Playing with Presence: How meditation can increase the experience of embodied presence in a virtual world

Feeling deeply connected to yourself and your body creates a richer experience of presence in a virtual world, even when your body is sitting in a chair wearing VR googles. We call this embodied presence. Connection to the self and body (paying attention to present-moment sensations and feelings) enhances the sense of self and the sense of presence, regardless of whether you are in the natural world or a VR world. Our Beach VR Meditation demonstrates how meditation can be designed to increase the experience of embodied presence in a virtual world.