Some authors urge us to be “Mindful”. It's my experience that I am always “mindful” – my mind is chock-a-block full – 20-50,000 thoughts a day is more than enough traffic, thankyou. I'm a bigger fan of “awareness”. Awareness of what our minds are up to, awareness of our surroundings, awareness of the thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations that are arising. Awareness of the impact we're having.
It's a recipe for misery and victimism to live your life with blinkers on 24/7.
Mixing awareness with a busy life may not come easily at first. We might have to be willing and persistent in replacing what may be a lifelong habit of Spotlight Consciousness (zooming into close-up on everything) with a new habit of Floodlight Consciousness (zooming out to a wide-shot).
Awareness is a precursor to opening up and becoming present and available to what's going on within and around us. The more we resist and struggle-with, the narrower and more restricted we become in all aspects of our life.
The trick is to enter every moment as if we've never done it before. Notice what arises in your moment-to-moment awareness. If you need a role model for this, watch a toddler.
THINGS TO BECOME AWARE OF....
Become aware of what you're doing and the ripples it creates.
Notice how the quantity and quality of what you put in affects what you get out of each moment.
Get used to asking yourself “By doing this, or doing it this way, what might I be avoiding or hiding?” (Remember, most people are driven by what they're hiding.)
If
pain or discomfort is part of your present experience, notice how you
habitually choose to be present with pain – your own pain or the
pain of others. Notice the differences and similarities.
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