Awaken.
Living consciously is living in the state of being awake.
Not just awake as in not in bed asleep, I mean really awake and consciously aware of what’s around you, your behaviour, your thinking, your reactions and your daily choices. That may sound obvious yet most of us go about our daily life in pre-determined sequences and patterns that we no longer question as to whether it is what we would really choose for us and our lives.
Look around you. Do you see others really taking in the world around them in amazement or do you see people going around as if pre-programmed to do, think and behave in the way they do? It may be understandable that as we travel down the same road to school or work each day we no longer stop to see what is around us, as we believe we already know. We therefore filter out our environment as we repeat the journey each day. The same goes for the way we think about certain people, situations, environments (such as our workplace) and the way we react almost automatically to the things we see, hear and read.
Take the example of driving. How many times do you ‘wake up’ and wonder how on earth did you drive the last few miles? You were on auto-pilot driving with your sub-conscious mind until something brings you back to the ‘now’ and you wake up and begin to drive more consciously again. The process of driving has become so second nature (a well-used pattern programmed in) that we often go into this sub-conscious state until we need to become alert again.
It’s just not when we are driving though. Too many times during the day we go into this sub-conscious world and exist on auto-pilot, reacting the same old way to situations, and thinking the same old thoughts about the conversations and interactions we have. But are those behaviours and thoughts really helping us to live a fulfilling and happy life? Because of the society we now live in I am going to take a guess and suggest, for the most if us, not.
The patterns we repeat are well rehearsed reactions (as in the driving example) and over time become the ‘norm’ as to how we live our life. This leads to us being asleep most of the time and what that means is that we are not awake to the possibilities and opportunities that pass us by, simply because we do not see them. Our filters tuned them out long ago. That is also the very reason we hear people say that “great things never happen to them”, or that “they always seem to attract the bad and negative things”. It is simply because their filters are programmed in a way to ‘see’ what they expect to find. When living sub-consciously and half asleep we are merely following old programmes that were installed long ago.
Conscious living is a choice to be awake more of the time, to see the same things with new eyes and notice the wonder, the possibilities and the opportunities that are always ever present should we choose to see them. Being awake allows us to consciously make choices about our behaviours, our thoughts, our reactions and choose ones that serve us.
Awaken to the amazing world we are living in right now. If you can’t see it, or if you get that automatic reply in your head that says “don’t be daft, the world is awful, what’s so amazing about….”, then just notice that it’s just your old programming that is getting you to think that way. If your filters are set on noticing the negative, then that is all you will see while you remain half asleep.
Awaken to what is possible for you, your loved ones and the things that are important to you. By waking up and consciously living your day you will be amazed by how the same things appear so different and wonder how you missed seeing that before.
Next time you are in the supermarket, notice whether the people you meet are walking around half asleep, or wide awake. You will notice those that are awake as you can see it in their eyes and the energy they have will cause them to shine.
With love and gratitude
Nadine.