Welcome to After Bath.
My name is Matt Credent and this is a space for slowing down,
Listening deeply,
And reconnecting to yourself through sound,
Presence,
And quiet reflection.
Each episode is an invitation not to fix yourself but to notice what's already here.
Today I'd like to share something from a book I'm currently writing called Transforming Lives One Note at a Time.
This chapter is called The State of Presence.
When I talk about presence,
I'm talking about the state of being fully conscious and aware in the moment without mental distraction.
I like to think of presence as going very deep into the present,
So deep that the mental chatter of the thinking mind begins to take a back seat.
In this depth,
Your memory of past events and your interest in future goals become less interesting.
The stories of your triumphs and traumas lose their grip.
You start to see the mind for what it really is,
A mischievous trickster,
Constantly playing the hero and the victim.
The mind is often over-consumed with fears that are nothing more than a guess,
And it's a terrible affliction to live consumed by anxiety and paranoia,
Even at a low background level.
This is the chronic suffering most people experience,
That constant feeling that nothing is ever quite good enough,
That you are never quite good enough.
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
Jealousy,
Comparison,
The sense that someone else has achieved the success you always dreamed of,
Or maybe you have achieved it and discovered the prize was empty.
So the mind says,
There must be another goal,
More money,
More security,
A higher position,
That funny thing we do,
What I like to call retail therapy.
Accumulating objects,
Experiences,
Titles,
Placing them on the mantelpiece as trophies,
Then they go in the drawer or the cupboard and eventually in the bin.
The constant consumption of goods and food that never quite satisfy,
Because the mind is always focused on a future fulfillment or a past lack.
Some void that needs to be filled,
And yet the very thing you're looking for is not physical at all.
It's not status.
It's not approval.
It's not achievement.
It's already inside you,
Quietly waiting for you to notice it.
This is presence,
A returning to the feelings emanating from the heart,
A longing for deep connection that may have been ignored for a lifetime or many.
And yet most people avoid it because connecting to the heart can feel vulnerable.
There's a fear that you may burst into tears,
A fear that the ache of the heart will reveal a loneliness so deep that you might fall into despair.
But catch this,
That fear is just another trick of the mind.
It's a thought about what might happen.
The heart itself is not frightening.
The heart is all accepting,
Pure love,
A strength of energy so profound that it is untouchable.
It's the feeling of being held in arms so strong and loving that you feel as if you might float off the ground.
The warmth and comfort felt throughout the body is unmatched by anything the mind can produce.
Presence is not a thought.
Presence is a felt experience.
And there are many doorways into it.
One simple doorway is through the soles of your feet.
Feel the texture beneath them,
Whether you're indoors or standing outside on grass,
Rock,
Concrete,
Or sand.
Close your eyes,
Feel it.
Stay with the sensation and a quiet portal opens.
You begin to connect to the peaceful meditating universe that's always here,
Patiently waiting.
Sounds may become clearer.
Background noise gains definition.
Instead of labeling sound,
You experience it with curiosity and wonder.
Thoughts will still arise,
That's okay.
The mind is like a sports car,
Fast,
Seductive,
Impressive.
Next to it,
The heart can seem like a marshmallow,
Too soft,
Too mushy.
But when you connect to the heart,
Something opens,
A higher consciousness,
One that sees problems as situations that may be resolved or not,
Where good and evil are seen as two sides of the same coin.
An imaginary battle,
The mind insists,
Is real.
But all the while,
Life is unfolding perfectly.
The present moment is always complete.
It's only the mind that doesn't see its perfection.
If you get what you want,
You'll want more.
That's just how the mind works.
Not that there's anything wrong with growth,
But you don't need to turn life into a complaint when you get it.
Everything happening around you is a cosmic experience.
If you imagined this was a computer simulation,
You'd be in awe,
And yet the mind misses it and turns wonder into dissatisfaction.
Look around,
Notice living things.
Plants have a glow.
Life is undeniable.
And when you connect to this,
A quiet spaciousness opens.
It holds you,
Embraces you,
And you realize this peaceful awareness has always been inside you,
Waiting.
In a moment,
I'm going to let the words fade and invite sound to take over.
There's nothing you need to do,
No technique,
No effort.
You don't need to concentrate.
You don't need to relax.
Just allow the sound to move through you in whatever way it does.
If thoughts arise,
That's perfectly fine.
Let them come,
Let them go.
Simply stay here.
This is a six-minute sound bath that I wrote with my friend Ying.
It's a short immersion to gently settle the nervous system and return you to the present moment.
If it feels right,
You're welcome to lay down and close your eyes.
And slowly returning.
Take your time.
There's no rush to re-enter the day.
Let the sound linger.
Let the body settle.
And remember,
Presence isn't something you create.
It's something you notice when you stop listening to the noise.
Thank you for spending this time with me.
This has been After Bath.
Until next time,
Take care and be gentle with yourself.
