CHAPTER 1
AWARENESS
Manifest plainness, Embrace simplicity, Reduce selfishness, Have few desires ~
Lao-tzu (551-479 B.C.E.)
AWARENESS
Think of awareness as a clean plate upon which you place each event.
It is important to take time to stop, breathe and become fully aware of your present state - where you are, your actions, and what you are thinking. As stated by author and meditation practitioner, Jon Kabat-Zinn, "a diminished awareness of the present moment inevitably creates other problems" (4). While you cannot choose the event, you can choose how to experience the event.
Awareness is the medium that Enables you to experience life
• You can be aware with only your five physical senses.
• You can be aware with your sixth mental sense.
It is easy to go through life stuck in the habitual mundane schedule you create for yourself. Cohen calls this state of being ROBOTIC ACTION.
Being ROBOTIC is only ROBOTIC when you are:
• Unaware of thought patterns
• Unaware of your emotional response to actions
• Unaware of how the emotions impact your ability to create a life desired
The moment you become aware of your thoughts and emotions:
• You take yourself out of a ROBOTIC STATE of existence even if you continue to physically do the same actions.
• This leads to MINDFULNESS which helps you ACCESS UNIVERSAL INTELLIGENCE.
THE CHALLENGE IS TO LIVE IN THE MOMENT AT ALL TIMES.
Being fully present in the moment empowers you to:
• Free your mind of clutter
• Eliminate racing thoughts
• Past concerns
• Current worries
Once your mind is quiet you can tap into a level of MINDFUL ENERGY and begin to sharpen your sense of AWARENESS. Over time and with dedicated practice, it is possible to achieve a higher level of consciousness which allows you to live within a state of MINDFUL ENERGY? MINDFULNESS? every day and in all areas of your life.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Identify robotic actions in your everyday life.
2. Engage in self-observation skills.
3. Isolate thoughts from reality.
4. Recognize the difference between internal reality and external reality.
ACTIVITIES
All of the activities are designed to introduce the beginning stages of consciousness work, meditative practice and self-observation.
Day One: Identify Robotic Actions
Consciously pay attention to your actions from the moment you wake up to the time you retire in the evening. Note how you automatically perform tasks without having to tell yourself what to do.
List emotional responses to the thought process identified.
From your day, list actions or tasks that you do regularly. Write down your programmed reaction to your emotional response. For each task, take a moment to reflect on whether or not this reaction is serving your purposes and intentions. You will want to decide whether or not these tasks are of value to you and others. If not, brainstorm other possible choices to explore. Through this simple activity, you begin to allow yourself to remain open to a wide range of actions and to grow your level of conscious awareness.
WHAT IS ROBOTIC LEVEL LIVING?:
What do you notice about how you approach a day of tasks, conversations, work and functional skills.
This Is The Robotic Level Of Living.
Most of us allow tasks to take over our entire conscious being.
The key is to learn to fully engage your true self in all aspects of your life and to focus on the awareness level that is observing the task.
This is your sixth sense or your true self engaging in mindfulness.
What do you think about how you approached your day?
How does this make you feel?
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Day Two: engage in self-observation skills INSIDE A BUILDING
Find fifteen minutes during daylight to practice this self-observation skill. Make sure you are in a facility where much activity is taking place.
Example locations could include: your place of work, mall, cafeteria or restaurant, or your home, if there is a level of commotion such as having a television or music on, or children loudly playing. Consciously observe how you react.
Journal your reactions:
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Part One: Your challenge is to focus your attention for five minutes on your breathing and saying "I KNOW" while engaging in safe constructive activities in your immediate environment.
What observations did you make about your ability to focus on breathing and engage in activities at the same time?:
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Part Two: Focus your attention and awareness on your breathing and articulate internally each action you are performing.
Example: If you are looking at an item to purchase at a store in the mall, you might say:
I KNOW this is a red shirt with long sleeves. I KNOW I am lifting the shirt off of the rack to hold up in front of me. I KNOW I like the color red. And, so forth.
At home, you might say I KNOW I am folding a blue towel and placing it in a basket. I KNOW I am drinking a glass of tea. I KNOW I am folding a beige towel and placing it in a basket, I KNOW I will now check on the children. Walking down the hall, I KNOW I hear (name of child) laughing. I KNOW the phone is ringing now.
What observations did you make about your ability to focus on your breathing and saying "I KNOW" while internally articulating each action performed, sound heard or activity...
