Awakening Through the Present Moment

Podcast Summary

I didn’t come to the present moment gracefully. I arrived tired. Tired of striving. Tired of fixing. Tired of pretending I wasn’t lost in my own life. It’s funny how the now waits for us—patiently—while we chase everything but this breath. This episode of The Awakening Process 101 is a reflection on that quiet turning point. That gentle return to now.

In this conversation with Louise, we explore what it really means to awaken—not in grand gestures, but in the soft pauses of everyday life. Through the lenses of Eckhart Tolle, Sally Kempton, and Jon Kabat-Zinn, we look at how presence isn’t just a concept—it’s a felt experience. One that changes everything, not by adding more, but by stripping away what’s no longer needed.

The Power of Now and Present-Moment Awareness

Tolle’s teaching of presence as liberation struck me differently depending on where I was in my life. At first, it felt like a riddle—how do I “resist nothing” when pain is loud and real? But as I softened over time, I understood. Resistance is what keeps suffering alive. When we stop pushing against life and start sitting with it, we uncover something more honest, more steady—something that’s been with us all along.

This moment—just as it is—isn’t lacking. In fact, it’s where everything is. The stories we tell ourselves dissolve in the now. And what’s left is truth. Breath. Aliveness. There’s a wholeness waiting when we stop running. And it doesn’t demand perfection—it only asks that we show up, fully.

Meditation as a Relationship with the Self

When Sally Kempton described meditation as a “love affair with the self,” something opened in me. Suddenly, my practice wasn’t about becoming enlightened or sitting perfectly still. It became about intimacy. About turning toward myself with curiosity instead of critique. Each sit became less about escape and more about presence—about touching the deeper currents beneath my everyday thoughts.

Over time, meditation stopped feeling like a task and started feeling like a reunion. Even on the messy days—especially on the messy days—it became a way of holding myself with grace. I stopped trying to quiet the noise and started listening more deeply. That’s where the real magic lives—not in silence, but in presence.

Multiple Pathways to Awakening

There’s such relief in knowing there’s no “one right way” to wake up. Louise and I unpack how each teacher we admire offers a different portal. Tolle speaks to the mind and its stillness. Kempton speaks to the heart and its devotion. Kabat-Zinn speaks to the body and its rhythms. Each path is valid. Each one calls to a different part of us.

And the truth is, we’re not meant to choose just one. We are complex, evolving beings. What meets us today may not meet us tomorrow. The invitation is to keep listening—to trust what resonates and follow it with openness. In that way, awakening becomes less about arrival and more about rhythm. A living, breathing journey back to presence.

Conclusion

Presence isn’t something I hold onto. It’s something I meet. Again and again. Some days it slips through my fingers. Other days it wraps around me like a soft shawl. But every time I return to it, I remember who I am underneath the noise.

This episode was a gentle reminder that we don’t awaken by becoming someone new—we awaken by remembering who we’ve always been. We come home, not to a perfect version of ourselves, but to the one who’s already whole. Already enough. Already here.