Awareness is not just sitting in lotus and waiting for something to happen.
Awareness = consciousness = mindfulness = being woke. No matter what term you use, all of these words are used interchangeably to mean the same thing: being present to what is actually happening, inside the body and mind as well as outside, in the world around us, witnessing it without judgment and just being open to what is. Whew! Long definition, right? Seems exhausting- and we haven’t even gotten to the effort it takes to practice!
I bring it up here because, as I work to inspire others how to make positive change in their lives, everything starts with awareness. No matter what program you follow or which guru is your favorite, each of them starts with awareness of what’s happening in our thoughts and bodies. That’s because these are the areas that dictate how we experience being alive and in the world.
Awareness is not just sitting and waiting for an epiphany. Awareness requires work and energy and is often the simple step people skip when wanting to make a change. Awareness need not be the activation barrier people struggle with most to hurdle over when there is a problem that needs to be addressed or knowing that something has to change.
It is only when we are aware of ourselves, our thoughts and our bodies, that we can figure out what is working and what isn’t working for us. Tuning into the frequency of “yes” or “no” and then deciding whether to act or not to act, that is the benefit of awareness.
So, what now? Remember that it’s worth it to pay attention to how you are feeling and The Work of the brilliant Byron Katie asking yourself:
What thought is leading to this feeling?
And is that thought true?
Is it absolutely true?
How does it feel in my body to believe this is true?
Could the opposite be true?
Which feels better in your body?