The Power of Awareness

As I reread Eckhart Tolle's "New Earth", he beckons me with question, "how aware are you?" I've asked myself this question countless times over my life and see again and again how easily we become unconscious.  Going through our day to day routines, not understanding why we make our choices or have certain emotional reactions.  We move from body (or heart) awareness into mind (or ego) awareness, which is often circular, rational, fast, and overwhelming.  Body awareness, on the other hand, is clear, calm, focused, and simple.   What awareness are you in right now?

Today I'm talking to you about awareness because this is one of my essential aspects of Holistic Living.  We absolutely need awareness of mind and body in order to live driven, pleasurable and purposeful lives.  As I've mentioned before, when I first meet with clients, we review the main areas of their life.  We evaluate different life components deeply (see previous post).  As a coach, I'm leading them with questions:

What are the strongest areas of your life right now? Why?
What areas are you unsatisfied with?  What would you like to change about them?
As you take time to look at your life as a whole, what feelings are coming up?
What are your goals right now and what support do you need in achieving them? 

Take some time right now and jot down the answers to these questions.  Tape the answers somewhere you look daily. Your awareness will start expanding once you start asking questions.  Am I feeling tired because of my nutrition and hydration levels? What do I need to reduce my stress level at work?  Who do I have the most fun with?

Knowing where we are and where we want our life to go is important to hold in our minds and hearts as we move through our day to day.  It reminds us of our purpose.  It keeps us focused and gives us perspective.  For example, when we are at work or home, and see ourselves getting worked up about something... if we stop and hold it in our mind next to our goals, we may realize it is not helping us reach our goal.

Is this situation helping or hurting me in reaching my goal?  Think about your  goals for a moment.  Think about what's happened in your day so far.  What have you been doing that's helping and hurting your goals from becoming reality? How do you feel right NOW in your body.  This is the beginning of awareness.

But the true power of awareness comes from a deeper understanding... a spiritual understanding.   When we take the time to really listen inward, we are connecting with our spirit.  Some use therapy, meditation, church, breath work, dreams, and many other modalities to open to the voice of the unconscious and universe.  I'll leave you with one of my favorite activities to accomplish this.

Channeling
Find a quiet time and place where you can sit comfortably by yourself.  Bring a journal or paper to write on.  Light a candle, dim the lights, burn oils or incense, whatever will enhance your relaxation.  Open the journal, put the pen down, take some deep breathes with your eyes close and in your mind ask your higher self to come forth.  Ask for guidance.  When you feel relaxed and ready, open your eyes and begin writing.  Don't think about it, just start writing.  You'll be surprised what come forth.

Many activities like this can help us become aware in ways we couldn't during our day to day.  You have much wisdom to give and awareness already, go share it today!



For more info on Holistic Coaching, visit holisticlifesf.com
For more info on Eckhart Tolle, visit Eckharttolle.com