Discovery of Being: The Architecture of Experience

In the mid-20th century, the existential psychologist Rollo May identified a quiet crisis spreading through the modern world. He called it the "repression of the ontological sense"—which is a fancy way of saying: We have forgotten what it feels like to simply be.

We are experts at "doing." We are machines of productivity, social maneuvering, and problem-solving. But May argued that before we can understand how a person behaves, we must first grasp the fact that they are.

He used the German term Dasein (pronounced dah-zine). Literally translated, it means "Being-There."

May argued that anxiety is not just a chemical or constitutional (energetic) imbalance; often, it is the signal that we have vacated our own Dasein. We have abandoned the pilot’s seat of our own existence to become cogs in a machine. We are everywhere—on our phones, in our worries, in the past, in the future, in our to-do lists—but we are not here.

At Art of the Seer, we approach this philosophical concept as a literal, energetic mechanism that can be seen or witnessed, addressed, and managed. We use the term Seniority.

In our Clairvoyant training, the very first thing we look at isn't reading the future, or spirits, or past lives. We look at ourselves.

Most sensitives and empaths have a "weak Dasein." They have learned to leave their bodies to stay safe. They hover above our outside of their own life and experiences so as to mitigate the effect of direct experienc. They enmesh. They vacate the premises to make room for other people's energy - often as a way of trying to heal or satiate other’s needs.

But here is the rule of energy: Nature abhors a vacuum.

If you do not occupy your own space with conscious presence (Dasein), something or someone else will. Other people's pictures, societal programming, fear, alternative agendas, and fatigue will rush in to fill the void.

You cannot be a Seer if you are not here to see. It is the very first step.

You cannot hope to read the world (or anyone in it) clearly if you, the creative imaginative and energetic you - are not firmly planted in your own "Being-There." You cannot hope to be a healing - to yourself, to others, to the world - and create change without first learning how to be present with it.

To reclaim your Dasein is an act of radical spiritual Seniority. It is the decision to stop "doing" your life and start "inhabiting" it. The simple meditation tools that we teach in our Clairvoyant classes allow you to take the first steps in reclaiming this essential part of yourself into the present. This is the foundation of all psychic work. Before we can really see, we must be. To make this real is a practice and requires commitment and guidance.

When you are fully home—when your feet are bolted to the floor and your energy is filling your aura—anxiety changes. It stops being a panic about the future and transforms into the simple, vibrating intensity of being alive right now.

🔭 One of the truly magical things about our community at Art of the Seer is that since we share a commitment to the same tools, techniques, and practice container, it’s easy to reach out to each other members and create your own reading and healing exchanges. Using this post as inspiration, find a partner to work with—perhaps someone you know from a current or previous class, or post in the practicum chat groups that you were inspired by this post and find someone new to explore with.

Pair up with a reading partner and exchange 30-minute Clairvoyant Readings together. Practice both giving and receiving as a way of deepening your experience and relationship to this topic.

The Reading Topics:

Healing Focus: Give the readee a healing on their 1st Chakra and Grounding Cord. Help them bring their energy all the way down into the feet, anchoring their Dasein into the physical world.

Sometimes something is too charged to feel safe being vulnerable in interpersonal spaces with it at first. If this is really stimulating you, you can work this energy in meditation using your tools, or in moments of embodiment and pause throughout your day.

The "I Am Here" Stomp

Modern life keeps us trapped in our heads. To return to Dasein, you need to return to your feet.

Do this three times until you feel the vibration traveling up your shin bones. You are not a concept. You are a physical container, and you deserve to be here.

Tell me in the comments: What usually pulls you out of your "Being"? Is it social media, family obligations, or your own to-do list?

Sometimes we need to write it down to get it out of our aura. People learn, experience, and process energy in a variety of ways—visually, auditorily, conceptually—and here at AotSA, we validate all those different forms. If you process through writing, take 10 minutes with your journal to "audit" a recurring picture in your space you’ve come across using this template.