Presence: Physiology & Culture II
🌀 Part I: The Physiology of Presence / follow up post
Monitoring Your Physiology Loop
Last week I shared the Physiology of Presence.
This week I added a practical self-assessment you can use to see where you are in the cycle. Presence may not be easily measurable, but we can measure proxy parameters that will help cultivate it.
Part 1: Subjective Self-Evaluation (0–10 scale)
For each stage of the loop, I’ll offer three questions you can score from 0 to 10.
0 = not at all true
10 = completely true
At the end, add them up.
25–30 = great
20–25 = good
10–20 = pay attention
0–10 = red flag
No judgment. Just awareness.
Rhythm (Rest-and-Repair vs. Fight-or-Flight)
Our baseline rhythm is everything. It’s the first domino in the loop.
Questions:
I wake feeling rested and not wired.
My stress rises and falls naturally instead of staying stuck.
I can relax without needing alcohol, sugar, or screens.
When my rhythm tilts toward fight-or-flight, I may look “functional,” but inside I’m vibrating with tension. When it tilts toward rest-and-repair, I feel grounded, creative, and safe.
2. Breath (CO₂ / O₂ Balance)
Breath is the steering wheel of the nervous system.
Questions:
I breathe through my nose most of the day.
I can comfortably hold my breath after exhale for 20+ seconds.
My breath naturally slows when I’m at rest.
Overbreathing is modern humanity’s hidden epidemic. We blow off CO₂, starving tissues of oxygen, and build anxiety. Building tolerance to CO₂ is like key to ensuring return to R&R.
3. Chemistry (Serotonin / Dopamine)
The loop of breath and rhythm flows directly into brain chemistry.
Questions:
I feel steady contentment more often than restless seeking.
I’m not hooked on constant stimulation (coffee, news, scrolling).
Joy feels accessible without “big hits.”
Balanced chemistry feels like sufficiency.
Dysregulated chemistry feels like a never-ending itch.
I know I’m off when I reach for my phone before I even know what I’m seeking.
4. Tone (Numbness / Bliss)
Tone is how chemistry lands in the body.
Questions:
I notice subtle sensations in my body.
I feel pleasure and aliveness in ordinary moments.
I don’t need high intensity to feel awake.
When I’m dysregulated, life feels flat and collapsed.
When I’m regulated, even silence hums with richness. I am vibrant and expanded.
5. Signal (Fear / Love)
Tone becomes signal: how I read reality.
Questions:
I feel safe in most of my environments.
My default is curiosity, not suspicion.
I can soften when stressed instead of bracing harder.
From fear, every shadow looks like a threat.
From love, even uncertainty feels like possibility.
6. Posture (Control / Surrender)
The signal in turn shapes my stance toward life.
Questions:
I allow situations to unfold without needing to control everything.
I can let go of outcomes without collapse.
My body feels open and relaxed more often than tight and guarded.
Fear hardens me into control. Love softens me into surrender.
7. Drive (Seeking / Contentment)
Posture colors my motivation.
Questions:
I feel “enough-ness” without constant striving.
My goals come from inspiration, not pressure.
I can rest without guilt.
This one humbles me. I’ve spent decades driven by adrenaline and intensity, seeking presence. It wasn’t until later in life that I discovered presence through relaxation. Everything changed.
8. Habitat (City / Nature)
Drive shapes environment — and environment feeds back into the loop.
Questions:
I spend regular time in natural environments.
My environment feels supportive, not draining.
I notice a clear shift in my nervous system when I move between city and nature.
Cities buzz with vigilance. Nature restores rhythm.
The habitat we choose reinforces the loop we live in.
Part 2: Mapping Metrics to the Loop
Most of these can be tracked with common wearables like Oura, Whoop, Garmin, or Apple Watch. They’re not perfect, but they’re good enough for trends. You don’t need them — but if you like numbers, they can help.
1. Rhythm (Rest-and-Repair vs. Fight-or-Flight)
Metrics:
Resting Heart Rate (RHR):
High RHR = sympathetic dominance (fight-or-flight).
Low, stable RHR = parasympathetic resilience.HRV (Heart Rate Variability):
The gold standard. Higher HRV = flexibility in shifting between stress and rest.
2. Breath (CO₂ / O₂ Balance)
Metrics:
Breath-Hold Time after Exhale (BOLT score):
>20s suggests healthy CO₂ tolerance. <15s indicates overbreathing/stress.Respiratory Rate at Rest:
6–10 breaths per minute is optimal; higher often = dysregulation.
3. Chemistry (Serotonin / Dopamine Balance)
Metrics: Harder to measure directly outside labs, but proxies exist:
Sleep Quality / Deep Sleep %:
Reflects serotonin stability (precursor to melatonin).Addiction Behaviors (screen time, caffeine intake, sugar cravings):
Indirect markers of dopamine imbalance.
4. Tone (Numbness / Bliss)
Metrics:
Body Scan Sensitivity: Can you detect heartbeat, tingling, subtle shifts?
(Self-reported, but testable).
5. Signal (Fear / Love)
Metrics:
Startle Reflex Recovery Time:
How long it takes to calm after a sudden stressor.Self-report:
Perceived safety in ordinary environments.
6. Posture (Control / Surrender)
Metrics:
Postural Analysis:
Shoulders, breath diaphragm, jaw — can be tracked visually.Flexibility vs. Rigidity Tests:
Mobility and relaxation as indirect indicators.
The best check is to ask your chiropractor or physiotherapist and then track how you evolve over time. Your own awareness is important, but professional eyes will spot what you miss.
7. Drive (Seeking / Contentment)
Metrics:
Work/Rest Balance:
Hours spent in striving vs. restoration.Screen/Notification Check-ins:
If you check your phone unconsciously, that’s seeking.
8. Habitat (City / Nature)
Metrics:
Time in Nature vs. Built Environments (per week):
A clear, trackable variable.Noise Levels / Light Exposure:
Urban overstimulation vs. natural rhythm.
Part 3: The Loop Is Not Linear
For clarity I’ve written these steps in sequence, but life isn’t so tidy.
The loop is a web of feedback, not a straight line.
You can enter anywhere: Change your breath, and chemistry shifts. Step into nature, and rhythm resets. Release control, and drive softens.
Some entry points are easier than others.
Breath is often the most accessible.
Nature is the most ancient.
Love is the deepest.
You don’t have to fix the whole loop at once.
You only need to start with one part.
Part 4: The Short-Lived Presence of Intensity
I should add something here: presence can also come from adrenaline and intensity.
Any front-line medic in a war zone or rock-climber knows this: danger can pull you into the moment like nothing else. The world sharpens. Time slows. You are utterly there.
But it doesn’t last. And it comes with a cost.
That kind of presence is unstable. It burns through the nervous system and easily slides into addiction — to violence, to speed, to danger (just check what kind of movies we watch!). I know, because I lived that way for decades.
What I discovered later is that presence is also available through relaxation.
The first time I felt it, my entire world shifted.
Closing: The Gift of Awareness
We can’t pass or fail that test, but we can start to notice.
When I’m caught in the loop of disconnection, I don’t blame myself. I ask: where can I step back in? Do I need breath? To change my attitude? What beliefs am I holding now?
Presence is not easy to define practically, but without awareness of our physiology, it is impossible to experience. And physiology is always available, always waiting, always closer than I think.
The world is still here. So is bliss. So is safety.
The loop can trap me. Or it can free me.
The choice is in where I place my next breath.
PS: “Change Your Story, Change The World” is a storytelling endeavor that looks deeply into the psyche that creates the stories we live by—with the intention to help us shape better stories, both personally and collectively.
Because the stories we tell are the reality we live.