Part of a series:
- Presence (Part 1): What are Reactive Patterns?
- Presence (Part 2): Dissolving Reactive Patterns With Attention
- Presence (Part 3): Uprooting Reactive Patterns Through Insight
- Presence (Part 4): What is Presence?
I can’t describe presence without describing reactivity first—so let’s start by talking about reactivity. Reactive patterns are habits that affect everyone. They’re driven by our attachments—our internal demands that things be a certain way. When we notice a threat or an opportunity related to our attachments, our patterns can get triggered—they can start influencing our perceptions, emotions, thoughts, and behavior. The term reactivity refers to the entire process: our attachments, the perceptions and feelings that arise because of those attachments, and the behaviors we engage in as we react to those perceptions and feelings.
In terms of psychology, there’s an overlap between reactive patterns and concepts like core beliefs, defense mechanisms, and subpersonalities. And in terms of Buddhism, freedom from reactive patterns can be viewed as a goal of meditation practice.
A Personal Example
One of my own reactive patterns has been driven by my attachment to clarity. I feel safer and more in control when I understand things. When I don’t understand something (or when others understand something differently), a pattern can get triggered. When it does, I start perceiving things that support clarity as especially pleasant, and things that interfere with clarity as especially unpleasant. I become indifferent to everything else—I lose touch with my other needs (and the needs of others).
At these times, I may feel irritation toward whatever seems to be interfering with clarity, as well as eagerness and confidence—I know that with some persistence, I can clear things up. (We tend to equate being triggered with being angry, but this example shows that a whole range of emotions can arise when our patterns get triggered. Anger and its cousins may not even enter the picture.)
What happens next is not pretty. Sometimes my intellect has run over other people’s needs like a bulldozer on a single-minded quest for clarity. I’m sure this pattern has had a negative impact on my relationships—more so in the past and less so recently, as I’ve started to recognize this pattern and free myself from it.
We all have many layers of reactive patterns. The ones that are more coarse can show up as the forms of addiction we are all familiar with (such as substance abuse). As we free ourselves from these coarse patterns, more subtle patterns can show up—then we get a chance to work on them. This is a lifelong process; I doubt it ever comes to an end.
What reactive patterns have you noticed within yourself?
Next: Presence (Part 2): Dissolving Reactive Patterns With Attention
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