The 'Isness' That Is Always Here
What we mean by being
There’s a question that haunts us, whether we’re conscious of it or not:
“What am I supposed to be doing?”
Not just today, or with our careers, but fundamentally. What is the point? What are we here for? What should we be working toward?
The spiritual traditions have an answer that sounds, at first, either obvious or absurd:
You are already it.
Not “you will be it when you meditate enough” or “you’ll find it after you heal” or “you’ll achieve it when you’re enlightened.”
You are already it. Right now. In this moment. Exactly as you are.
This is what we mean by “isness.”
What Is “Isness”?
“Isness” is not a complicated concept. It’s the most basic fact of existence.
It’s the simple recognition that things are.
The room you’re in is. Your breath is. Your body is. The sound in the background is. Even your thoughts, your confusion, your depression—they are.
This might sound too simple to be spiritual. But stay with me.
We spend our entire lives trying to get somewhere. We’re always moving toward a future moment when things will finally be “right”—when we’ll be healed, successful, happy, enlightened, whatever.
But what if there’s nowhere to get to?
What if the thing you’ve been searching for is the simple fact of existence itself? The “am-ness.” The “is-ness.” The sheer, undeniable reality of being here.
This isn’t a poetic metaphor. It’s a direct pointing to something you can feel right now.
The Feeling of Being
Close your eyes for a moment (or just soften your gaze).
Don’t try to do anything. Don’t try to meditate or “be present” or achieve any particular state.
Just notice: You exist.
Not the story of you—not your name, your job, your history, your problems. Just the bare fact that something is here. Experiencing is happening.
There’s an awareness. A sense of presence. A felt sense of “here-ness.”
This isn’t something you create. You can’t “do” awareness. You can’t “make” presence happen. It’s already happening. It’s what’s reading these words. It’s what’s noticing the room around you. It’s what’s feeling whatever feelings are present.
This is isness.
It’s so simple and so basic that we overlook it constantly. We’re looking for something exotic, something special, something “more.” But it’s always just this. The fact of existing. The awareness that is aware.
You can’t lose this. You can’t fail at this. You can’t do it wrong.
Because you are this.
Being vs. Doing (And Why We’re Confused)
Here’s where it gets tricky.
We’re trained, from birth, to focus on doing. On becoming. On achieving. On improving.
“What are you going to be when you grow up?” (Notice: even that question makes “being” about future achievement.)
We learn that our worth comes from what we accomplish. Our value is in what we do, not what we are.
So when spirituality says “just be,” it sounds like:
- Laziness
- Giving up
- Not caring
- Escaping responsibility
- Privilege (only people with money can afford to “just be”)
This is a profound misunderstanding.
“Being” is not the opposite of “doing.” Being is the ground from which all doing arises.
Think about it: You can’t do anything without first being. Existence comes before action. Awareness comes before thought. The “isness” is always here, underneath everything else.
When we talk about “just being,” we’re not saying “don’t act.” We’re saying: Remember what you are before you get lost in what you do.
What Being Is Not
Let’s clear up some common confusions.
Being is not:
- A state you have to achieve
- Something you do only while meditating
- A feeling of bliss or peace (though it might include that)
- Escaping from life’s problems
- Being passive or checked out
- Spiritual bypassing
Being is:
- What you already are
- Present in every moment, including the difficult ones
- Available in depression, anxiety, joy, boredom—all of it
- The ground beneath everything else
- What remains when you stop trying so hard
The “isness” doesn’t require you to feel good. It doesn’t require you to be healed. It doesn’t require anything.
It’s here when you’re depressed in bed. It’s here when you’re overwhelmed. It’s here when you’re grieving. It’s here when you’re confused.
It’s the fact that something is experiencing this. That simple.
The Radical Implication
If being is always already here, if you are already “it,” then what does that mean?
It means: You don’t have to earn your worth.
Not through success. Not through healing. Not through enlightenment. Not through service. Not through being “spiritual enough.”
Your existence itself—the simple fact that you are—is sufficient.
This is what we mean by “being is enough.”
Not “being is enough if you meditate daily.” Not “being is enough after you heal.” Not “being is enough when you’re positive.”
Being is enough. Full stop. Right now. Exactly as you are.
This doesn’t mean your problems aren’t real. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t seek healing or growth or change.
It means: Your worth is not contingent on fixing yourself.
The “isness” that you are is already complete. Already whole. Already enough.
How This Changes Everything
When you really get this—not just intellectually, but as a felt reality—everything shifts.
You stop trying to become “spiritual.” You realize you already are existence itself, expressing itself as this particular human life.
You stop measuring yourself against some imagined ideal. You recognize that the measuring itself happens within the being that you are.
You stop treating rest as failure. You see that even in total stillness, in complete inactivity, the “isness” is fully present.
You stop feeling guilty about not doing enough. You understand that all your doing arises from being, and the being is always enough.
This doesn’t make you passive. Paradoxically, when you stop trying to prove your worth, you often find more natural, sustainable energy for action.
Because the action isn’t coming from lack anymore. It’s not coming from “I must prove I deserve to exist.”
It’s coming from connection. From love. From the simple overflow of being.
The Practice (That Isn’t a Practice)
So how do you “practice” being?
You don’t.
You can’t practice what you already are.
But you can notice it. You can return to it. You can remember it when you get lost in the stories.
The “practice” is simply this: Pause.
In any moment—especially when you’re overwhelmed, anxious, or feeling like a failure—pause.
Notice: You exist.
Feel it. Not as an idea, but as a felt sense. The raw fact of presence. The “here-ness.”
You don’t have to change it. You don’t have to make it “better” or more spiritual.
Just notice: This is what you are. This simple, ordinary, unremarkable sense of being here.
This is the foundation of everything. This is what was here before your problems. This is what will remain when the problems shift.
This is isness.
And it is always, always enough.
When Being Feels Impossible
“But I can’t feel any of this,” you might be thinking. “I’m too depressed. Too anxious. Too overwhelmed.”
Good.
Because being isn’t a feeling you have to generate. It’s what’s here regardless of your feelings.
When you’re depressed, being is present. When you’re anxious, being is present. When you can’t feel anything at all, being is present.
It’s not in your emotions. It’s underneath them. It’s the space in which they arise.
You might not be able to feel peace right now. You might not be able to feel joy. But can you notice that something is experiencing this depression? That something is aware of the anxiety?
That something is being. That something is you.
The “isness” doesn’t require any particular state. It just requires existence.
And you exist. That’s not debatable. That’s not something you can fail at.
Even in the darkest moment, even in total incapacity, even in complete confusion—you are. Being is happening.
That’s it. That’s the whole teaching.
Why This Matters
Why does this simple recognition matter?
Because most of our suffering comes from the belief that we are not enough. That we need to become something other than what we are. That our current state is a problem to solve before we can finally, truly be.
This creates a constant, background anxiety. A sense of incompleteness. A feeling that we’re failing at life because we haven’t “arrived” yet.
But there is nowhere to arrive.
You are already here. Being is already present. The “isness” is complete.
When you recognize this—even for a moment—the pressure releases. The constant striving softens.
You can breathe.
You can rest.
You can finally, truly, be.
Not because you’ve achieved something. Not because you’ve fixed yourself. Not because you’ve transcended your problems.
Just because being is what you are. And being is always enough.
This is the foundation of everything we explore here at Spiritualized.
Not complex philosophy. Not elaborate practices. Not distant enlightenment.
Just this: The simple, profound recognition that you already are what you’ve been searching for.
The “isness” is always here.
You are always here.
And that is enough.