2nd Update (Oct. 2021): After 6+ months of CPTSD healing work (continuing and on-going)--I am resuming TPP. I've come a long way. I needed to work on my emotional flashbacks/dysregulation, boundaries, assertiveness, emotional literacy (identifying, acknowledging and validating my feelings), and anger release work BEFORE I could resume TPP. I was prone to dissociation. If you are familiar with CPTSD lingo, my pattern consisted primarily of freeze-flight with fawn-fight secondary; however all 4 F's were part of my conditioning. Pete Walker's books "CPTSD: From Surviving to Thriving," and "The Tao of Fully Feeling" were LIFE-CHANGING, and, in my opinion, must-reads if you have CPTSD. Initially, I was so triggered by them, I could only read small portions. I proceeded to do Fortress Mental Health's free sequence of tutorials on youtube and then did 3 classes: "Healing the Super Ego," "Summoning the Self," and "The Loving Inner Guide." This created significant changes in my outer life and demystified a lot basics for me. In TPP, Michael said that sometimes old relationships and life circumstances spontaneously reconfigure during the inner work of TPP. For me, this happened only AFTER I addressed the CPTSD and learned how stand up for myself with courage, say No as required, show up in a boundaried, assertive, authentic way, ask for what I want and drop the false self. Stopping emotional flashbacks, overcoming emotional dysregulation and welcoming my feelings have been the biggest priorities. Assertiveness training, anger-release work and aerobic training (for dissociation) , yoga, cranialsacral, vagus, neuro-somatic work (self-work) have also been invaluable. Michael has done a great job with TPP. However if you have a complicated trauma background, and many of us do, you may benefit from some preliminary groundwork. I'm looking forward to resuming TPP. Blessings to everyone who reads this. Trust the path.
Update (Jan. 2021): I still recommend TPP but want to add a caveat. I was limited in my ability to fully benefit from TPP because of CPTSD and emotional dysregulation. TPP became a hamster wheel for me bc I did not recognize that there were things I needed to address FIRST. There's a big difference between "feeling unconditionally" and being in an emotional flashback, dysregulated and emotionally illiterate. If you are hitting a wall, I recommend educating yourself about CPTSD. 3 resources that made a big difference for me: Fortress Mental Health Protection (free youtube videos on stopping emotional flashbacks and becoming emotionally literate--prerequisites to "feeling unconditionally"); Pete Walker's book "Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving"; and Paul Selig's book "I am the Word" which deals with healing trauma from a spiritual perspective. If you're doing fine with TPP and able to complete 3 rounds without hitting major inner roadblocks, then what this caveat probably doesn't apply to you. Trust your own knowing. Best of luck!
(Original Review) I’ve always considered myself a fairly conscious and aware person. Although admittedly fragmented, I’m eager and willing to awaken. This impetus—to awaken—is what keeps me going. The last three decades of my life have mostly revolved around “healing into Wholeness and ending my denial.” I’ve immersed myself in learning, meditation, bodywork (all levels—physical, mental, emotional and spiritual), yoga, soul retrieval, autonomic regulation, channeled teachings, mantras, veganism, you name it. I worked as a healthcare provider. Nothing interests me more than wholeness and integration. However, the key phrase is *revolved around*—as in spinning in circles. I’ve traveled many a path of illusion and delusion. Over and over. Each time I was sure this time “it would be different.” It took a pretty big crash for me to be ready to start The Presence Process (TPP). I’m on round 2 and it’s a life-saver and life-changer for me. Michael’s become like a trusted older brother, although I imagine I’m at least a decade his senior. TPP is extraordinarily grounded and focused on INTEGRATION. More importantly, it’s infinitely verifiable, test-able, and prove-able in *your own experience*. THE EVIDENCE IS YOUR OWN LIFE.
Suffering is a powerful impetus to healing. When unconsciousness surfaces, thank your lucky stars. One of the most debilitating consequences of trauma is that “you don’t really want to feel what you feel or know what you know.” That presents quite a quandary. TPP has been my way out. Thank you, Michael. The way out is through.
For me, what sets TPP apart is 1.) it noticeably works; 2.) no intermediary is necessary (nor recommended for that matter—game-changing!); 3.) Michael birthed the process from an embodied, authentic place—so TPP offers the reader a centered, grounded experience; (this sets TPP apart from the many dis-embodied paths out there that subtly or not-so-subtly promote spiritual bypassing and mental-body hocus pocus.) 5.) The barometer of any modality, path, teaching is—does it lead to an increase in authentic Presence? I now have my own gauge which has reduced my reversals, near misses and misfires significantly. 4.) once you start TPP and go down that rabbit hole, everything that transpires in your life from then on takes you deeper. Eventually, the dawning comes that life is a play staged for your benefit. 6.) In my experience, TPP has been the most effective, safe, trusted, authentic, intimate, contained, gentle, powerful, transformative, impeccable method I've come across.
There are many options to familiarize yourself with the process. Michael offers a lot of free resources on his website, “The Presence Portal.” Definitely check out the how-to on breathing. Plus at least 3 workshops with Michael are offered on youtube. "A Walk Through The Presence Process"--on youtube--was my initial introduction to TPP and remains a much loved and relied upon resource.
Please note: the following is strictly my experience and I have no idea if it’s aligned with Michael’s perspective. During round 1, I experienced a lot of body-based physical resistance to the breathing practice. (I’m healthy and active, I’ve run marathons, etc., so it wasn’t a question of capacity.) I often literally had to lie down on my back to do the breathing practice. (To be clear, Michael recommends sitting up. Lying down was my last resort. It was sometimes nearly impossible for me to connect my breathing sitting up.) It felt prohibitively challenging. I even tried a few transformational breathing sessions with a practitioner. Those were OK and exposed me to breathing deeply in and out through the mouth (which is more effective for me), but I still couldn’t sustain well on my own. After completing round 1, I attempted to start round 2 at least a dozen times, but became discouraged. (As a bridge, I ended up doing the 1:1 TPP session from Michael’s website—which I made into an audio—for 40+ days. That was very valuable.) Then I kind of tucked it away. I kept the TPP book within reach, and referred and listened to it often. But it seemed best to let it go for awhile.
Fast forward a year a half. I started doing Wim Hof’s breathing technique and cold showers—both of which immensely increased my present moment awareness. Within a month after starting Wim Hof’s method and reading his book, my system ASKED me to do a second round of TPP. It pretty much insisted that I resume my TPP practice. I’m now on week 4 of round 2 and it’s entirely different. Yes, I still come face-to-face with my resistance on a daily basis. Yes, I still reactively close down more than I’d like. BUT I’M DOING IT. I’m authentically grokking the whole thing in a new way. Re-reading the book (for probably the 10+ time) I’m getting things that I totally missed before. Each time I pick it up it’s a new book. There are many more things that I see now. My healing path was perhaps the greatest reflection of my unconscious imprinting, unintegrated charged emotions and unconscious definition of love. When I say to myself, as I sometimes do, “What if I had discovered TPP 10 years ago when it first came out?”, I recognize it as another opportunity to integrate the unconscious patterning (and mental body antics) that are surfacing. I plan to continue with round 3 (and beyond) because *I can* and because the process is so beneficial and fulfilling for me. Michael, if you read this, please know that you delivered a miracle to me. It took 5 months after discovering TPP (listening and re-listening to "A Walk Through the Presence Process") for me to be ready to do round 1 and a year and a half after completing round 1 to be ready for round 2, but here I am doing it and loving it. Thank you! Blessings to all who read this.
p.s.
If you get stuck in the muck, the supplemental materials can really help. TPP is the core book. It’s the essential read if you're compelled by the process. It’s also my all-time favorite book. As I said, I’ve read it 10+ times and always keep it within reach. The whole book is great. The sections “Radiating Present Moment Awareness Responsibly” and “The Story of Clive and Nadine” have a particularly special place in my heart. That said, I've gotten a lot out of the supplemental materials; they're valuable in their own right. As I said, I started with "A Walk Through The Presence Process" (2 parts) available on youtube. I made it into an audio track (I slowed it down to .75 speed) and I have listened to it countless times. Michael is very spontaneous and fluid and the insights just pour in each time I listen. Sometimes I listen to it (or the TPP book or the 1:1 TPP session) on loop overnight. I seem to absorb and comprehend the material even better in dreamtime, especially when I unconsciousness or resistance surfaces. Don't overload yourself at first. TPP and "A Walk Through the Presence Process" are more than enough to begin with. The mental body can absorb info much faster than the emotional body, child self and heart. Savor the material slowly. As Michael says, rushing is drama. If you feel your head spin--stop and digest.
I'll give an example of how the supplemental offerings have helped me. In the book “Alchemy of the Heart,” (which I recommend after reading TPP), I discovered this gem: "Whenever we self-medicate, we are practicing internalized child abuse." Wow. Once you see that, you can't un-see it. The free downloadable books on the Presence Portal website are good too, including “The Art of Integration” (the chapter “My New Agreement” really sparked new insights) and “Being Our Companion" (excellent Q&A sections-plural--for before, during and after completing TPP.) Go slow. Go at your own pace. Geek out only when compelled. As I said, the mental body can take in info way faster than the emotional self. When I feel my mental body goes into hyper-drive--I STOP.
Most of the time I turn to TPP (this book). I have it in kindle, book and audio formats. It has a slow, easy, gentle, comfortable, absorbable pace. My emotional body and child self love it. It never fails to bring me back to responsive awareness. I listen to it on .75 speed. It's meditative, contemplative and allows my mind to rest in its natural state.
Words aren't sufficient. I trust this process. You'll know if it's for you. Even if you think it's not, it might be at a later time. When I get lost, confused, disoriented, TPP brings me back to authentic responsive awareness. It's helped me find a well-spring of love within myself, anchor and extend this love in a steady, safe, stable way. There's no need to chase a better you. There's no such thing. I still fall for that trap sometimes, but TPP restored me to the inner barometer of Presence. Either something takes you toward Presence or away from it. It's that simple. TPP is potent medicine if you’ve had a history of dissociation, trauma, or feeling un-grounded. Remember to love and welcome the self that you are *today.* Honor her/his need for love, guidance and truth. Presence is your best friend and TPP is the best method I know of to intimately ferry you back to Presence--the real you. Don't you want to meet that self, the true self? Know yourself as safe, loved, worthy and perfect--exactly as you are. Very best wishes always.
A few quotes to close:
"To love is to allow evolution. When we love ourselves, we treat ourselves in such a manner that we are freely able to evolve. This means acknowledging that our experience - all of it - is valid - that it is our teaching - and we respond to it in this light. When we love another we allow them to have their own experience so they may fully evolve. We acknowledge their experience as being valid. You know I love you when I validate you by not interfering [entering fear] with you."
"Presence knows precisely what’s required to accomplish integration. Therefore, let it determine the outcome, and let all outcomes be received and perceived as deliberately administered by Presence.”
“Because our experience is overseen by Presence, it’s not only valid but also required.”
“In the end our validation of ourselves is all we require for the process to have an authentic impact.”
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Supercalafrajalisticexpialadocius
Best book and integrstion therapy I ever read. Come to The Sanctuary [...] for a supportive space for doing the process.
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Dean
This book is simple, magnificent, lovely, and above all transformative
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is this the best book ever written?
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