Why Centering is the first step in CLEAR:

So much of what passes for growth is built on fixing. Fixing yourself. Fixing your problems. Fixing your mindset. We focus solutions without ever taking stock of who we are and how we are doing. We bypass the part of ourselves that might be insecure, frightened or exhausted. Instead of treating ourselves like some great self-improvement project, Centering asks us to begin right here and learn how to access what truly is.

That’s why it is the first step in the CLEAR framework “It’s not simply about ‘feeling centered’ or ‘grounded’ in the body—it’s about sensing the deeper reality of being Awareness itself. Its about recognizing that there’s an Awareness that is untouched and always there.

 This is not a mental shift. It’s an energetic one. It is about accessing what is greater than all of us; what remains loving and unruffled no matter what is going on around us.

When we Center, we step through.

Why Centering Comes First

When I teach the CLEAR process, people sometimes ask why we begin with Centering instead of Letting Go. Isn’t it more powerful to clear the path first? To address our patterns and stories and emotional baggage upfront?

But here’s the truth: we can’t Let Go until we have somewhere to let go into.

If you’ve ever tried to release a fear or pattern from a place of anxiety or self-judgment, you know it doesn’t work. The part of you that’s trying to Let Go is still entangled in the fear. It’s still identified with the small self.

Centering creates space. Stillness. Awareness. It offers a new vantage point. Not from your conditioned mind, but from something deeper—your innate presence. Your awake, aware self.

From there, letting go is no longer a battle. It becomes a surrender.

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What Is Centering, Really?

Centering isn’t just about calming down or relaxing. It’s about returning to what’s real.

Sometimes that happens through the breath. Sometimes through the body. Sometimes through stillness or movement or sound.

In the CLEAR framework, I offer several Centering meditations. Each one offers a slightly different entry point:

• In the Centering Meditation which you can access here, we use somatic awareness and experience to fully connect to the present moment and to our interconnection with all.  
• In Coming Into Presence, we drop beneath the surface of experience to rest in a field of open awareness. It’s a subtle but powerful shift—like stepping back behind your own eyes and noticing that you are the one who is aware.

You can find both of these meditations here and more on my YouTube channel.

Both of these practices support a settling of the nervous system. But more than that, they open us to a deeper truth. We are not just small selves trapped in cycles of thoughts and emotions. There is a much more profound awareness available to us.

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Glimpses of Awareness

One of the most direct doorways to Awareness I’ve encountered comes from Loch Kelly. In one version of the practice, he invites you to shift your awareness behind you—literally, to feel as though your awareness is located just behind your right shoulder. Then to gently turn that awareness back toward the body and notice: what sees the seeing?

This glimpse can be disorienting at first. But it’s also liberating. It invites a felt sense of the ground of being—the awareness that’s not caught up in the swirl of thoughts and emotions.

Following is a practice you can try. Don’t strive, just remain curious. If it doesn’t come right way – no worries! Give it a try another time and see what you find:

Glimpse: Discovering Awareness Behind You

Practice:

• Sit comfortably and relax your eyes, either closed or with a soft gaze.
• Let your awareness notice what’s in front of you.
• Now, gently invite your attention to move behind your body—about a foot or two behind your right shoulder.
• Don’t try to visualize it. Just sense what it’s like to be aware from that space, as if awareness itself is resting back there.

Then ask:

Can awareness from behind come forward and include your whole field of experience?

Let the shift happen—not as something to think about, but as a felt sense of being aware from behind.

Notice:
You may feel a spacious calm. The usual mental chatter may quiet, and you may feel more present, less effortful—like awareness is now doing the “knowing,” not the small self.

And it is this Awareness – this sense of spaciousness and deep, loving calm that is not located within you but is everywhere – that is what we find when we access Center.

The rest of CLEAR flows from here.

Letting Go arises naturally. Elevated Emotions begin to emerge. Attunement deepens. Restoration to your true nature becomes naturally available.

And it all starts with Centering—not as a technique, but as a recognition.

Curious to learn more?

The CLEAR framework offers a step-by-step pathway to living with greater peace, awareness, and emotional freedom. Begin with the foundational practice of Centering—then explore the full journey in the Getting CLEAR ebook.