SELF-AWARENESS

"Only that day dawns to which we are awake" - Henry david Thoreau

Awareness is the process of becoming fully conscious. Awareness can trickle into the corners of your mind slowly, as you clean out the cobwebs, or it can dawn suddenly the moment you become cognizant of your patterns and begin to see yourself objectively. However it is attained, it is like a light bulb being switched on that illuminates the dark pockets of your unconscious mind. It is the first step to facilitating any change you wish to make in yourself.

Cultivating awareness is a lifelong process. Every moment presents you with the opportunity to remain awake or to slip into unconscious behavior. We can walk through life on " automatic pilot" or we can pay attention and behave in a conscious manner. The key to learning awareness lies in tracing the root of your behaviors so you can identify the beliefs that cause you to repeat the same patterns. Once you identify the patterns, you can then work on releasing them through willingness. 

The opportunity to learn the lesson of awareness is presented each time you feel a sense of discontent in your life. With every desire for a shift in your path, or vision of something different, comes the chance to look within and ask yourself, "What is the truth of what I want? What change do I want to make?" The answer that arises to those questions will provide you with the awareness you need to move forward in your process of change.

There are countless ways to awaken. Paying attention to your feelings is the easiest way to get in touch with your inner machinations. Feelings are the lights on the dashboard of life; when one is illuminated, you can be sure it is a signal of some internal issue that needs to be addressed.

Simply noticing your behavior can bring you to awareness. When you observe your actions as an objective spectator, you remove the filter of self-judgement and allow yourself to see the patterns that you are repeating. As you watch yourself in a variety of situations and notice similar actions and reactions, you bring to light the common thread attached to the necessary lesson.

Tools like meditation, journal writing, personal coaching, and therapy help many learn awareness. For others, simply posting meaningful reminders on the bathroom mirror works. For me, surrounding myself with others who are on their path and live in a conscious way is the best way to stay awake.

Since lessons are repeated until learned, and since you cannot learn lessons until you become aware of them, it makes sense that you will need to cultivate awareness if you are to ever progress from whether you are right now on your path. Ask yourself what patterns you are repeating; you might be surprised to see how evident they were all along.