Creativity is the foundation of LIFE. We make an act of creation during every choice we make, in every thought. Shall I have an espresso this morning? Yes. There it is! I've created a new moment for myself. I'm not waiting for something to happen to me, I'm choosing my Way. We are all ARTISTS of our life. When we begin to awaken to this understanding, life becomes simple yet extraordinary. We begin to desire the brightest colors, the best possible materials, and to refine our technique for living. This is what it means to LIVE CONSCIOUSLY.
To be CONSCIOUS in life, is to have a heightened sense of awareness of the present moment, and to continue to refine our approach to living in order to actualize our fullest potential as a human being. We are ALL on a journey towards true happiness and peace. It might feel unattainable at times, especially when we are knee deep in the struggle. But this discomfort is an important part of the journey. The discomfort is the opportunity for growth. There's a Buddhist saying 'That which is the greatest challenge, holds the seed for the greatest potential'. When we recognize these seeds of potential, the pathway ILLUMINATES and we can make the choice to follow it towards true happiness.
A way to look at it, is as a Pac-Man game. As we are moving about in our 'everydayness' or grazing on the path of white dots, we sometimes are met with challenges - the ghosts. When we overcome these challenges we receive the cherry and advance to the next level of being! When you look at life as an ever-new adventure, you feel truly ALIVE!
When instead we let the waves of the world WHIRL us around or let our past habits blind us, we are not awake to this pathway. We go about our days with low-grade depression and an undercurrent of anxiety. This anxiety is the inner conflict of not attuning to our AUTHENTIC SELF which always knows its direction towards peace. This loss of connection to Self creates confusion and a sense of being lost, which then leads to low-grade depression or worse.
How do we stay in HARMONY with our Authentic Self?
- Become Aware of Internal Sensations Within the Body – Imagine a time when you had felt the most disconnected to your Authentic Self. While you are reliving the experience, begin to take notice of what is happening within your body. Examine what sensations you are feeling. Tension, jitteriness, cold, numb, etc. Now start to notice where you most feel this sensation – in your stomach, arms, throat, etc. Get as specific as you can. Now imagine a time when you felt most connected to Self. What does that feel like within your body? Calm, peaceful, light, spacious? Really take notice of the difference between the two experiences. When you fine tune your awareness of your internal body sensations, you begin to develop a radar system to stay on track towards happiness.
- Invest in Purifying Habits – Just as a marathon runner needs to train for the big event, it would be helpful to us to make healthy choices for our body, mind, spirit. Everything we think, do, and see effects our consciousness. We absorb our environment AND our environment is a reflection of who we are. What we think contributes to our actions. In order to make our Authentic Self more available to us, we must let go of habits that no longer serve our best interest for being. The great thing is, as we grow more into our true Self we become more sensitive in general. It’s harder to watch Televison shows/movies about violence, anguish, and despair for our personal entertainment. Poor diet choices make us sick. We even pick up negative energy from other people and become uncomfortable. This sensitivity is a part of the refinement process towards unbelievable JOY.
- Make Friends with Your Imperfections – As we begin to recognize life as a ‘personal journey of never-ending growth’, we begin to see the difference between where we’ve been and where we have yet to go. This confirms our life as ADVENTURE! In order to remove more layers of old habits that no longer serve our Authentic Self, we first have to make peace with where we are at right now. This means LOVING yourself with the most sincere COMPASSION.
