With an increase in self-awareness increases clarity. So did I hear. I then curiously looked around on what the definition of self-awareness was, anyways?
Did you find yourself lost in your thoughts? Have you ever tried to meditate to then realise that you were traveling far lands in your mind? Did you feel disconnected from the world outside to that degree that you forgot where you were and where were you heading? I did for sure… The so-called daydreaming. And probably, if you are like me, you are willing to let go of the habit of living either in the past or in the future. You most probably started already enquiring yourself on what is really REAL.
What means to increase ones self-awareness?
Google says “self-awareness is a conscious meaning of one’s own character and feelings”. Good enough for most of us, but I was on a quest of something much deeper. My journey in discovering the true essence and the answer to the question “who am I”, or much better “what am I”, lead me to discover some amazing teachers, both in person and via books.
The moment I was able to separate from my thoughts and feelings, I discovered the beauty of being truly that which I am in the essence.
Self-awareness then became an interesting and loving experience. At every moment of the day, as soon as I would get caught up in some sort of a story, I’d just quickly step back and ask myself “who is the one who is sharing the story”. This practice is known under the terminology of self-enquiry. To not say about how much space I gained in my head when I decided to turn the volume of the noise down and focus on what was truly meaningful in my life.
Students of various spiritual schools practice self-awareness day in and day out. Monks and nuns who choose to renounce worldly desires and ambitions practice this art through prayer and meditation. For those of us who didn’t choose that path, the journey can still be fulfilling and powerful.
The one key activity to practice
And here is the key activity that helped me the most in surrendering the practice of self-awareness: set reminders!
I had to put a lot of alarms on my phone and stop throughout the day, asking myself “what am I in this very moment?”. Now, it might be difficult when you have to engage with a lot of activities that require your attention. I get you. It was indeed difficult for me as well…
The key for me has been finding the motivation behind
Building self-awareness has been crucial in my spiritual journey. In my case, I was clear on what I wanted. I wanted to fully experience the present moment. For me, the present moment is where I find the truth, the moment where I am. It is the moment where I find stillness and my inner source of joy. Through this experiment I experienced feelings coming and going. The difference today is that I can witness those things in my body and I can see their manifestation as it is: a feeling, which comes, rests in my body for a while and then goes. I can feel it in my heart, in my chest, or in my belly… I can feel these feelings without engaging with a story.
An increase in our self-awareness allows us to separate from:
- The world as we see it
- The thoughts generated by our mind
- The feelings that our beloved heart experiences
The beauty is that we are none of those things. The world does not define us, neither are our thoughts and our feelings. There is something much deeper than that. And that, my dear one, is the answer to the question “what am I?”.
So, how do we stay committed? In this article I write about the power of setting small goals, while in this one how important it is to connect with our value system. But mind can be tricky. This is where compassion comes into place.
The art of compassion implies accepting what it is today. Accepting that our mind has a function, which is to generate thoughts based on everything that we’ve learned and absorbed throughout the years. Some example can be our education, advertisement, customs, movies and other things. Letting go of these beliefs is something that I regularly do, but this might be a good topic for another blog. For now, I want you to breathe deeply and question yourself “what am I”? Are you willing to commit to the most important thing in your life, which is to find who you truly are? Are you clear on what is the most important thing in your life? Once this becomes clear you will have only one thing to do: commit, over and over again to increase self-awareness.
If you would like to practice together, do get in touch. The power of a mentor is amazing when first stepping into the art of separating oneself from the thoughts and feelings.
Otherwise, you can leave your email and I will send you a quick guided meditation for increasing self-awareness which you can practice right now.
Remember, all we need to do is to breath and reset.