Awareness is all about restoring your freedom to choose what you want instead of what your past imposes on you.
Deepak Chopra
What is awareness and why is it important?
Awareness is the knowing what you are feeling in any given moment — sadness, anger, frustration, fear. Why is that helpful? Because it is only within this knowing that we can make change, lasting, life sustaining change. Awareness is our path, the door to Presence. Resting in Presence is the first step to realizing freedom from the chains of the past.
Understanding Emotions
For as long as I can remember, I struggled with depression and anxiety. And although it wasn’t as debilitating as it can be for many, more often than not, my depression left me drowning in a pool of self-pity. I looked everywhere for relief — pills, pot, psilocybin and promiscuity — anything to make the hurt go away.
But none of this worked. This simply allowed me a tiny small respite, a temporary numbing out. But the drugs would wear off and I’d wake feeling worse. Slowly it dawned on me that the drugs and promiscuity weren’t really helping and that they were in fact adding to my depression. I was caught in an endless cycle of abusing myself and my body and getting no relief.
I stopped the promiscuity and the drugs and started reading self-help books and found a strong interest in Eastern philosophy. I found teachers such as Ram Dass and discovered that I resonated with their words. Over months and years I worked with many different non-dualistic teachers and their words gave me hope.
I learned that instead of “understanding” the pain as a way of dissolving it, I simply needed to meet the pain.
I also learned that when we take the time to observe what is here in the moment for us, we are able to let go of judgments. When we shift our awareness away from seeing emotions as bad and as obstacles we are able to come fully present with what is here, what is arising. And this is where healing begins.
Emotions come from our energy system not, as most of us believe, from some external source such as an event or person. They are simply electromagnetic waves that naturally pass through our being unless we deny or repress them — then they get frozen and stuck. When we get triggered, these stuck emotions naturally arise, asking to be recognized and healed. Certain situations will continue to set off certain emotional responses until we meet them and begin the task of releasing and reprogramming.
Today my depression is almost nonexistent. Oh, yes, I get anxious, fearful, sad or angry from time to time but I have tools that enable me to stay here, in the Now, allowing me to meet the pain until it disolves.
I am grateful for this journey.
Journaling Exercise: Discovering the 5-Senses
This is not always easy, it can be messy and it is never for the faint of heart. More often than not it will take time. It requires diligence, authenticity, and tenacity. Tenderness is key.
This journey is designed to bring your awareness to yourself and everything in your environment. This is the first step in the practice of Presence, the state of inner awareness and spaciousness. It is the act of resting in this moment and letting go of the past and future.
Start slowly and deliberately, take your time. Be very tender with yourself.
Place yourself in a comfortable, safe space where there is little or no distraction. Sit comfortably, spine straight but relaxed. Have your journal or notebook near.
Begin with conscious breathing – breathe into the diaphragm, hold for a moment, release slowly.
Now bring your awareness to your immediate environment and your physical body.
Notice:
- What colors, objects, light, space, etc. do you see?
- How does your clothing feel? Is it comfortable or cumbersome?
- What do you hear? Perhaps there are voices, or music, the sounds of nature, maybe traffic. Just notice.
- What is the temperature of the air? Is it cool or warm? How does it feel against your skin?
- What smells are present? Are there memories attached to these smells?
- Do you notice a taste in your mouth? If so, can you describe it?
- And lastly, notice what physical sensations are present within your body right now.
Take a moment to notice your breath. When you are ready, click play on the audio, sit back and close your eyes or soften your gaze*.
Body Awareness Meditation: https://www.leebyrdmystic.com/about/meditation/body-awareness-meditation-practice-noticing-sensations/
When finished, gently open your eyes and do a couple more rounds of conscious breathing. I suggest you get up and do a full body stretch or a yoga stretch. Remember to drink some water. Then settle down, take up your journal and begin to write. Do your best not to edit, just let it flow. Here are a couple writing prompts to help get you started (use these or don’t, up to you):
- What did you notice during the awareness exercise?
- What emotions came up?
- What sensations did you feel?
This is your life. You were born with the innate wisdom to create the life you want. In fact, that is the purpose of this life. Discovering how to return to Presence builds the necessary foundation to do the work of letting go of the past and embracing emotional freedom. Are you ready?
Essential Oil Suggestion
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