Conscious living - the art of self awareness

Have you ever driven for miles only to realise that you had done the whole trip on automatic and you couldn't remember the journey?  It happens to most people, things become so automatic that they just slip into the subconscious. I consider myself very lucky that everything stayed as normal during that trip otherwise the result could have been a car wreck.

This is very like life, we develop our own patterns, strategies and beliefs as we grow up. If they seem to work consistently, they settle into our subconscious and are used automatically whenever needed. However unlike my car experience, life is always changing and in particular, we grow up. If we live our lives on automatic, just responding automatically to events the danger is that our lives will end up a bit of a wreck too!

It really is easy to do, busy, complex lives. Demanding high powered jobs. There is no time for ourselves, we are more reliant than ever on our automatic subconscious system to keep us going. We're just not in charge of our lives, we're being driven along by a subconscious system that was formed in our childhood and probably hasn't been looked at since. Now I wonder how many of you, if you really stood back and just took the time to think about this, would think that that is a good idea?  Not many, but still we do it.

Before I finally let my driving metaphor go, let me just ask you one question. I was really concerned that I couldn't remember anything of my car trip but how are you going to feel later in life as you look back and realize that you can hardly remember any of your life journey? Look back over your life, how well do you remember it now?

When you look back at your life, will you remember the journey?

The point I'm trying to make is that many of us allow our lives to be driven along in automatic, so it should be no surprise when people wake up and look around wondering where they are and how they got there. Being alive, even being successful is a long way away from really living.

If you are reading this article because you want to lead a happier and more fulfilling life. If you want to stop the negative patterns in your life that repeatedly sabotage you. Then you need to start thinking and living consciously.

What is conscious living

Conscious living is about taking the time for yourself to think about and choose the life you want. It is about understanding and changing any negative thoughts, patterns and behaviours we may have. It is about raising self awareness, becoming aware of our thoughts and words, choosing them consciously and carefully, taking back our power. By taking  the time to examine our lives, our own needs, and our behaviours we are not only much more likely to achieve the things we seek but also really learn from our past successes and mistakes. In this way, we take back our power and our lives, you are in charge, not your subconscious. But even more importantly, as you live consciously, you are now learning, and can modify old beliefs with your new adult experiences. This means that your automatic responses, which you will always have to rely on for those sudden and immediate responses will now respond along the lines of the person you are now, not the child.