Ecological Presence and the Development of the Presence Scale

Presence refers to a state of being highly if not optimally aware, without thinking.  Perhaps you’ve had an experience in nature – such as lying on the earth and looking up at the night sky – where the mind is quiet, the present moment is now, and your consciousness seems to expand into the vastness above.  That would be an example of Presence.  Our lab has recently completed the development of a valid and reliable scale to measure Presence, and is currently engaged in projects using it.