ABSTRACT
To be present with everything that is there in the moment, people need to be able to tune in on and stay with all sorts of emotions. They also need to be able to be present with all the things that feel difficult and unsettling, perhaps even frightening. Not-knowing and not-doing are antithetical to everything people are used to. It is the opposite of what provides recognition and status. It is the opposite of what they see as the source of authority, competence and mastery. In the psychodynamic literature, the wide range of unconscious psychological mechanisms that serve as defence mechanisms is well described. Defences exist on an individual, a social and an organizational level. Defensive routines are an aspect of many daily routines. In Vince's model, the decisive factor is the ability to contain anxiety and discomfort, that is, to practise negative capability.
