12.4 Existential Presence & Tolerance

12.4 Existential Presence and Tolerance is about remaining present with life’s deepest realities — uncertainty, mortality, freedom, isolation, meaning — without collapsing into panic, numbness, or despair. When underdeveloped, people may avoid or deny these questions and feel destabilised when crisis hits. When cultivated, they can face life-as-it-is, tolerate the unknown, and act from what truly matters. The Existential Grounding Cycle — Notice → Name → Feel → Ask → Integrate → Act — helps you move from avoidance → awareness → tolerance → grounded presence, supported by the anchor phrase “Existential awareness is not despair — it is clarity.”