Conscious Living

So what has conscious living got to do with it?

Here we are, we are alive! What's next? A lot of what comes next seems to be a busy scrabble for material stuff that keeps us alive and, at least in the UK, in various levels of comfort.

We can live life by default, and many of us do. We know what we are supposed to do. We are supposed to get a job, get married, have children, retire… and die.

It can be a mechanical process, especially in a culture that is not emotionally literate, for the most part. Agendas are set for our lives by people who are serving their own desires, their own greed and delusions.

Within this context, positive thinking and goal setting help us organise our experience and actions so that we can get ahead, have more of the pie.

It is the same game, played better. Too many of us are living from our masks and unaware of any deeper level. We decorate and make our act more effective, but it is still a mask. Conscious living means we want to be successful in whatever our worldly endeavours are, and we know there is a deeper level to life that if skilfully explored will inform and anchor our daily life activities.

Positive thinking, Goal setting and coaching for better results are very valuable tools for living, as long as they are not also used mechanically or as bolt on extras. This approach can lead to a fragmented life where we may be effective in the world but have no idea what any of it is about, and would be lost if our lives changed suddenly.

Conscious living is a key area where meditation differs from hypnosis, NLP and other 'change' technologies. Meditation provides us with tools for an examined life. As we journey through and with our own awareness we learn first hand about our values and our reactions. We learn about our identity and our non identity and that we can choose how to pick up our mask and craft the illusion which is also a reality, of who we are.

Having said all this, it seems to me that you are either drawn to this kind of enquiry or you are not. If not then there are many powerful techniques you can use to accomplish your aims. If you are drawn to this approach, my caution is to keep to the 'middle way'.

We live in a material/consumerist world. Self enquiry and discovery is not grounded in this world unless it can be applied in the achievement of better quality of life. Conscious living is a concept that is context dependent. For the most part we are not philosophers living in isolated garrets. We are families and wage earners and what ever game we decide, and decide is the main point, to engage in, we do it as a choice, knowing that it is real and unreal at the same time. We learn through meditation when to hold on tightly and when to let go!

Another important aspect of living consciously is being able to let go of limiting beliefs, here is a link to a good site that will help you work more with this area Preparing for Abundance

And don't forget your health! Our body and how we treat it are also crucial to well-being. Check out this site to explore how living consciously and health are intertwined. enableyourhealth.com

Happiness!

For now, I want to recommend the following site: Be Happy 101.com This site offers a complete system on how to achieve maximum happiness in your life, regardless of the circumstances around you, go to www.behappy101.com to help you create your happiest possible life.