#292 Presence - Healing Ourselves & Others

     Presence has been defined as "an intersubjective and intrasubjective energy exchange with a person, place, object, thought, feeling, or belief that transforms sensory stimuli, imagination, memory, or intuition into a perceived meaningful experience" and also as: "a powerful interhuman connection experienced by all realms of the universe. It is being with the rhythms of the sounds and silences, the visions and blindness of the whole-in-motion.
     Whole-in-motion and being in rhythm reflects the embodiment of mind, body and spirit."
     An example where presence was experienced: "the nurse was conscious of her own thoughts feelings and actions ... mutually shared ... The patient sensed the nurse's compassion and felt understood."
     An example of lack of presence: the nurse competently attended "to a patient's IV therapy, yet failed to acknowledge the patient either verbally or with eye contact. In this interaction, there was no connection between the nurse and the patient in either the physical, emotional or spiritual realms of the patient's world. ... the nurse was not cognisant of her own nor the patient's humanness, and therefore there was an absence of presence."

       Welch D, Wellard S. The phenomenon of presence within contemporary nursing practice: a literature review. Aust J Holist Nurs 2005; 12(1): 4-10.

At the Halifax Seaport Market, February 23, 2013