Conscious Awakening

Mindfulness practice, rather its Zen, Buddhism, Taoism or any other form of eastern thought are not as linear and structured as most people try and see them, and quite frankly how they present themselves. The practice of any eastern thought or the ideology is exactly that, it is a practice and an art. When you practice something you do it multiple times in order to become good at it. Then you take parts that resonate with you and tend to make it your own. When you do that it then becomes an art, it becomes your art and your practice.

 Eastern thought has two sides, on one hand you have the idea that becoming mindful is to monitor and keep track of every thought, every feeling, monitoring these concepts on a continuous basis just to let them go so that you do not focus on anything but the present moment, which is good in theory. Focusing on what you are doing at that moment being 100 percent involved in whatever it is you are doing is something to be admired. On the other hand Its almost a contradicting idea, how is one suppose to be present and mindful at the same time? If you are letting go of every thought how is it that you can become aligned with the very moment you are in? How can you be focused and let go of that attachment to the present at the same time?

Then we move on to something else entirely, in eastern practices it tells us to simply let things be. If I was to let myself be, my mind would naturally wander because that’s just what it does. Maybe the lesson is in the teachings themselves, what if we are not designed to figure this puzzle out maybe it’s the puzzle and the contradiction itself that is the lesson we are to learn. Maybe it wasn’t the goal to find the solution to the eastern way of thinking, maybe the lesson is the problem itself and knowing that there is no solution is the real teaching.

From what I know and the countless hours I have studied on this subject is that becoming aware is not just something that we can learn in one day, at least not on the level that being mindful is implying we should be. Its mostly the idea of coming back to the idea of awareness when and pretty much every time we notice that we are not. This will develop our skill in this practice and allow us to become accustomed to the idea of coming back and grounding ourselves into the present, making it easier over time and allowing it to become easier each time we do it.

People tend to overthink, they have higher expectations than what is expected. I know I did, even to this day I still am trying to find that balance. How do I become free from thought when trying to monitor myself on the level that is required, but at the same time let myself be me and let go of everything else that pops up in my peripheral mindset.

 capture the space in between each thought, that’s where you want to be and that’s where your trying to stay.

See everything but recognize nothing, there is no greater sight then to see without the constructs of man.

When a situation arises what makes that experience a good or bad one? Is it the situation itself or is it the way you react to it. Responding to a situation with negative energy will bring about negativity, while responding to the situation with positive outlook will bring about positive energy.

One thing I know for sure through my own spiritual experience, and I stand by this 100 percent is that its all about the perspective that a person has on a situation or circumstance. This is the key to finding happiness in every situation no matter how bad it is or rather how bad you think it is. The problem lies with our own minds allowing ourselves to only focus on what we allow it to focus on. We see, hear, think and experience only what we allow ourselves to experience. Obviously, No one wants to experience the bad, but when the bad presents itself by default and the conditioning of the very world we live in, this is what we are taught. We have to start looking at the bigger picture, the end goal, the lesson that is to be learned in every situation even the ones we would consider the “bad” ones.

We all have that voice inside our head, some call it intuition,instinct, some may even refer to it as their spirit or consciousness but whatever you choose to call it, we all posses it. We need to harness this and listen, but learn not to be consumed in order to find true happiness at the core of your own being. If you are unhappy there is a reason why, if you feel you should be doing something else instead of doing what you are doing at this moment you should probably do it. This concept is good for every level of tasks rather its small and minute or bigger life changing decisions. If you as a person can learn to follow your heart you can then find happiness in your very own life, not only will you find it but you will begin to manifest it, all you have to do is start.

All you have to do is let yourself be who you really are, Knowing who you are should be the easiest thing for an individual person, but when it comes to even that most people will still overthink it. You cant be yourself if every action is predetermined by a thought. Being yourself implies freedom and there is no reason not to be who you are by simply doing and acting as you would, but we live by the very wall we create; fear. Simply learn to be more comfortable with the person you are, don’t factor in the fear of being alone, the fear of failure, the fear of what people think. Don’t ever do anything because you think you have to, because if you are doing what you want to the universe itself will guide you and forge the path for you to follow.

I truly believe that all most minor forms of anxiety are caused by the idea that somewhere in you personal life you are not doing what your heart truly desires. When a person is unhappy its time to bring about a change, and the first steps is to trust completely in your own instincts by following what your feelings and mind are telling you to do. Align you mind and soul with your body.

My question to you, what would happen if we let go of all control and we set aside our fear of the unknown? What would happen if we were to find the courage to completely follow the inner voice that has been telling us to quit that job, write that book, or leave that toxic relationship that we know is no good for us?

When you really think about it, everything in our lives has had a way of working itself out, the fact that you are alive is proof of that. Everything up to this point has made us stronger and allowed us to keep moving. Everything we have experienced has been part of a bigger scheme so that we could arrive here at this very moment, and it's all been through the natural pushing and pulling force of the universe.

We tend to over complicate the idea behind mindfulness and meditation. I think as a community we tend to focus more on the end result rather than the journey itself, and in turn lose sight of the practice. We tend to forget that this is exactly what it's called a "practice." We need to practice it in order to get proficient enough to become good at it. The other aspect to this is the idea that its uniquely yours. much like a doctor or a lawyer has when they have their own practice and makes it their own, you in the very same way need to do the same.