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Living
More Consciously
Duane Elgin
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The word consciousness literally means "that with
which we know." It has also been termed the knowing
faculty. To live more consciously means to be more
consciously aware, moment by moment, that we are present in all we
do. When we stand and talk, we know that we are standing and
talking. When we sit and eat, we know that we are sitting
and eating. When we do the countless things that make up our
daily lives, we remember the being that is involved in those
activities. We remember ourselves (and to
"re-member" is to make whole; it is the opposite of
dis-memberment). To live consciously is to move through life
with conscious self-remembering.
We are not bound to habitual and preprogrammed ways of perceiving
and responding when we are consciously watchful of ourselves in
the process of living. Consider several examples. It
is difficult to relate to another person solely as the embodiment
of a social position or job title when, moment by moment, we are
consciously aware of the utter humanness that we both possess--a
humanness whose magnificence and mystery dwarf the seeming
importance of status and titles as a basis of a
relationship. It is difficult to deceive another person
when, moment by moment, we are consciously aware of our unfolding
experience of deception. It is difficult to sustain the
experience of sexual desire by projecting a sexual fantasy when,
moment by moment, we are conscious that we are creating and
relating to a fantasy rather than the authentic individual we are
with.
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In short, when we
begin to consciously watch ourselves, in the activities of daily
life, we begin to cut through confining self-images, social
pretenses, and psychological barriers. We begin to live more
voluntarily.
We all have the ability to consciously know ourselves as we move
through life. The capacity to "witness" the
unfolding of our lives is not an ability that is remote or hidden
from us. To the contrary, this is an experience that is so
close, so intimate, and so ordinary, that we easily overlook it
presence and significance. An old adage states, It's a rare
fish that knows it swims in water. Analogously the challenge
of living voluntarily is not in gaining access to the conscious
experience of ourselves but rather in consciously recognizing the
witnessing experience and then learning the skills of sustaining
our opening to that experience.
To clarify the nature of conscious watchfulness, I would like to
ask you several questions. Have you been conscious of the
fact that you have been sitting here reading this book? Have
you been conscious of changes in your bodily sensations, frame of
mind, and emotions? Were you totally absorbed in the book
until I asked? Or had you unintentionally allowed your
thoughts to wander to other concerns? Did you just
experience a slight shock of self-recognition when I
inquired? What does it feel like to notice yourself reading
while you read; to observe yourself eating while you eat; to see
yourself watching television while you watch television; to notice
yourself driving while you drive; to experience yourself talking
while you talk?
Despite the utter simplicity of being consciously watchful of our
lives, this is a demanding activity. At first it is a
struggle to just occasionally remember ourselves moving through
the daily routine. A brief moment of self-remembering is
followed by an extended period where we are lost in the flow of
thought and the demands of the exterior world. Yet with
practice we find that we can more easily remember ourselves--while
walking down the street or while we are at home, at work, at
play. We come to recognize, as direct experience, the nature
of "knowing that we know." As our familiarity with
this mode of perception increases, we get lost in thought and
worldly activities less and less frequently. In turn, we
experience our behavior in the world as more and more choiceful,
or voluntary.
Bringing conscious attention into our daily lives may lack the
mystery of searching for enlightenment with an Indian sorcerer and
the spiritual glamour of sitting for long months in an Eastern
monastic setting, but consciously attending to our daily-life
activities is an eminently useful, readily accessible, and
powerful tool for enhancing our capacity for voluntary action.
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Mindfulness
is being aware of yourself, others, and your surroundings
in the moment. When consciously and kindly focusing
awareness on
life
as it unfolds minute by precious minute, you are better able
to
savor
each experience. Also, being closely attentive gives
you the
opportunity
to
change unwise or painful feelings and responses
quickly.
In fact, being truly
present in a mindful way is an excellent stress
reducer and,
because
of that, can be seen as consciousness
conditioning,
a strengthening
workout for body, mind, heart, and spirit.
Sue
Patton Thoele |
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Carefully
observe the natural laws in operation in the world around
you, and live by them.
From following them, you will learn the morality
of modesty, moderation, compassion, and consideration (not
just one
society’s rules and regulations), the wisdom of seeing
things as they
are (not of merely collecting “facts” about them), and
the happiness of
being in harmony with the Way (which has nothing to do with
self-
righteous “spiritual” obsessions and fanaticism).
And you will live
lightly, spontaneously, and effortlessly.
Benjamin
Hoff
The Te of Piglet
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