“Wherever you are, be there totally.” — Eckhart Tolle
📌 Estimated Reading Time: 5-7 minutes
🧭 Author’s Note
This Compass Point is especially personal. We often talk about mindfulness or being present as if it’s some far-off ideal — but the truth is, it’s already within reach. You’ve likely touched it before without realizing it. This post is an invitation to notice it, nurture it, and return to it — again and again.
Glad you’re here.
🧭 My Journey to Presence
Presence isn’t something I learned in a workshop or read in a book. It found me in quiet, unexpected moments — the kind you can’t schedule or predict.
I feel most present when I’m listening to live jazz, brewing beer, or building software. These are the spaces where the outside world fades and time feels irrelevant. It’s not that nothing else matters — it’s that, for once, nothing else is pulling me away.
I’ve been following The Yellowjackets around the world since 1984. They’re a two-time Grammy Award-winning jazz fusion band known for their technical brilliance and emotional depth. Their sound blends fusion, funk, R&B, and contemporary jazz into something that bypasses the mind and goes straight to the soul. When I hear them play — whether live in an intimate club or alone through my headphones — I lose track of time. I’m not thinking, I’m feeling. Their music holds me still. And in that stillness, I remember what it means to simply be. That’s presence
Then there’s my little brewery — Pulaski St Brewing Co., right out of my kitchen. My go-to? A crisp German Kölsch. Every time I brew, five hours disappear. The hiss of the burner, the aroma of grain, the sound of the kettle stirring — it’s a sensory experience that transports me. I’m not thinking about emails, deadlines, or regrets. I’m just there.
And then there’s code. I wrote my first lines on a Commodore 64 I bought at a Kmart in Fairfield, California. That machine changed me. It wasn’t just a hobby — it was a doorway to creation. Even now, decades later, I still lose myself in the process. Solving a complex problem, chasing down a stubborn bug, or finding a more elegant way to write a piece of code — hours pass like minutes. After the pandemic, I built a Chrome extension to help people find reliable health information. I didn’t do it for money. I did it because I needed to. In a world that felt chaotic, creating grounded me. That’s presence too — not just being aware, but being fully absorbed in something that matters.
All these moments — jazz, beer, code — might seem different. But they have one thing in common: I am fully there. Present. Engaged. Free from judgment. Free from distraction. Free from everything that says I have to be anywhere else.
🧭 When Presence Gets Personal
Presence isn’t always magical. Sometimes, it’s survival.
There was a time in my life when I was obsessed with the past and anxious about the future. I replayed regrets. I forecasted disasters. I was physically here — but mentally scattered across decades.
The truth? I wasn’t living. I was escaping.
It wasn’t until I learned to return to the present moment — not once, but over and over — that I began to reclaim my life.
🧭 The Science Behind Presence
Presence, or “mindfulness,” is more than a feel-good buzzword. It’s a proven way to regulate your nervous system, sharpen your focus, and reduce stress.
According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, creator of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), mindfulness is “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.”
Studies show that presence practices:
- Lower cortisol (stress hormone)
- Improve emotional regulation
- Increase grey matter in the brain’s decision-making regions
Key Insight: Presence is not the absence of thought — it’s the act of returning. Over and over.
🧭 A Little Exercise We Can Do Together
Take a breath.
Close your eyes, just for a moment.
Now think back:
- What activity last made you lose track of time?
- Who do you feel most with when you’re truly present?
- What’s one small way you can practice being here — today?
Presence is a muscle. The more we return to it, the stronger it gets.
🧭 A Bridge of Reflection
There was a time in my life when I was everywhere but here.
I lived in what-ifs, in used-to-be’s, in fear of what was next.
But presence changed me. It invited me to stop running. To breathe.
And to live again — right where I was.
🧭 Looking Ahead
Next, we’ll explore Connection — because presence is the soil where relationships grow. To truly love others, we must first learn to be with them.
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Your story matters, and I’d love to hear it. Drop me a note anytime:
📬 eric@livingbythecompass.com
🧭 A Bit About Me
I’m Eric “Jazz” Rinehart — a veteran, tech entrepreneur, business strategist, and educator with a background spanning technology, healthcare, consulting, and business development.
After leaving the U.S. Air Force, I co-founded a Silicon Valley startup and later stepped into senior leadership roles in healthcare support operations. Over the years, I’ve worked as a consultant, helping launch and scale new ventures across multiple industries.
Beyond my professional journey, my insights are shaped by deeply personal experiences — including navigating the loss of a child, evolving from traditional religiosity to a spiritually grounded philosophy, and continuously reinventing myself through life’s biggest challenges.
Through Living By The Compass, I’m sharing what I’ve learned about navigating life with clarity, purpose, and resilience — not because I have all the answers, but because I believe we all have wisdom worth sharing.
“True freedom comes not from having no broken pieces, but from transforming those pieces into a mosaic of wisdom and compassion.”