Self-awareness is a state of being where we are present and connected to ourselves. It is only through this state of being that we can create positive change in our lives. Let me explain further.
Our ego mind (that is the small fearful part of us that believes there is never enough and that there is always something wrong) will have us believe that everything OUT THERE is happening to us randomly, and from this place we become very ensconced in the world around us, and reactive.
Our True Self (our whole being that is soul-connected, source-connected and Higher Self-connected) knows that we create everything and that the outside world is just a movie that is being played out just for us – reflecting back to us all our beliefs, thoughts and feelings.
Everything that is working positively in our lives is reflecting back to us where we have beliefs, thoughts and feelings that are in alignment with the Universal Laws and Who We Really Are, and the negative happenings are reflecting back to us the areas where we are out of alignment with the Universal Laws and Who We Really Are.
And Who We Really Are is a Being of Infinite Potential! We have all the resources within us to create blissful, meaningful lives. We just haven’t been raised to believe this, and we haven’t grown up in a world that has told us this.
When we are in a state of self-awareness, we are the observer watching the movie – the movie of our life – and we become aware of our actions, our reactions, our thoughts and our feelings. We begin to know that we have choice in each and every moment – we can choose to respond to something rather than react, we can choose to change our thoughts, and we can choose to change the underlying beliefs that are driving our lives and creating our reality. But first we must learn to observe.
As you probably know, a lot of the work I do is based on uncovering self-limiting beliefs, examining them and then re-aligning them to The Truth of Who You Really Are.
I’ll give you an example. The belief “I’m not good enough” is a belief that we all hold to some degree. If you are believing this at the very core of you, it will bleed into every aspect of your life. You will be creating situations and drawing people to you that reflect back to you that you are not good enough.
I want you to do something right now – think of a situation in your life that is causing you pain or struggle and ask yourself “how does it make me feel?” You may reply:
• It makes me feel unloved
• It makes me feel I’m not good enough
• It makes me feel hopeless
• It makes me feel rejected
• It makes me feel angry.
Whatever your response, underlying that feeling will be thoughts, and underlying the thoughts will be a core belief that (referring to the above statements)
• I’m not lovable
• I’m not good enough
• There is no hope
• I’m bound to be rejected
• It shouldn’t be this way (resistance to the What Is).
Negative situations are there to show us what we need to heal in ourselves. Our ego mind would have us believe that the other person or the situation is “the problem”. Then we go into battle with it.
When we are self-aware we gain self-knowledge. Knowing ourselves is taking responsibility for our lives. We realise we are not our ego; instead we get to observe our ego – its attachment to things and people, its attachment to outcomes and its love of being right, winning, status, power, control and greed.
Without self-knowledge we are doomed to a non-transformational life, repeating patterns and blaming others.
“Self-knowledge is a process. So, to understand the innumerable problems that each one of us has, is it not essential that there be self-knowledge? And that is one of the most difficult things – self-awareness – which does not mean an isolation, a withdrawal. Obviously, to know oneself is essential, but to know oneself does not imply a withdrawal from relationship. And it would be a mistake surely to think that one can know oneself significantly, completely, fully, through isolation, through exclusion or by going to some psychologist, or to some priest, or that one can learn self-knowledge through a book. Self-knowledge is obviously a process, not an end in itself, and to know oneself, one must be aware of oneself in action, which is relationship. You discover yourself, not in isolation, not in withdrawal, but in relationship – in relationship to society, to your wife, your husband, your brother, to man, but to discover how you react, what your responses are, requires an extraordinary alertness of mind, a keenness of perception … Self-knowledge is the discovery from moment to moment of the ways of the self, its intentions and pursuits, its thoughts and appetites.” – J. Krishnamurti
WAYS OF ACHIEVING SELF-AWARENESS
You don’t have to meditate to become self-aware – in fact, many people meditate without self-awareness. They wonder why their meditation is not having a positive impact on their lives and that is why!
Here are six simple ways to begin bringing self-awareness into your life:
Practise presence – Whenever you can, become aware of the present moment – right here, right now – and simply observe. See if you can observe without thought. Set an alarm on your phone about 3 times a day to remind you to make contact with the present moment right now.
Pay attention to your breath – This is a great way to become more present. Again, if you’re new to this, set an alarm on your phone 3 times daily.
Feel your body – The body loves to be felt. The body is not the busy ego-mind. The body is constantly talking to us – we must make the time to listen. When we connect in with our bodies, we are disconnecting from our busy ego-mind.
Observe nature – Every Universal Law is packed into nature. Simply by sitting and observing nature, you are connecting in with the All That Is. Sit at the beach and watch the ocean, observe a tree, watch the birds.
Meditation/Yoga – If you do either of these, do them in a self-observant way. Notice your breath, feel your bodily sensations, observe your thoughts. Stay present.
Do something creative – Have you noticed that when you are fully engaged in a create activity, you can feel totally present and connected, and the ego mind falls away. This is why those mindfulness colouring-in books are so popular. Paint, write, build, decorate, sew, knit – whatever gives you joy creatively, make some time to do it.
