Activate our Awareness

 Getting caught in the wave

We as human beings can be stressed out on a daily basis. The world today moves so quickly especially with digitalization being front and center. We get caught up in the wave or as we sometimes call the daily grind which moves so fast that we cannot be in the moment. Weeks and months continue along and everything is the same.

So how do we deal with all the confusion? What's the purpose of us just marching along with how society functions. Does it bring us real happiness? This frustration that we feel will manifest itself further unless we look into our minds to understand it better. We should be able to calm ourselves through meditation but it takes a lot of practice. We are always confronted with the craziness of our minds or as some call the "Monkey mind".

Monkey Mind

The idea of Monkey Mind is a Buddhist term which means "unsettled, indecisive or uncontrollable". Many of us have this scattered mind which creates negative ideas towards everything that is going on in our daily lives. We think for example " will I ever lose my job?" That will then spiral into another thought like "if I lose my job then how will I support my family?". Then it could continue to " if I cannot support my family then will my spouse leave me?" 

This sounds pretty exhausting however its the reality of the situation when we allow the Monkey Mind to be in control. The Monkey Mind is like our ego which has that internal dialogue with us and pumping us full of fear over every situation. With this little devil sitting on our shoulder it becomes nearly impossible to be present and focused in the moment. But there is hope through active awareness.

Active Awareness

Having an active awareness in my view is the idea of always being fully present in the moment and not reacting to every situation. We need to take full responsibility for our lives and not blame others for it. We need to look at ourselves to see our flaws which may be affecting our lives in a negative way. For example, if one is physically overweight they could just blame that they have bad genes in their family. If a person has active awareness then they take responsibility for this issue and make the necessary adjustments like eating better and exercising. 

Our minds are full of thoughts and emotions that we do not want to deal with head on. Having good mindfulness at all times during the day will give us the active awareness to calm the mind which tries to work against us. When a situation arises instead of saying how do I deal with this problem or I cannot handle the stress, we just manage and find a solution. Sometimes the solution is easier than expected if we remain open minded.

When emotions are high then logic is low

I remember one time my wife and I had went out for dinner and as we were leaving I noticed that one of our car's tires was low on air. My immediate reaction would be like most people which is what do I do now or how am I going to get home. That feeling of high anxiety will not allow us to think logically to find a solution since we are focused so much on the problem. My wife kindly guided me to stay calm and she reminded me that we had a device in the car to blow air back in the tire. Problem solved.

If we fight with the mind then it will fight back. Be in touch with all the confusion our lives present to us and pay attention to how we feel instead of acting out irrationally. We often allow the wear and tear of our daily lives to cause more stress and anxiety than is necessary. If we can be more aware and not react negatively then we can resolve conflicts more effectively.

We can choose to be angry and stressed or be more calm and happy. Which would you prefer? I think serenity is the favored choice. If we explore our mind then everything will come together. We do not have to be caught up in how we have been conditioned over the years, we can harmonize the waves for the better.

Recommended Readings: Becoming SuperNatural by Dr. Joe Dispenza