​So much of our time with others is spent reliving the past or projecting into the future. In fact, it’s surprisingly rare to really be with someone in the moment, even when we're right there with them.

But what if we had a way to fully meet one another, right in the Here & Now

When stories about the past and plans for the future fall away, what’s left in their wake is just empty space, ready for a new kind of social experience to occur. This is the space we step into when we play The Present Moment Game.

The Game is an hour-long social meditation that offers a simple yet powerful technique to help people drop into full presence. We call it a game, but it’s really just a framework to deepen present-moment consciousness with like-minded individuals looking to cultivate this awareness together, in community. ​

Intrigued? Come play and see what it's like to experience a full hour of RIGHT NOW.

• What you’re thinking in the present moment

• What you’re feeling, at present

• Present moment perceptions, curiosities about others, or anything else that everyone can experience at the same time

• “It was hard to pull myself away from work to be here on time.” Bump.

• “I feel good right now, but unsure if I’ll always feel this way.” Bump.

• “I thought what you said right there was really poignant.” Bump. But even just a slight rephrase to “I am experiencing your words as really poignant.” stays present, and avoids the Bump.

You could do that, but avoiding Bumps isn’t really what the game is about. It’s not about any kind of winning. In fact, there is no winning. It’s simply about consciously sharing the Here & Now with other curious and engaged people. While leaning back and just witnessing others can be entertaining, the most interesting parts of the game happen within your own speaking. And anyway, being bumped is an opportunity to become even more present, so don’t hold back.

Yup! It can be. But locking yourself into the present moment with others can also feel intimate, comforting, and nothing short of transformative. Patience and active participation are key to see what will unfold as you co-author the experience with other players. A boring first 15 minutes can lead to an amazing last 45 minutes. Even a full hour of “boring” promises to yield something worthwhile.

No worries. Someone will just say ‘Bump’. Even when we very consciously put limitations on the past and future, it’s practically inevitable that we’ll forget, and talk about that thing that happened that one time. Don’t make too much meaning out of the idea of doing it ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. Instead, receive your Bump simply, reorient yourself back in the present, and begin again. 

The game should take around 90 minutes of your time; 60 minutes for the game itself, and about 15 minutes before to do intros and review the rules, then 15 minutes after for a short debrief of everyone’s experience.

The game is best played with a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 12 people.

In-person games are currently being held bi-montly in Berkeley, CA at The Alembic and The Green Yogi on Telegraph Ave.

You can get more information and purchase tickets to those events under the Upcoming Games section up above here.

If you’re not local to the Bay Area, sign up to the Newsletter at the bottom of this page to be notified when Online Games go live again.

Make sure to also follow The Game’s Instagram account (@thepresentmomementgame) for general updates.

The Present Moment Game can express itself in many different ways. It can feel light-hearted or serious, self-reflective or social, easy or surprisingly hard—and, chances are, it’ll feel like many of these things, even within a single session. Each individual game is as unique as its participants who co-author the experience. And each has something of value to offer those who are both present, and patient enough, for it to emerge.

Nope! T-Group and Circling are wonderful practices to deepen relational intelligence. They use the present moment as the context to explore a variety of interpersonal dynamics. In this game, however, the present moment is the entire subject of our inquiry, not what we think or feel about the others around us, necessarily.

The game is not intended for self-improvement, for learning how to offer or receive feedback, to level up communication skills, or for any other, explicit aim. Its purpose is simply to create an opportunity for people to really BE with one another, which feels important, especially in times like these. ♥️

The form below is an infrequently-monitored mailing list, so not the best way to reach out. Please send a quick message via DM on Instagram (@thepresentmomentgame) and we can take it from there!