The Overlooked Step That Makes Bashar’s Formula Work: How to Be Present

Learning how to be present might sound simple, but it’s the overlooked step that makes Bashar’s formula work. His teaching is all about following your excitement, but underneath it there’s something even simpler holding it together: presence.

I didn’t see that at first. The first time I read Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now, it didn’t connect. I just didn’t get the big deal. Years later I tried again, and that’s when the light bulb went on. Presence seems like the easiest idea in the world, but it takes actual practice to feel its power.

No matter how many teachings I explore, I keep circling back here. Presence is the common thread. And the more I practice it, the more I see that Bashar’s version of presence is just noticing your excitement in the moment. He adds the extra step of acting on it, which Tolle does not emphasize. But still, different language, same truth.

At its core, how to be present means letting your awareness land fully on what’s happening right now. Not replaying yesterday’s mistakes, not fast-forwarding into tomorrow’s worries. Just this moment, exactly as it is.

Being present in daily life doesn’t require you to love every second. It means you’re actually here for it. You taste your food instead of inhaling it. You hear your friend’s words instead of planning your response. You notice the way sunlight falls across the floor instead of rushing past it.

Presence isn’t about forcing silence in your mind. It’s about noticing what’s real in this instant, and letting that be enough. That’s where the power of now lives. Sounds simple, eh?

People make how to be present sound like rocket science. It isn’t. You don’t need a yoga mat, a Himalayan cave, or twenty years of monk training. Presence is actually ridiculously simple. You’re breathing right now. You can notice that breath. That’s it.

The tricky part isn’t learning how to be present. It’s remembering to do it in the middle of everyday chaos. When the dog’s barking, your inbox is overflowing, or your brain is doing its running list of anxieties, presence is usually the first thing to fly out the window, even though Bashar often reminds us that beliefs create reality.

That’s why teachers like Eckhart Tolle call it “the power of now.” Bashar’s formula points to the same thing too, just with different language. Whether you say “notice your highest excitement” or “be here now,” both are really nudges back into presence.

On the surface, Bashar’s formula doesn’t sound like it has much to do with how to be present. “Follow your highest excitement”? That sounds more like chasing shiny objects than practicing presence. But if you look closer, it’s another doorway into the same room.

When you follow what excites you in the moment, you’re tuning into the energy that’s alive right now, not yesterday’s regrets or tomorrow’s fears. That choice automatically pulls you into presence, because you can’t act on excitement from anywhere but here.

So while Eckhart Tolle calls it the power of now, Bashar calls it following your excitement. Different words, same truth: both are shortcuts to being present in daily life.

Presence isn’t just a practice, it’s the technology behind everything Bashar talks about. Without it, Bashar’s formula is just a slogan. With it, the formula becomes a living process that rewires how you experience reality.

Presence is the state where your subconscious, intuition, and higher mind can actually communicate with you. In other words, the “download” only comes through when you’re here enough to receive it. That’s why acting on your excitement feels like a compass. Because you’re tuned into guidance that doesn’t broadcast on the channels of distraction, worry, or autopilot.

Eckhart Tolle presence frames it as stillness. Bashar calls it alignment with your true self. Different language, yes, but both are pointing to the same hidden power: presence is the portal through which change happens. It’s not just about how to be present, it’s about why being present in daily life changes the game entirely.

Presence has a way of calling me back, no matter how far I wander. I can dive into Bashar’s teachings, explore other spiritual practices, or just get lost in the noise of everyday life, but the landing place is always the same: the Now.

It’s not flashy. It doesn’t feel like a secret technique. But when I actually practice being present, everything shifts. Stress loses its grip. My head stops spinning stories that are usually way worse than what’s really happening. I see more clearly what’s in front of me instead of what I’m afraid might happen next.

And even when I forget, which I do often, presence is right there waiting the moment I come back. It’s not something you have to build from scratch. It’s always here. The practice is just remembering it and returning.

Forgetting how to be present isn’t failure. It’s normal. The practice is in noticing you’ve drifted off and choosing to come back. That moment of remembering is where the real power of now lives.

Below are a few simple ways to bring yourself back into being present in daily life. It’s all about redirecting your focus.

• Take one conscious breath and actually feel it move through your body.
• Stare at a flower, a tree, or even the pattern on your coffee mug until your mind quiets down.
• Put your hand on your chest and feel your heartbeat.
• Listen closely to the sounds around you. Don’t label them, just notice.
• Touch something with texture (fabric, stone, wood) and let your attention land fully on it.
• Say to yourself, “Here I am, right now,” and let that be enough.

The cycle of drifting and returning is the practice. Every time you notice, you’ve just strengthened the muscle of presence.

Excitement doesn’t happen in the past or future. It only lights up in this moment. That’s why Bashar’s formula is such a sneaky teaching about how to be present. It tricks you into showing up for now without overthinking it. And it’s way more fun to find your excitement!

Following your excitement isn’t about waiting for some giant life-changing opportunity to drop in your lap. It can look like answering a text that sparks curiosity, choosing the sandwich that actually sounds good instead of the “should” option, or turning down a street you’ve never walked before just because it feels interesting. Those little decisions matter just as much as the bigger ones like starting a project, moving to a new city, or saying yes to a relationship.

Each choice is a vote for presence. You’re not running on autopilot or forcing yourself into someone else’s script. You’re tuned into the energy that’s alive right now, and letting that energy guide your next step. That’s the practical side of Bashar’s formula: being present in daily life by following the trail of excitement, one small moment at a time.

Bashar’s formula starts with following your highest excitement. But before you can do that, you have to know what excites you. And that’s where presence comes in.

Presence, being still, is what lets you notice the spark. Without it, you blow past the little nudges that point the way, brushing off curiosity, ignoring what lights you up, or drowning it all out with autopilot.

That’s why learning how to be present matters. It isn’t technically part of Bashar’s formula, but it’s the awareness that makes the formula possible. When you’re present, you catch the signal. When you act on it, you’re in the formula. And that’s when life starts lining up in surprising, synchronistic ways.