Quest for Presence: Re-Imagine Time for Well-Being

Dr. Joel Bennett
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Monthly

“Time is what we make of it. Be Here Now. Find time for the things that matter.”These simple statements mask a deeper spiritual reality when time becomes an old friend. We move beyond “be here now” to be here for the whole time of this precious life. The Quest for Presence podcast guides listeners with new ideas, research, and perspectives on time that knit together wisdom from science, mysticism, and spiritual health practices. Based on the five-book “Quest or Presence” collection (by Dr. Joel Bennett), listeners can both listen and read along as they apply these ideas with exercises, we call “contemplations.” To get started, we recommend downloading our free e-book “The Connoisseur of Time: An Invitation to Presence” and worksheets from our website www.presencequest.life. Visit us often for updates and announcements about the releases of new books in the collection and accompanying worksheets and tools. We look forward to having guest speakers and authors who speak on a wide range of topics related to time in society, science, health, and personal as well as spiritual growth. From the Foreword of “The Connoisseur of Time” by Dr. Roger Jahnke “The new model of time offered here is rich and beautiful enough to support real transformation for you. The quest for presence can be practiced. It can take us into contemplative and spiritual arts and practices. It can be enjoyed in community.” So please join us in community! From time to time we will host live participant podcasts where you get to ask questions and possibly offer your own insights about your own happening life!

  1. Aug 25

    Dr. Allan Hamilton and Mandala Meditation (QfP_S2-E2)

    Note. The video version of this podcast is available here.[https://youtu.be/0y02vs_PIw0] Dr. Bennett will be presenting at The Science of Consciousness conference (October 11 - 16) in San Diego. [https://tsc2026.org/] ----- This episode explores one of the most liberating qualities of the Time Adjustment Protocol (see Quest for Presence, Book 1); it is the reminder not to take life too seriously, except for maintaining practices that lift the spirit or help transcend daily conditions. Beyond that, we’re encouraged to engage life with enjoyment and gentle detachment. Spiritual traditions have long pointed toward this expansive view of time. The Quest for Presence and its mandala invite us to witness life as it unfolds and to explore layers of time beyond the rigid ticking of the clock. Our guest, Dr. Allan Hamilton, neurosurgeon and author of Cerebral Entanglements, describes the difference between inner time—our natural, experiential rhythm—and public time, the externally imposed clock. He explains how Western clock‑time emerged from power and control, shaping how society functions and often disconnecting us from presence, playfulness, and perspective. The conversation emphasizes the importance of reconnecting with natural rhythms and rediscovering childlike immersion, where time is felt rather than measured. The mandala serves as a symbolic map for moving between inner and outer worlds, supporting awareness, flow, acceptance, and synchronicity beyond linear time. Dr. Hamilton discusses how internal time often conflicts with external time, creating friction that affects wellbeing. Living strictly by the clock can harm health, as seen in experiences like night‑shift work. They contrast this with Indigenous cultures, who lived in harmony with natural cycles and did not treat the world as something to own or exploit. The transcript argues that modern society must recalibrate toward ancient wisdom and natural rhythms. The conversation also explores how technology and constant busyness have fragmented people’s sense of time. Children, once naturally present and playful, become overscheduled and lose touch with internal rhythms. Stories illustrate how creativity and laughter diminish as people grow older and become more bound to external expectations. Later, the episode shifts into a guided meditation on four truths: Everything is as it is.Everything ends.Everything influences everything.Everything is in the process of becoming.The meditation encourages presence, acceptance, connection, and awareness of unfolding. The closing reflection suggests that time—not space—is the final frontier. Shifting from content to process, and from ownership to the preciousness of time, reduces stress and increases coherence. When we witness unfolding rather than divide reality into dualities, things fall into place and reveal their interconnectedness.  --- Consider joining us on Patreon for additional episodes and posts available to members https://www.patreon.com/presencequest Visit us at www.presencequest.life

    Dr. Allan Hamilton and Mandala Meditation (QfP_S2-E2)

  2. May 30

    Fulfilling the Pattern (Guest Robert Wilkinson) [QfP] | Season 2|Episode 2

    Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/p1cRl8nlEJc In this episode, I am joined by Robert Wilkinson (Astrologer and metaphysical wizard--check out https://substack.com/@aquariuspapers). We explore the tension between the temporal world we inherit and the eternal pattern underlying all existence. We look at consciousness across scales, galaxies, planets, and human life, and how universal forces shape everything. Our focus is the contrast between the vast, timeless patterns and the narrow, conditioned reality of the local mind. The local mind is shaped by culture, family, and again, daily routines. Drawing on Buddhist insights, we discuss how the mind divides while the heart perceives meaning directly. That's the key. The mind divides while the heart perceives meaning directly. Ultimately, we invite you to notice when you're caught in the temporal matrix and reconnect with the eternal field of consciousness. Sit back, sit back, relax, and enjoy. References Ring-Pass-Knot (see https://theosophy.world/encyclopedia/ring-pass-not).  represents the absolute limit of a being's spiritual awareness or evolution. It acts as an invisible barrier of consciousness that expands outward as an individual or soul spiritually grows and sheds their ignorance. Visit us at www.presencequest.life

  3. Feb 20

    Deep Time and the Art of Presence (Guest Dr. Roger Jahnke) [QfP] Season 2|Episode 1

    VIDEO FOR THIS EPISODE (https://youtu.be/D2UjKxngh6Y) "Time is mutable and can take many forms""Our culture is spinning out of balance""Losing oneself is part of the journey"In this first episode of Season 2, Joel Bennett and Guest Dr. Roger Jahnke explore the profound nature of time and its relationship to life, consciousness, and well-being. Drawing from philosophy, science, and personal insights, they encourage a deeper understanding of time as a living resource that can be redefined to enhance health and presence. MAKE SURE TO WATCH THE QfP Mandala (Preview to Season 2) https://youtu.be/9t2aUdt15Q0  SECTIONS 00:00 to 2:08 -- Overview of Episode 2:08 to 3:02 -- Dr. Roger Jahnke Excerpt 3:02 to 6:27 -- Beach Musings on Being Alive 6:27 to 10:07 -- Dr. Jahnke Meditations on Nature and Time 10:07 - Bridge 10:40 to 14:19 -- Dr. Jahnke continues 14:19 to 18:05 -- Purpose of QfP Journey/This Podcast 18:05 to end -- An Ode to Losing Oneself PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT BELOW Welcome to Season Two of the Quest for Presence podcast, our budding season. I prefer to call it more like a budcast, like an ever-unfolding, like a new flower. This season shifts from the conversational format of season one to a living montage of guest speakers, contemplations, guided meditations, research spotlights, and readings from the Quest for Presence collection. In this first episode, we begin with Dr. Roger Jahnke, my Qigong teacher, doctor of Chinese medicine, author of The Healer Within, and writer of The Forward to the Connoisseur of Time. From there, we move to my beach musings on deep time, weaving back and forth with Roger, and closing with a reading from Book Two, The Soulful Capacities, An Ode to Losing One's Self. Speaking of which, why this work matters comes down to a few essentials. First, Time pressure is now the most common workplace stressor in national surveys. Second, a major meta-analysis shows that time management strongly predicts life satisfaction. Season two is an invitation to explore these truths together through rhythm. I talk a lot about the four radiant forces, time-shaping, cause and effect, form, gravity, nurturing conditions, dependent origination, and chaos (or entropy). Well, all four of those are what make us alive. This was an insight that I got from reading Antonio de Masio's book, Feeling and Knowing. And in that book, he pretty much argues that homeostasis, which is the basis of all life, the self-regulating nature of life, is the basis of consciousness. So what that means is that when we're conscious of the fact that we're self-regulating, which occurs in time, it's unfolding in time, it's happening, and it is in fact the definition of what is happening, that means we are not only embracing time, we're also embracing the fact that we're alive. So for example, nothing that's alive doesn't act. And we have to act, we have to move. What are we acting on? We're acting to create form. We're acting to create some stability. Why are we acting to create some stability? Because there's change, there's interruption, there's perturbation, there's chaos. And in doing that, what are we doing? We're actually growing. We're creating forms in response to chaos to grow. That's so simple. That's deep time.  Visit us at www.presencequest.life

    Deep Time and the Art of Presence (Guest Dr. Roger Jahnke) [QfP] Season 2|Episode 1

  4. Season 2, Episode 1 Trailer

    Introduction to Season 2 | The Full Mandala

    **WATCH THE FULL VIDEO OF THIS EPISODE HERE** https://youtu.be/9t2aUdt15Q0 **WATCH THE FULL VIDEO OF THIS EPISODE HERE** Welcome to Season 2 of the Quest for Presence podcast—a multidimensional journey into the heart of time itself. This season, we spiral through the layers of past, present, and future using a rich tapestry of readings, interviews, music, video, poetry, and personal storytelling.  Each episode is a portal, aligned with the Quest for Presence book collection, inviting you to explore how time shapes our consciousness, our choices, and our capacity to thrive. We begin at the center—the swirling mandala—where presence is born. From there, the season unfolds like a living mosaic, revealing the whole time of our lives: the patterns we inherit, the rhythms we craft, and the futures we dare to imagine. #presence #timeweaving #tempognosis #mandala #attraction Visit us at www.presencequest.life

    Introduction to Season 2 | The Full Mandala

  5. 03/28/2025

    Contemplation: Part 2

    Visit us at www.presencequest.life

    Contemplation: Part 2

  6. 03/21/2025

    Threshold: Part 3

    Visit us at www.presencequest.life

  7. 03/14/2025

    Threshold: Time and Spirituality

    Visit us at www.presencequest.life

    Threshold: Time and Spirituality

  8. 03/07/2025

    Threshold: Diving In

    Visit us at www.presencequest.life

    Threshold: Diving In
See All (15)

Trailers

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

“Time is what we make of it. Be Here Now. Find time for the things that matter.”These simple statements mask a deeper spiritual reality when time becomes an old friend. We move beyond “be here now” to be here for the whole time of this precious life. The Quest for Presence podcast guides listeners with new ideas, research, and perspectives on time that knit together wisdom from science, mysticism, and spiritual health practices. Based on the five-book “Quest or Presence” collection (by Dr. Joel Bennett), listeners can both listen and read along as they apply these ideas with exercises, we call “contemplations.” To get started, we recommend downloading our free e-book “The Connoisseur of Time: An Invitation to Presence” and worksheets from our website www.presencequest.life. Visit us often for updates and announcements about the releases of new books in the collection and accompanying worksheets and tools. We look forward to having guest speakers and authors who speak on a wide range of topics related to time in society, science, health, and personal as well as spiritual growth. From the Foreword of “The Connoisseur of Time” by Dr. Roger Jahnke “The new model of time offered here is rich and beautiful enough to support real transformation for you. The quest for presence can be practiced. It can take us into contemplative and spiritual arts and practices. It can be enjoyed in community.” So please join us in community! From time to time we will host live participant podcasts where you get to ask questions and possibly offer your own insights about your own happening life!

Information