Awareness

Hi everyone. I haven't been updating this very consistently. I apologize, I've been having a lot of internal stuff come up and needed to take some time to review and work on that. On the bright side I am learning a lot and one of the things that I've been reminded of is the importance of awareness. Awareness is one of those basic spiritual practices that is super easy to understand but is foundational for growth and healing and can be a little harder to practice than it would seem. I talk about this in the video below if you feel like watching it, but the reason it is harder than it seems is that by definition awareness implies a willingness to look at things and notice them. This can be hard, especially for those of us who have had the internal belief that we aren't good enough or that something is wrong-- awareness at its depth means being willing to look at and truly see that part of us that we think is wrong. Seeing it, even if nothing else is done, has a huge impact because it changes our relationship to that part of us.

However, in its early stages your awareness practice doesn't have to start so deep, it can be practiced as simple observations. Taking the time to notice things about yourself, such as your thoughts and feeling as well as your environment (what sounds do you hear? what does the food you are eating really taste like? What is the texture of your clothes like?) can go a long way towards improving awareness. These simple practices allow you to stop the momentum of your mind and take inventory of where you are so that you can have greater insight into the patterns around you and your reaction to things. It can also help you open up the biggness of your environment-- it's so easy to focus on ruminating thoughts without realizing we are doing it and miss out on the simple but beautiful qualities of life like the warmth of the sun beam coming through the window or the sound of the leaves rustling. Becoming more aware of yourself and your environment can put you back in the present moment and notice your responses and patterns.

In the long run this simple practice of noticing can add up to completely different experience in life. It might seem insignificant and subtle but the momentum of it can create profound changes.

Thank you for reading (and watching).

Have a great day.