Be On and invigorated, not asleep at the wheel!

This is a final appeal of the awareness focus element to motivate us to be as conscious as we possibly can, to be dialled in and inspired about life and practice. Part of this is about becoming more aware of the way in which we slip back into habit mode from time to time, that passive auto pilot mode that’s not really aware of what’s going on. I’m constantly catching myself going offline like this, or more accurately, having been offline for some time, and then coming into the present moment. 

 

It’s not that I’m completely vaguing out, it’s more like I’ve forgotten myself momentarily, I've lost the context and perspective that tells me what I’m supposed to be doing, where my conscious intentions should be.

 

Being aware relates to the general and the particular and also involves different aspects of memory. We hold a sense of who we are and what our values are, what we’re doing and why we’re doing it, it’s all part of that background awareness. When we drop back into habit mode, we lose that overall context, which is why we can then act in unhealthy and unhelpful ways, hence being asleep at the wheel.

 

Being inspired and motivated, staying engaged with all our practices and in particular, meditating, helps to keep us switched on and energised. However, we can also do other things to help remind ourselves to stay in the here and now.

 

During the initial two years of practice after coming out of my adversity, I felt very inspired about this point of practice. I wanted to be as present as possible and not miss a moment of life and practice so that I’d stay positive and engaged. Over time, I gradually built up several helpful habits to remind me to check in with myself throughout the day.

 

As part of my exercise regime which supported this whole life change, I walk for thirty minutes every morning without fail and use this time to reflect on practice. I will also remind myself about trying to excel during my day, and I’ll reflect on the nature of positive mental states and cultivating them.

 

Along with reading all the practice points in all three focus elements in a very conscious way every morning, I also have other pertinent practice points that are specifically relevant at that moment. I’m constantly taking down new and ongoing reflections and I also journal most days. I read these extra practice points and reflection every morning while having breakfast. This keeps me engaged and inspired to be aware as I can and keep striving in all practices.

 

When I wake up in the mornings, I get up immediately as soon as I’m conscious and sit on the edge of my bed without giving in to the desire to sleep more (this took some training). Sitting there I just become aware of the state of my mind. Does it feel clear, are there any leftover negative feelings from yesterday? Am I anxious or worried about something I have to do today at work, or personally. It only takes a moment to check in, then I continue on with my morning wake up routine.

 

I also send scheduled emails to myself a few times a day with messages reminding me to check in with my overall state of being. It’s also a reminder to take at least a few minutes break from work, take a drink of water and ground myself. I change these messages up regularly to keep it fresh.

 

Any time I have spare mental space throughout the day, if I’m walking somewhere, riding my motorbike, taking a lunch time walk, I’ll try to be as aware as possible and check in with my mental state, how I’m feeling, and invite an overall sense of how things have been over the past few days. I might reflect on something I’m specifically practising at the moment. I also have ongoing other practice points that I might read and reflect on.

 

During my daily afternoon exercise, I remind myself to be as focused as possible. Sometimes I’ll be doing a workout or running and be completely occupied by unrelated thinking, outside concerns or literally anything other than what I’m doing. Instead I focus as much as I can on the activity at hand, like how I’m handling the intensity, what’s my form like, how much effort am I putting in, can I push a little more?

 

I will also bring to mind my motivation, the sense that what I’m doing is so beneficial and supports all areas of my life. I’ll also reflect on the mental training and discipline of exercising, staying in the pocket, challenging myself.

 

And of course, there’s meditation itself. I will never stop strongly encouraging its practice due to how beneficial it is. It has the effect of more firmly grounding us in the present moment, just by practicing it on a daily basis, and it doesn’t have to be an hour every day, it can be as little as 10 minutes to see the effects.

 

The main thing is try to practice as regularly as possible, and it's something we can do anywhere. On the way to work on public transport, during lunch on a park bench, waiting for a meeting or appointment, there’s even the practice of walking meditation. However, I find it very helpful to do it every morning in a space set aside for its practice. Meditating every morning has the effect of resetting our mind which then imbues our whole day with a steady and grounded mindset.

 

Even though this practice point is at the end of the awareness focus element, it is very much about staying inspired and motivated about practice and positive change. If we’re immersed in all our practices, all that we’re undertaking, it gives us an awesome sense of purpose and a natural urge to strive which energises everything we do.

 

We’re riding this wave of positive and conscious intentional action that continues to give positive feedback and supports further growth. The more we can remain fully conscious, the better we can be at directing our mind and our journey.