Wow!….Put your hand up!
How many of you admit they are not conscious a lot of the time? If a good percentage of you don’t admit this issue, you are lying to yourself, and you are robbing yourself of valuable time.
Each second of your life is valuable. Read other podcasts of mine (please do), and you will see how unique you are! I'm so much to blame for this myself too, and don't even want to think how much time I have lost. So, if you have ever thought about your past or drifting into the future of things that haven't come yet, you have not been conscious.
Now….take just a half hour of your day and note every time your mind wanders. Think about that over a day, week, month. We are not conscious. It’s called Monkey Brain. I have heard Buddhists say it often. It jumps around everything else, but what you are doing at that second. We are all missing out. I helped myself out of a panic attack by grabbing an Orange and went on a total focus of what I was about to do when eating the Orange. Even to the point of seeing and paying attention to the peel turning over and over as it went towards the bottom of the sink. Feeling the skin, smelling the orange, feeling the ribs in each segment as it went into my mouth. The juice. Hoe did it taste? Was it sweet, sour or a combination. Feeling the juice go down my throat. Was it warm, cold and so on until I ate the Orange Total Focus!!! When your mind wanders? Pull it straight back. Do this throughout your day with everything. TOTAL FOCUS!!
I went to London at the beginning of February 2019. I have the pleasure and much gratitude to visit London where I still have family. As I sat in Orlando International Airport, with my headphones on, I started to listen to some music. When I looked up, I couldn't believe how focused I became on people with no clue what's going on around them. Including myself. A large majority of the people around the gate sitting and waiting had their focus on their phone or laptop or whatever gadget is robbing their mind. Again, including myself. It made me say to myself...Wow! This is us becoming glued to technology, robbing ourselves of valuable time. Your time! My time! Of course they weren’t all like this in the area, but a good proportion was. People that stood out to me was a parent with about 3 kids playing while waiting. Enjoying the moments they had before going on a long flight. They were smiling, talking and playing. totally in the moment.
So I am going to start small, by putting down devices unless used for meditation which I do. Beyond that, I want to give devices up for a couple hours and work my way to a Sunday of no phone no devices. Read, pick up a book. Chat with somebody. Go around and see somebody. Go out for a dinner with old friends, new friends. Give total focus. Listen to people and don’t speak. Stay in the moments.
Now you are conscious and aware. It feels amazing doesn't it?
Namaste