in nature. Be aware of your breath as often as you are able" are insufficient in the face of our unconscious emotional discomfort and the ego's desire to avoid real change.)

The Presence Process is a simple, direct, how-to manual to finish your emotional past so that you can stop reacting to it; stay in this glorious and eternal present moment; and respond to life. It is a very powerful tool and the most rapid and effective tool I have found to empower you to heal your inner emotional discomfort. It is that inner emotional discomfort that drives addictions and illnesses (physical, mental, and emotional) AND that keeps us from being here now for any significant length of time. You can acknowledge the power of now and say "yes to what is; however, the unconscious pain of the past keeps drawing us away from the present moment through constantly asking, "What happened?" because it was so painful and, "How do I keep it from happening again?" This drives our unconscious needs and wants which ever drive us from this moment. "This isn't it" is the way of being we are stuck with until we face, embrace, digest, and integrate the emotional past.

Simple and difficult. Challenging and exciting. Not for everyone. But if it is for you and you do it... you will be astounded.

Highly lucid. Highly effective. Highly recommended.

Years ago, I read Eckart Tolle's "The Power of Now". It's a fantastic book but I found it difficult to achieve the state of present moment awareness it describes. "The Presence Process" is the "how to" manual to achieve this priceless state. Michael Brown's brilliant book has substantially deepened my understanding of this subject. It's a catharsis to know for example, that the pursuit of happines is basically our effort to "fix" our adult life but not realizing that the cause of what's wrong with our life has its origin in our childhood. Therefore, getting that new car, more money, a beautiful spouse, etc., won't make us happy. There's alway an empty feeling. Fix the cause and one can start experiencing true happiness. This book tells you in a very precise manner how to do that. Outstanding!

I am both a medical doctor who works with people in a holistic fashion to get to the root cause of their problems and a spiritual practitioner myself moving along the path. In my over 25 years of practice I have not found a guide that helped people to such an extent to face themselves and their own self-deceptions as this book. This book is really an invitation to experience your authentic self. If you have been stuck or feel that something is still lacking in your life, this book is certain to become your best friend.

Have you spent a great deal of time and money trying to learn how to live in the present moment? I sure did. Just as I was about to give up, just as I was screaming, "No more!" the "Presence Process" entered my life experience.
I'm only on the third session and I feel different already. I'm learning how to feel EVERYTHING.
The book repeatedly and strongly recommends we 1)trust The Process 2)complete The Process no matter what happens and 3)apply ourselves sincerely to what is asked of us each week.
It discourages us from making any major life decisions or starting a new project (ie. a diet or exercise program) during the 2 1/2 months it takes to complete The Process.
Many spiritual teachers tell us it's urgent that more people wake up if human beings are to survive. "The Present Process" is not easy but it is the fastest and gentlest way I have ever encountered. The book guarantees that we will "evolve from reactive to responsive beings" and actually start "to live life instead of thinking about life".
Not everyone will respond favorably to The Process. As Michael points out, "Some people still need their sleep".
I DO appreciate all the teachers, books and approaches I've encountered along the path.
I DO feel relief and immense gratitude though for the Divine nudge that encouraged me to try one last book.

Thank you Michael. You are a true trailblazer and "The Presence Process" is a great gift to anyone who is ready for this journey.

This is a fantastic guide to what I would call Intentional Living - being in the moment, being aware of what the author calls your Inner Presence - the little piece of God within each of us. Solid and deep information leads to practical "hands on" sessions including breathing exercises. This is a book that is an excellent companion to Eckhart Toll's Power of Now. I'm going to call it the "Power of How"!

Michael Brown presents a simple process for ending the self-defeating cycles we all seem to suffer through. He explains why we do this and how to undo it for good. Not a quick fix at all, rather a steady process that any willing participant can do. The heart of the program is two 15-minute breathing sessions (just your plain old breathing, nothing fancy or weird) done morning and night. Christians will know this as centering prayer; others will call it meditation.

If you are: tired of gaining and losing the same 50 lbs., tired to dating the same guy (or gal) who somehow lives in multiple bodies and finds you again and again, tired of emotional baggage running your everyday life, tired of reacting instead of responding, tired of being out of control and tired of pretending you are in control, this is the book for you.

He actually asks you not to make any dramatic changes in your life while you work through this process. But you will change ....

Father Thomas Keating (author of Open Heart, Open Mind) says we spend the rest of our lives trying to recover from the damage incurred in childhood. Brown echoes those sentiments. He says The Presence Process isn't a spiritual program, although you may experience it as such on some level. My take is it's entirely spiritual. The Universe, God, whatever you choose to call The Force will use every bit of your life to bring you to wholeness if you allow it.

I'm a journalist by trade, a long-time traditional Christian, and take everything with a grain of salt. So far, this is one of the most beneficial books I've picked up in my entire life. The Bible was my first big life changer. The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron was number two. The Presence Process is number three.

Probably the most useful book I've encountered in enabling greater ability to "be present" vs. "be in your mind/focused on yourself." Has created significant benefit for me in many areas of life, from business to friends to family of origin to current family (children, spouse). Concept--working backwards through thinking, physical, and feeling planes of experience--seems to work very well. The book structure--written in a way that it engages you beyond your mind, and with exercises that enable deeper engagement--is truly unique. At first reading, I found the language and ideas a little intimidating...not that it's at all difficult, but that it's not at all the typical business read. But it makes more and more sense on each reading, and well worth reviewing/working more than once.

Note: this is NOT a book on technique. You're not going to learn tricks to put emotional charge "aside." This is really about being more alert to charge when it surfaces, and being able to discharge such distractions completely so the energy doesn't have to be contained. And you get to feel truly connected to more people, and yourself, and even experience "unconditional love."

For something more technique-oriented, and less deep, try David Rock's "Quiet Leadership"

The Presence Process is a well structured synthesis of transformational tools acquired during years of personal experience by the author. It's an exceptional read. But its uniqueness and power come through the genius of the ten week Presence Process that allows the reader to access to the Presence 'experience'. The access key is a simple breathing technique. With this as your start,The Presence Process leads you step by step to discover the source of your 'reactions' and shift to 'responses'. I'm on week three and I'm making major shifts. Michael suggests it's best if you are ready to do the work on your own, as opposed to doing it for show or talking about the concepts. If that's were you are, the Process is there. To say "it works" really doesn't do it justice. I would throw out all my other tranformational books that I have collected over the years and keep this one!

Other books (including Eckhart's) hold vital information that is difficult to apply in daily life. Michael Brown,through his own healing process, takes the "Presence" material several steps further. You can't simply tell yourself to be present over and over and expect results. If it was that simple then the whole world would be functioning from higher levels of awareness. Michael Brown manages to move us beyond our distorted perceptions so that we can see clearly what causes so much discomfort in our lives AND he shows how to stop this self-defeating cycle. If you're looking for a quick fix, this isn't it but if you're serious about transforming your entire life, start nourishing yourself with this food for the SOUL. Like a gourmet meal,this book is meant to be assimilated slowly. If you want fast food, you won't be able to digest this.
Ripley.

As a self help book enthusiast, this book has introduced me to a path of healing which others have only touched through my intellect. For the price of the book, I experienced a process that lead me to new places within myself, changing my life and perceptions experiencially and forever. Many individuals search for relief from chronically sick relationships, addictions, emotional or physical pain and spend huge amounts of money to attend seminars and health practitioners in their search for what can be found in this book. I am so thankful to Michael Brown and his gift to the world in this book.