The Science of Presence:
an Introduction to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, commonly referred to as ACT, represents a significant evolution in the field of mental health. Developed in the 1980s by psychologist Steven C. Hayes, ACT is a core component of the “third wave” of cognitive-behavioral therapies. While traditional Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has proven highly effective for symptom reduction, ACT differs in emphasis by focusing less on modifying the content of thoughts and more on transforming one’s relationship to internal experience. ACT, as contrasted with CBT, prioritizes enduring psychological flexibility over the temporary suppression or alteration of specific mental content.
The Problem of Experiential Avoidance
ACT clearly distinguishes between inevitable human pain and the additional suffering created by habitual avoidance and struggle. From a clinical perspective, ACT posits that psychological suffering is often a byproduct of “experiential avoidance.” This is the natural, yet often counterproductive, human instinct to suppress, change, or flee from difficult internal experiences. In trying to control or eliminate anxiety, pain, or sadness, we often inadvertently amplify their power over our lives. ACT offers a functional alternative: psychological flexibility. This is the ability to stay in the present moment and move toward what matters, regardless of the presence of difficult thoughts or feelings.
The Hexaflex: a Framework for Flexibility
The architecture of ACT is built upon six core processes, known collectively as the “hexaflex.” These processes work in tandem to develop a more resilient and flexible mind:
• Acceptance: Allowing thoughts and feelings to be exactly as they are, with openness and willingness, rather than struggling against them.
• Cognitive Defusion: Recognizing that thoughts are merely mental events, such as sounds, words, or images, rather than absolute truths that must be obeyed.
• Present Moment Awareness: Actively engaging with the here and now with a sense of openness and curiosity.
• Self-as-Context: Adopting the ‘observer’ perspective of the self - the stable context from which experiences are noticed without being reduced to one’s experiences.
• Values Clarification: Defining the directions we want our lives to take and what we want to stand for.
• Committed Action: Setting goals and taking concrete steps that align with our values.
The Observer and the Riverbed
To understand the relationship between the self and internal experience, one might consider the metaphor of the riverbed. The water of the river represents the flow of our thoughts and emotions. At times, this water moves in a violent torrent; at other times, it flows at a contemplative pace or lingers in a quiet eddy. The water may carry debris or nutrients, but it is always in motion. A stagnant river is no longer a river.
In this model, you are not the water. You are the riverbed. The riverbed is the enduring context that supports, contains, and allows the flow of the water without being consumed by it. The riverbed remains stable, nurturing the landscape it passes through, while the water, which represents your thoughts and feelings, simply passes over it. The riverbed does not direct or resist the water; it simply allows the flow to occur. In the same way, self-as-context provides a stable vantage point from which experience can be observed without struggle.
Clinical Application: The Compass and the Map
Research has demonstrated that ACT is a robust intervention for a variety of conditions, including chronic pain, clinical depression, and generalized anxiety. While earlier therapies often provided a “map” to navigate or change specific thoughts, these maps can become outdated as life circumstances shift. ACT, instead, provides a compass through values clarification. Even when the terrain of one’s mind becomes difficult or unfamiliar, the compass of one’s values remains orienting, even as circumstances change. By fostering psychological flexibility, individuals move away from patterns of perfectionism and act with intentionality, ensuring their behavior is guided by what they stand for rather than a need to avoid discomfort.
Sitting with the Compass
a Guided Meditation to support those supported by ACT
Begin by finding a posture that allows both ease and alertness.
Whether you are seated, standing, or lying down, allow the body to be supported by what is beneath you.
There is nothing you need to fix, improve, or prepare.
Simply arrive.
Take a moment to notice that you are breathing.
No need to change the breath.
Just notice that it is happening.
Air moving in.
Air moving out.
If it feels helpful, allow the eyes to close or simply soften.
As you rest here, you may notice sensations in the body.
Pressure.
Warmth.
Tension.
Ease.
You do not need to name them or analyze them.
Let them be exactly as they are, arriving and changing in their own way.
You may also notice thoughts.
Images.
Memories.
Plans.
Judgments.
Perhaps even the thought, “This is not working,” or, “I should feel different by now.”
See if you can allow these to come and go, the way sounds move through a room.
Heard, but not requiring a response.
Now, gently bring attention to the sense that you are here, aware.
Notice that experiences are happening, and that you are the one noticing them.
Thoughts appear, and something notices them.
Feelings arise, and something notices them.
Sensations shift, and something remains present.
You are not asked to step away from experience.
Only to notice that you are more than any single moment passing through.
Imagine, if it feels natural, that your inner experiences are like weather moving across a wide landscape.
Some days are calm.
Some are stormy.
Some are uncertain.
And yet, the ground beneath the weather remains.
You may be in the middle of a difficult storm right now.
If so, acknowledge that gently.
There is no requirement to feel peaceful.
No demand to be calm.
This moment is allowed to be exactly as it is.
Now, bring to mind the idea of direction.
Not a destination.
Not a final outcome.
But a direction you care about.
A way of being.
A quality you want to embody.
This might be something like honesty, kindness, courage, steadiness, or lovingcare.
You do not need to find the perfect word.
Simply sense the direction your life feels drawn toward when you are at your most sincere, most authentic, most true. Most you.
Imagine this direction as a compass needle.
It does not pull you forward.
It does not judge how far you have gone.
It simply points.
Unerringly points.
Confidently points.
Always points.
Notice where the needle points right now.
You may also notice resistance.
Fear.
Doubt.
Fatigue.
Old stories about why moving in that direction feels hard.
Let those be present too.
They are part of the weather, not a sign that you are doing something wrong.
See if it is possible to hold both at once.
The discomfort that is here.
And the direction that matters.
You are not being asked to take a large step.
Or any visible step at all.
Only to notice that even here, even now, the compass still points.
Rest for a few breaths in that knowing.
The compass still points...
Rest for a few breaths in that knowing.
The compass still points...
As this Guided Meditation begins to close, return attention gently to the body.
Feel the contact with the floor, the chair, the ground, once more.
Notice the breath again, just as it is.
When you are ready, allow the eyes to open or the gaze to lift.
Commit to remembering this simple orientation.
You can feel what you feel.
And still move, in small ways, in the direction that most matters to your most true self.
The compass still points...
Nothing needs to be resolved for life to continue unfolding.
The compass still points...
Thank you.
