In the state of presence we are not lost in the experiences of our body or the thoughts in our mind - we are 'in the background' to them.
'Presence' is describing a state of consciousness that we can consciously take ourselves into where we are no longer thinking. In that state we are 'open minded' you could say.
We have momentarily dropped all of the stuff that is usually occupying our mind.
In the state of presence we become like a blank empty space where we are keenly aware of everything that is arising in our mind, rather than being absorbed into it.
It is like dropping temporarily into the background, the empty space behind thoughts, feelings and experiences.
Thoughts, feelings and experiences are suspended for that moment.
When we are in the state of presence we are present to - rather than immersed in.
We are in the moment - in the Eternal Continuous Moment of Now.
But what is this 'presence' or 'background' exactly?
In itself, the background isn't anything - it is the absence of things.
When we are present - in the background - we are one step removed from thoughts, feelings and experiences - and therefore we are able to observe them.
From the background we can notice thoughts, feelings, emotions, opinions, beliefs, ideas, fears - all the experiences of the mind and body - as they arise.
The background is like the vacuum of space - its just there - empty - uninvolved nothingness.
The more often we take ourselves into this 'background', the more accessible and stable this state of consciousness becomes.
With practice it becomes possible to drop into it at will.
Eventually 'being in the background' is where we reside most of the time.
From there we can choose to participate in the foreground - or not.
However, until the background is known, we automatically live in the foreground.
This is the 'unconscious' ego-mind state - automatically merged with whatever arises.
We are actually completely unaware that we have become one with our thinking, feeling and experiencing - there is no gap, no space between what arises and our merging into it.
In this normal ego-mind state it appears like there's no choice as to how we think, feel or experience - it 'just happens'.
(This is where the ideas of 'no free will' and 'no doer' come from).
However...
When the normal ego-mind state is no longer our normal - as we become more able to drop into the background - little-by-little the ego-mind loses its control over us.
This process of the diminution of the ego-mind continues to open up more and more space in the background and miraculously a deep contentedness comes, happiness, joy and love start to flow into our lives.
As this happens we start to realise that the 'background' is actually not just an empty state after all - it is more like a portal.
The qualities of joy and love are sensed as coming into our experience through that portal.
We realise this is happening because the obstruction of the ego-mind is no longer blocking our connection to that which is beyond the portal.
We are starting to recognise our connection with the beyond - the Divine - and to sense that we are actually One with it.
John