Being present sounds simple. And yet for most of us, it doesn’t come naturally.
Even when life slows down, our minds don’t always follow suit. We sit still, but our thoughts run ahead or loop backwards. We watch TV and scroll on our phones at the same time. We exercise while listening to our favourite podcast or song. Sound familiar?
In her course The Art of Being Present, Marina Abramović explores why presence is so difficult – and why learning to stay here, in the moment, requires far more than good intentions.
- Why are we not in the present?
- How to be more present
- How to live in the present moment
- Get a FREE lesson from artist Marina Abramović
Why are we not in the present?
According to Marina, the mind almost never stays where the body is.
We are trained to live in past and future – replaying what has already happened or rehearsing what’s yet to come. The present moment, she teaches, is the only place where reality actually exists, yet it’s the place we spend the least time.
Modern life reinforces this disconnection. We rarely do just one thing at a time. And when we do slow down, impatience quickly appears. The mind looks for distraction the moment an action feels boring or uncomfortable.
Rather than signs of failure, Marina Abramović treats boredom, irritation, and restlessness as evidence that presence is beginning.
Presence is hard because it asks us to stay – without distraction, without outcome, without escape.
How to be more present
Abramović does not teach presence as a concept. She teaches it as a practice, grounded in the body.
One of the first principles is surrendering control. Presence cannot be forced. The moment we judge whether an exercise is “working,” or expect a particular feeling, the mind takes over again. Her approach begins by letting go of expectation and committing fully to the action itself.
Breathing plays a central role. Thinking is almost constant, but when we slow down our breath, the thoughts in our mind begin to slow too. In the brief gap between these thoughts, you can start to feel presence appear.
She also emphasises doing one task at a time. And committing to just that. Some exercises in her course explore drinking water consciously, walking slowly with full attention, or writing your name without lifting the pencil for a long time.
These acts are intentionally simple, yet challenging, because they leave no room for mental escape.
How to live in the present moment
So how do you practice this in daily life?
In The Art of Being Present, Marina emphasizes that presence is not a mindset you adopt, but a state you enter through action. Her exercises are deliberately simple, designed to remove distraction rather than add stimulation.
Here are a few ways to practice presence – some drawn directly from her work, others more commonly recognized – that all share the same principle: doing one thing, fully.
1. Commit to duration
Many of Marina’s exercises work because they last long enough for resistance to surface – and then pass. Some start at 15 minutes and other around an hour long. Some practices are encouraged to try for a few days. The idea is that you push past those uncomfortable feelings.
“When you sit still for ten, fifteen, twenty minutes, your body itches, and you desperately want to move. But if you actively exert willpower, generate willpower, and refuse to move no matter what, then you will open the door to the human soul.”
2. Do one everyday action slowly
Drink a glass of water, walk, or sit in a chair without multitasking. Stay with the sensations of the action itself, rather than thinking about time or outcome.
3. Slow your breathing
When breathing becomes conscious and deliberate, thinking naturally begins to slow down. If you’ve ever meditated or tried practices like Yoga, that ask you to tune inwards, you may have already experienced this feeling.
4. Commit to duration
Many of Marina’s exercises only work because they last long enough for resistance to surface – and then pass. So, it’s important to carve out enough time in your day to day lives to try some of these exercises. Aim for 1 hour, and if not, try 30 minutes.
5. Ground yourself physically
If you can, find grass to stand on. Standing firmly on the earth, feeling weight through the feet, or connecting with natural elements brings attention out of the mind and back into the body. Some people practice this barefoot; others prefer to do so with shoes on.
6. Reduce sensory input
Silence notifications, remove background noise, or step outside. Fewer stimuli make it easier to stay with what’s happening now.
“Deprivation of technology is so important,” says Marina.”The first thing that you’ll do is take your phone, switch it off. No computer (and) no watch.”
7. Let go of productivity goals
If you focus too much on the feeling you’re aiming to get to, you might not achieve the result you’re hoping for.
Presence deepens when actions are done for their own sake, not to achieve a result. So go easy on yourself. You might need to practise exercises more than once to feel benefit.
The present moment isn’t something we reach once and keep forever. It’s something we return to again and again – through the body, through attention, through letting go of expectations.
Some of these practices echo ideas explored more fully in our guide to feeling calm, where slowing down and staying with sensation plays a key role in regulating the nervous system.
Marina’s work reminds us that presence is not passive. It requires endurance, commitment, and honesty. But within that commitment, time softens, thinking loosens, and something real finally comes into focus.
Want to explore this practice more deeply? Marina Abramović’s course The Art of Being Present guides you through the exercises behind these ideas, showing how presence can be trained, slowly and deliberately, through everyday actions.
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