Awareness. Development of awareness in the mental sphere

Any of us can live, feeling every moment, deeply understanding every spoken word and being aware of our every action and the actions of other people. Any of us can live, receiving from life the same pleasure that sages, philosophers, spiritual teachers and even psychologists so often talk about. But not everyone can boast of this skill, because the majority, even thinking about such things, still continue to live “automatically”, by inertia. This is akin to how a small boat is tossed from side to side by the waves of a raging ocean and gusts of heavy wind.

However, this is far from an evil fate and not an inevitable fate prepared for man. With desire and a certain amount of persistence, he can change the situation - get rid of restrictions, prejudices and fears, learn to boldly and adequately evaluate himself, others and what is happening around him, draw conclusions from all this and improve his life. Perhaps this is due to awareness.

What is mindfulness?

Before we talk about why and how to gain mindfulness, it is worth clarifying what it is. From a psychological point of view, mindfulness is a state in which a person monitors his current experiences, focusing on the present moment and without being distracted by thoughts about the past or future. It represents the ability of consciousness to introspect (internal observation) of its activities. This means that individual experiences are perceived by the person directly and as they are. In most cases, awareness is aimed at internal states, such as intuition or sensory perception of events occurring in the external world.

Philosophy also has a lot of interesting things to say about mindfulness. For example, Rene Descartes, who became one of the first to study consciousness from a scientific point of view, formulated the famous formula “I think, therefore I am.” And by thinking he understood everything that a person does consciously - through introspection. From here we can draw a simple conclusion: man exists, i.e. lives only when he is aware of himself and everything that happens around him.

In addition, religions (for example, Buddhism) and many people also talk about mindfulness. The works of such famous people as Osho, Carlos Castaneda, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Victor Pelevin, Sri Aurobindo, Porfiry Ivanov, Pyotr Uspensky are devoted to the development of this ability in one form or another. Many amazing books have been written on this topic by world-famous authors (Mark Williams, Danny Penman, Michael Chaskalson, Laurence Levasseur, Richard Moss, Eckhart Tolle and others).

Thus, the topic of awareness worries a huge number of people, and not only those who have devoted themselves to spiritual quests, but also those who simply want to develop and improve their lives, achieve goals and personal growth, to better understand themselves and the people with whom they communicate. . But let's talk in more detail about whether it needs to be developed at all and what it gives. You can start with this video.

Do you need to be aware and why?

The state of mindfulness looks very attractive, but before you begin to develop it, everyone must decide for themselves whether they have the courage to lead a conscious life. This presupposes a sober view of things, a complete rejection of self-deception, a clear understanding of one’s actions and actions, and responsibility for all their consequences.

To become a person who has all these qualities, you need to be truly brave. And only if a person is ready to take off the “rose-colored glasses” and see the true world and the true self in it, can we talk about developing awareness. Otherwise, nothing will come of it, and he will return to such pleasant illusions and self-deception.

Are you ready to pay this price? If yes, read on.

What will awareness give you?

So, a conscious person becomes more responsible, and not only in relation to himself, but also in relation to those around him. He begins to think about his words, actions and reactions, and make them such that they do not harm absolutely anyone, thereby turning a chaotic existence into a harmonious life.

Being aware, a person solves many life issues much more effectively and copes with problems and difficulties, adequately and impartially analyzing all their aspects. In addition, awareness gives the ability to even experience troubles, but still enjoy life, paying attention to its seemingly most insignificant manifestations, such as a blow of wind, the first snow, summer rain or sunrise.

Of course, relationships with loved ones become something very important and valuable. Ordinary people turn out to be dear to the heart, and feelings that have lost their former passion flare up with renewed vigor, revealing many new facets. But let's not dive into the lyrics.

The development of awareness is the key to understanding what is happening around and inside us, the path to recognizing false strategies and beliefs, a tool for identifying unconscious mental reactions, the ability to make more sober conclusions and not distorted by internal states, and effectively plan your actions.

Most people either do not suspect or do not attach importance to the fact that their behavior is determined by mental reactions based on views, concepts, beliefs and attitudes formed in the course of life. They become a prism or even a distorted mirror through which we look at life, the world and other people. But, unfortunately, we see not what actually is, but a projection distorted by our perception.

For example, a person, unconsciously obeying his habits and beliefs, instinctively perceives people with distrust and aggressiveness. There may be a negative experience behind his back, or someone may have inspired him that people cannot be trusted. This is the distorted mirror through which he sees and evaluates even good people. Similar and modified situations can be observed in other areas of life: someone gets angry when they interrupt him, when they make fun of him, someone curses life when obstacles are encountered on his way, etc.

The well-known behaviorist formula “stimulus-response” works here, when the human psyche mechanistically responds to external stimuli. And such emotional impulses, automatic reactions and reactive actions make up our lives. It’s no wonder that every now and then there are “negatives”, “whiners”, “evil people” and distrustful people who are tired of life and do not believe in anything good and bright.

By placing ourselves in a position of dependence on momentary emotions and reactions, we begin to live like robots or unconscious organisms. We lose the ability to adequately perceive phenomena and events, are guided by ineffective behavioral strategies and patterns, are unable to analyze even our own actions and reactions, and become slaves to emotions and habits.

Moreover, we can say with regret that a person who lives unconsciously will constantly repeat himself in his thoughts and actions, being deprived of the ability to change himself, situations and life in general. Acting stereotypically, as he is used to, he may come to the conclusion that life is pain and nothing can be changed. And even if he wants to change everything and begins to take drastic measures for these changes, behavioral automatism will still act over and over again, leading to the same result.

The reason for all this is our unfortunate prism, which distorts our view of the world. But this is not a reason to give up, because this prism can be changed - through the development of awareness in every thought, in every word, in every reaction, in every action. Then negativity and dullness will be replaced by positivity and bright colors, automatism will be replaced by tracking, mechanistic actions will be replaced by thoughtful steps, emotional and unconscious perception will be balanced and conscious. And we invite you to start making these changes with us.

A little experience in mindfulness

To begin, feel awareness right in this moment. Look at your right hand and try to feel everything you feel in your fingertips, in the phalanges, in your palms. Feel the blood pulsating in your hand; if possible, try to feel subtle vibrations, as if slightly pressing on your fingers and palm. Spend 3-5 minutes on this activity, and only then continue reading.

For the past few minutes you have been practicing awareness of your hand. Remember how before this you simply read, but did not pay any attention to the hand - you did not notice it, as if it did not exist. But now you have fully experienced it. And a similar technique can be used anywhere and anytime: when you are walking in the park, driving to work, washing dishes, typing on the computer. The subject of awareness can be the wind and the rustling of leaves, raindrops on glass, hand movements, the sound of hitting keys, etc.

Actually, in the same way you need to be aware of your thoughts and actions, reactions and emotions, desires and urges to do something, both alone with yourself and when communicating with other people. You just need to look, listen, feel, touch as carefully as possible. At the same time, you don’t need to analyze anything, because as soon as you start doing this, thoughts will immediately begin to swarm in your head. This is called internal dialogue, and it serves as a hindrance to awareness.

This practice presupposes a proper attitude towards the very fact of attention and presence in the notorious moment “here and now”. Mindfulness can be compared to a flashlight that everyone has, but no one turns on. But when we press the button and become aware of what is happening, the light of this flashlight illuminates certain areas of darkness and shows the direction to move.

We would like to warn you that when you just start using your “flashlight”, it will shine, as they say, barely, and you will need to make a lot of effort so that it does not go out. But as you practice, the “charge” will become more and more powerful, and your awareness will begin to spread to everything that surrounds you. We think that wise mentors such as Krishnamurti, Gurdjieff or Osho will agree with us on this - awareness and its development occupy an honorable place in their numerous works.

Now is the time to move from the short mindfulness practice we gave you to get a little experience into a thorough one. The exercises and techniques presented below will help you better understand how to gain awareness and develop this quality in yourself. And if you practice at least once a day, very soon it will become a natural part of your life, and you will begin to notice amazing changes in it and see things that you have not seen before.

Mindfulness practice

We won’t argue that not everyone can just take it and suddenly become a conscious person (if there are such people at all). However, with the help of small steps you will be able to rise to a level from where you can observe in its pure form everything you want.

Extreme care

These recommendations alone will be enough to understand how to begin to develop and gain awareness. But we want to offer you several more exercises to develop awareness, each of which is aimed at a specific area: intuitive, mental and emotional.

Development of awareness in the intuitive sphere

The first exercise is performed very simply, although, based on modern trends, it is somewhat unusual. All you need is a day without using your phone, tablet, TV or computer. It is also better not to plan anything for this day.

All your actions should come from intuition. You need to pay attention to what your inner voice tells you, stay focused on your inner state as often and as long as possible, try to do everything with maximum concentration in order to realize the influence of habitual reactions and patterns.

The main task is to learn to trust intuitive feelings. It is not at all necessary to sit locked up within four walls. You can walk, go shopping, communicate with someone, but the influence of external factors should be minimized. The exercise can be done once a week.

Development of awareness in the mental sphere

The second exercise will help you before any undertaking, learn to see different ways to achieve goals and options for self-realization, and also get rid of perfectionism. The point is that you plan your future (even going out to buy bread), relying not on past experience, but on goals and desires that are relevant to you now. Before starting any business, tell yourself that you are taking on an exciting experiment.

There is no need to perceive a new task as something that must be completed at any cost. Repeat several times that you are simply waiting for a new interesting experience, and there is no need to do this task in the best possible way right away. With this approach, you will become easier to relate to your affairs and responsibilities and learn not to attach excessive importance to them. Accordingly, when doing things, it will become easier for you to concentrate and be aware.

Development of awareness in the emotional sphere

The third exercise is aimed at changing your relationship with your Self and the surrounding reality. It also develops the ability to accept and understand, to see the essence, and not minor details.

The task is this: make a decision that over the next week, in response to any grievances and irritation, you will mentally send them to the “initiator” with at least ten sincere kind words. Record all your thoughts like: “He’s back with his stupid jokes,” “What a ridiculous hat,” “She’s tired of being late,” or “They’re behaving like sheep,” etc.

As soon as you notice such a thought, immediately remember your mindfulness practice, and mentally respond in a positive way: express compliments, look for positive aspects, find evidence of your own wrongness. Having formed a positive thought, send it to the person who caused the negativity. In addition to this, you can use another technique - give this person a bouquet of flowers in your imagination to make him feel good.

These are just a few ways to become more mindful in your life. You don't have to apply everything at once. It is better to go towards the goal little by little, but constantly, observing your characteristics and the changes that are taking place.

If you learn not to just “kill” the alarm clock with your hand in the morning, but to notice how beautiful it is outside at such an early hour and to thank life for a new day; if you don’t just answer calls, but listen to the voice and listen carefully to what you say and what they say to you; If you start not just closing your eyes before going to bed, but remembering your day in every detail and analyzing what and how you could have done better, you will already put aside automatism, many fears and insecurities, although you may not even realize it.

Mindfulness begins with a small corner illuminated by the light of an old flashlight, but fueled by your desire and intentional practice, you yourself will begin to glow from within with an invisible light that will attract other people, success, luck and good events to you. And to make it easier for you to gain awareness, we have made a small selection of books on this topic:

• Danny Penman, Mark Williams "Mindfulness. How to find harmony in our crazy world";
• Charles Tart, "Practicing Mindfulness in Everyday Life";
• Osho “Mindfulness today. How to do meditation. Part of your daily life?
• Eckhart Tolle "The Power of Now";
• Laurence Levasseur "50 exercises to develop the ability to live in the present."

And in conclusion, another wonderful exercise to develop awareness from cultural scientist, philosopher and famous lecturer Ilya Kurylenko. Practice mindfulness, friends, be attentive to yourself and the world around you, learn to see magic in ordinary things. We wish you happiness and amazing discoveries on your path!

A subjective state in which we are aware of something. The term has different meanings - from awareness of stimuli in the physical world, to awareness of our inner “I” and its impact on our behavior.

AWARENESS

In the process of psychotherapy, the patient achieves a clear, explicit understanding of previously unconscious aspects and interconnections of his own mental life, internal (intrapsychic) ​​problems and conflicts, characteristics of his behavior and emotional response, relationships with others, as well as the reasons for the formation and development of these psychological phenomena. O. in a broader sense also means the formation of an adequate understanding of other people and the world around us. However, within the framework of psychotherapy, the term "O." characterizes, first of all, the patient’s achievement of understanding of himself, his own mental life, interconnections and relationships in himself and with himself, with other people and the world around him, i.e. O. contributes to the formation of adequate self-understanding, the “image of “I””, ideas about oneself due to the integration by consciousness of previously unconscious material. O. plays a certain role in almost all existing psychotherapeutic directions and schools, but its significance and share in the psychotherapeutic process, the focus (historical or interpersonal, “here and now” or “there and then”, etc.) ideas about the actual material O. ., the methods and techniques used by psychotherapists to achieve O. are completely determined by the basic theoretical orientation.

The main goal of psychoanalysis is expressed by Freud S.: “Where the Id was, there will be the Ego.” Psychoanalysis uses knowledge of specific techniques and a special (psychoanalytic) understanding of mental functioning to select and conduct psychotherapeutic interventions. To develop the “I” as one of the components of the personality structure in psychoanalysis, the psychotherapist, with the help of special technical techniques (therapeutic alliance, free association, dream analysis, interpretation of defenses and transference, high frequency of psychotherapeutic sessions, etc.), strives to lead the patient to O. protective psychological the mechanisms of his transference reactions, in particular, as they manifest themselves during the interaction between the patient and the psychotherapist. The task of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy is also to identify the nature of the patient’s traumatic experiences of personal conflicts and to free them from them by achieving insight and catharsis, repressed drives, and understanding the psychological causes of neurotic symptoms. The most important skill that a psychoanalyst must have is his ability to relate the patient's conscious thoughts, feelings, fantasies, impulses and behavior to their unconscious predecessors (Greenson R. R., 1994). Understanding (along with listening and responding, followed by returning to listening to the patient) is one of the 4 phases in the implementation of the technique of expressing the patient’s thoughts and feelings during psychoanalytic psychotherapy (Luborsky L., 1984). O. is associated with the inevitable resistance of the patient, mainly due to the action of special mechanisms that prevent this O. Successful overcoming of resistance in the process of psychotherapy ends with O. mechanisms of maladaptive psychological defense.

O. irrational attitudes of “maladaptive cognitions” (“automatic thoughts”) or basic mechanisms that cause a discrepancy between what a person perceives and how he evaluates what he perceives is the main task of cognitive psychotherapy. The main meaning of cognitive psychotherapy comes down to the statement: it is not things and phenomena that make us unhappy, but the way we perceive them. By encountering a problem-provoking event under various conditions, the patient learns to recognize how irrational attitudes change the perception of the event. The description of the event that caused the consequences that forced him to see a doctor would not require special conditions if, when describing, the patient did not confuse together what happened and how he perceives and evaluates the event. As a result of repeated encounters with the latter, the patient learns to change his perception (vision) during psychotherapy. And finally, he learns the strategy of rational behavior (multiple options) in relation to the event, expanding his range of strategies for solving the problem. It is necessary to recall that problems that lead to a psychotherapist, as a rule, are created not by one irrational attitude, but by several, located in certain connections with each other (hierarchical, parallel, articulatory). O. the nature of these connections is the main task of the psychotherapist and the patient. The question of where to start is usually determined together with the patient. The main techniques of cognitive psychotherapy that make it possible to understand irrational attitudes include changing the perspective of viewing a phenomenon. The patient, instead of fixating on what causes a long-term painful emotion in him, concentrates on the question of how this emotion arises in him, and further realizes the excessive breadth of application of irrational attitudes, their excessive personalization and, as a result, gains the ability to replace them with more accurate and flexible ones , less self-centered, more adaptive and realistic. The task of the psychotherapist is to consistently structure these processes, to help the patient develop several new alternative rules (rational guidelines) that would guide his behavior. The successful solution of this problem is determined by the process of O. and the skillful use of its mechanisms by the psychotherapist.

In humanistic psychotherapy, the significance of the process of vision and its basic mechanisms is most fully revealed by the concepts of personality adopted within the framework of this direction. In the concept of personality, described, for example, by Rogers (Rogers S. R.), certain aspects of the individual’s experience in the process of its development acquire a character symbolized in the form of being, the view of one’s functioning. This is what Rogers calls self-experience. As you interact with the environment, in particular with a significant environment, the self-experience in O. gradually develops into the self-concept (the real “I”, that is, the idea of ​​\u200b\u200boneself). Another important link is the ideal “I” - the idea of ​​​​what a person would like to be. The ideal “I” is largely formed under external influence, under the influence of norms and values ​​imposed on a person by the environment and not always consistent with his own needs and aspirations, with his real “I”. As the “I” increases, the individual develops a need for positive evaluation. This need, according to the author, is central to all people, comprehensive and constant. In order to maintain a positive assessment from others, the individual begins to falsify some of the assessments he experiences and perceives them only according to the criterion of value for others. A significant obstacle arises to the development of the individual’s psychological maturity, his development as a self-actualizing personality, and neurotic behavior is formed.

Frustration of the need for positive evaluation (self-esteem) causes anxiety. The level of anxiety depends on the degree of threat to the self-structure. If the defense process is ineffective, the experience is completely symbolized in O., and the integrity of the I-structure is destroyed by this experience of incongruity, correctly symbolized in O. As a result, a state of disorganization occurs. The basic principles of client-centered psychotherapy developed by Rogers also correspond to the above understanding of personality and disorders of its functioning.

It is worth highlighting the personality-oriented (reconstructive) psychotherapy of Karvasarsky, Isurina, Tashlykov as a variant of domestic psychotherapy, developed at the Psychoneurological Institute named after. V. M. Bekhtereva. O. within the framework of this method is usually considered in 3 areas: intellectual (cognitive aspect), emotional and behavioral. In general, the tasks of intellectual O. are reduced to the following areas: O. relationships between “personality-situation-illness”; O. interpersonal plan of one’s own personality; O. genetic (historical) plan. The relationship “personality-situation-illness” is not of decisive importance for the psychotherapeutic effectiveness itself; rather, it creates a stable motivation for the patient’s active and conscious participation in the psychotherapeutic process. In the emotional sphere, in the process of O., the patient begins to understand and verbalize his feelings, can acquire sincerity in relation to feelings towards himself, reveal his problems with the corresponding experiences, make emotional correction of his relationships, modify the way he experiences emotional reactions, perceives relationships with others. The patient’s ability to correct maladaptive reactions and forms of behavior, taking into account their meaning and functions in the structure of psychopathological disorders, is the main consequence of the O. process in the behavioral sphere. In the personality-oriented (reconstructive) psychotherapy of Karvasarsky, Isurina, Tashlykov, especially in its group form, not only O. is important, but mainly the formation of a more adequate self-awareness and the expansion of its boundaries.

The process of O. is given great importance in almost all psychotherapeutic systems. With the introduction of video technology into psychotherapy, it became possible to have a more targeted influence on the formation of the O. process in various areas, which leads to its acceleration and thereby to an increase in the effectiveness of psychotherapy.

I've been thinking a lot about the differences between knowledge, awareness and consciousness, and what they have in common. One way to explain the differences between these concepts is to focus listeners' attention on the bodily localization of the sensations associated with them.

Knowledge occurs due to the work of the senses: the nose signals an unpleasant odor, the skin indicates whether the body is cold or hot, and the ears report whether the sound was too quiet or loud. however, such knowledge does not always lead to action.

Knowledge is associated with the sensation of a change in the environment. With a statement of fact. Nothing more. This is just extracting data from sensations and impressions.

Awareness- another phenomenon. it is related to the functioning of the brain. You extract data from sensations and think about them (transform them in your mind), wanting to understand what they mean: is it worth eating this food if it smells bad? Should I wear a sweater since it's cold outside?

When moving from knowledge to awareness, a person moves from data to information.

Data are facts perceived by the body; information carries within itself an understanding of what may follow from them. We extrapolate the implications of the data we receive and organize them to make a decision.

Consciousness- something else. It is not a product of the activity of the brain, but comes from the heart, the seat of the soul.

Consciousness compares some absolute value with what it tells us to do with the information received, and with the meaning that it has for us.

• Knowledge emerges as a record of change.
• Awareness manifests itself in understanding the consequences of what we have learned about.
• Consciousness is the understanding of the meaning and value of what we have become aware of.

A person may know about something, but not be aware of this knowledge. Thus, a child who understands that he is cold does not realize the real possibility of getting sick without wearing a sweater.

A person may be aware of the consequences of his actions, but approach them from an unconscious position. Like a company manager who is aware that his production pollutes the environment, but does not suffer from remorse, even knowing that people may suffer.

It seems to me that knowledge is a precondition for awareness, and awareness is a precondition for consciousness; It is impossible to realize something without knowing about it, and to consciously treat something without realizing the consequences of your actions.

I believe that all three components are inherent in us from birth, but develop sequentially. First comes knowledge. As we age, we learn to transform our impressions. This skill allows us to see consequences and develop responses. This is how awareness develops.

Similarly, the “knowledge - awareness” pair serves as the first stage of development in business. It begins with training in maintaining profit and loss statements, extracting data on inventory turnover and accounts receivable from primary documents.

This is how knowledge accumulates about how (in general terms) business works. Business leaders must have experience to make decisions based on the information and knowledge they receive. Managers at different levels acquire it over time with the help of specialists. Along with experience, awareness develops in them. (But not necessarily consciousness.)

How and when does consciousness come?

How to influence the minds of responsible people so that they prevent environmental pollution? And not out of fear of being punished to the fullest extent of the law, but at the behest of one’s own soul!

If a person wants to act consciously, he must awaken his heart. The problem with management education is that we teach future managers knowledge and understanding of the intricacies of financial analysis and market research results. We teach them to be aware of the consequences of decisions made, to understand the meaning of information and how the well-being of the organization will change if they act in one way or another. We develop their intelligence and ability to work with information. Wonderful! What about consciousness?

We do not participate in the development and education of consciousness. We don't educate hearts. We don't allow souls to speak.

The heart is a muscle. The more often you connect it to reasoning, the larger it becomes. And the more carefully you listen to it, the better you hear it.

It seems to me that now we are doing the opposite. All these computer games, where the counting of destroyed opponents is carried out, and television programs, constantly broadcasting murders, destroy our consciousness. They suppress her. Weaken.

We must awaken the hearts of our future leaders

I have a proposal. Include in the curriculum visits to hospitals for cancer patients, trips to habitats of endangered species, and trips to ghetto residential areas. In this way, future leaders may learn to understand how their decisions affect the world in which we all live. Let them see and feel life, do not confine them to studying professional literature and analyzing financial statements.

We must awaken the hearts of our future ones leaders if we want them to make better decisions. It is necessary not only to develop the intellect, but also to educate their souls. Raising consciousness is the main task. This cannot be done through books or classroom discussions. Consciousness comes with experience.

• As corporations become larger and more powerful, think about the danger that irresponsible leaders pose to society. Society cannot control everything with its laws. The world is in danger of becoming a tyranny. We need leaders whose actions are guided by their hearts, not by fear of government fines.

I have a client in Brazil who works in the heavy industry. His company was offered an order for the production of heavy weapons. He refused, despite the profitability of this offer.

I know many business administration students who would never work for a cigarette company. Not for any money. And we, the specialists of the Adizes Institute, will not advise, and therefore provide assistance, to companies that are destroying our planet. Let your heart not be silent. Listen to your soul.

Adizes I.K. New thoughts on personal development.

There comes a time on the spiritual path when, having had enough of reading and attending courses and seminars, the need awakens to overcome the limitations of mental perception, become independent from the many faces of external influences, to find a guru within oneself - discover your true nature. And then without the illusion of your own changes, Honestly Looking at ourselves from the outside, we wonder how my inner growth is expressed? Why is awareness associated with it and they say that it is it that transforms a person from a person driven by desires and passions, identified with the mind and body, into a spiritual being realizing the Creator’s plans? What is its essence, how does it differ from understanding, and why does it not happen at the level of the mind?

Part 1

Mind, understanding and ego.

Awareness is accomplished internal consciousness, which is located in our depths, closer to the Core - the Source. This is an impersonal vision from the spiritual center, when there is no involvement, which means identifications, no filters and assessments of the mind, which has completely different tasks.

Mind functions in the mental-emotional space of the individual on the vibrations of a more superficial external layer of consciousness. For him, everything is an object, and in order to study and understand it, he breaks it down into logical components, analyzes and explains it on the basis of experience and accumulated information. Thanks to this, we master the unfamiliar, develop intelligence and thinking, master knowledge and profession, and develop abilities. Our mind is wonderful tool understanding.

But our problem is that we identify with its content - thoughts, ideas, assessments, emotions, ideas, desires, goals - everything that a person lives by. And a false image of oneself is born - the ego. And this artificial “I”, in eternal fear for its survival, keeps us in the trap of external subjective consciousness, not allowing us to move on. This means that we perceive reality not as a Single Whole, but as many separate forms; we interpret everything through our unconscious filter programs, narrow worldview concepts, and mental judgments. And since we identify ourselves with them, all these interpretations stand between us and the living World - the Father-Creator. Thus, having separated from Him, we perceive ourselves as a separate form - body-mind and image, built on the descriptions of others instilled in us.

Therefore, no matter how many academic degrees we receive, no matter what skill we master, the expanded mentality, above which we do not rise, makes us more and more closed, that is, focused on ourselves. This is how we define ourselves their achievements, do not go beyond their ideas and assessments, every moment we unconsciously identify with their thoughts about the past and the future, with overwhelming emotions, we accept only what allows own“truth”, strengthening, making the image heavier myself. And, without realizing it, we live in a hypnotic sleep with ideas about our imperfection, and in a state of dissatisfaction we are looking for someone who would help us improve ourselves, instead of discovering our True Self in our depths. And, paradoxical as it may be at first glance and phenomenal in essence, it is the ego that leads to Him when we examine its nature. There it dissolves in our Nature / in Awareness.

Many Enlightened Masters advise starting this Path to yourself with introspection. Why?

Self-observation, conscious identification and the body.

Self-observation precisely redirects consciousness from the external to the internal, turning the mind-ego into a mind-instrument, and instead of every-minute identification with thoughts and experiences, it helps to feel like Consciousness residing in the present moment and merge with living reality. However, many people think that it is incredibly difficult to observe the sensations in the body while walking, eating, working, talking; reflect thoughts flashing in the mind; track emotions, feelings, reactions, desires, our manifestation in relationships - everything we live by. And you just need, in the words of Castaneda’s Don Juan, to “move the assemblage point”, directing attention to the spiritual center. From this depth, everything is noted, observed, much pleases, revealing its awakening meaning. The problem is not overwhelming: we are not inside it, and we see a way out.

And negativity without emotional coloring becomes not a condemnation of oneself, but an awareness that fears, anger, envy, hatred, etc. , as well as problems and troubles - messages from within, leading to spiritual growth, to the Light that we carry within ourselves. And it becomes obvious how responsible we are for our conditions, for building relationships, and for our lives.

In detached observation, we do not describe, evaluate, or interpret. We directly perceive That-What-Is, feel and realize.

So, for example, being in nature is no longer just the fact that I am now on the seashore / in the forest / in the park, and it’s beautiful / restless / cold here (any assessment), but the unity of my Soul with the Essential Feature of the sea / forest/park.

This unity of the perceiver, the perceived and the perception is the process of awareness in which the illumination of Clarity occurs.

Such experience convinces us that perception by external forms occurs only in the mind, and we, as consciousness, function outside the activity of the mental and without its qualities. And as a particle of Consciousness, we are energetically connected to any point of Creation and can feel it as ourselves.

This is how we learn from our own experience our multidimensionality. And since the sensations and awareness caused by this occur in the space of the physical body, it becomes for us not just a material carrier, which sometimes causes serious trouble, but, like the mind, a wonderful instrument of Consciousness / Spirit.

Through it, He directs us to the current moment, helps us to merge with Life and comprehend Its perfection - after all, the eternal “now” is Life. And feeling the body from the inside, we realize how the Spirit pushes us to change something in nutrition or habits, how through sensations He tells everyone in their own way, due to their uniqueness, where is true and where is false. How inexplicably it keeps you from doing wrong and develops intuitive perception, transferring consciousness to another level. How forcedly, through illness, He directs us to the realization that the beliefs in which we live are erroneous conclusions of the mind-ego, with which it proves its importance by attracting from reality that which confirms these judgments.

Awareness and Awakening.

In awareness, the essence of what our attention is directed to is revealed to us. Without explanation and analysis, as something that simply is. Consciousness at this level sees everything

Expanded and holistic - both space and everything that happens in it (in contrast to the mind, which is able to concentrate on one thing - a background or a figure),

Without treating it as positive or negative, but as That-That-Is (the mind automatically reacts and instantly gives assessments),

Detached, which excludes identifications and any concepts (that is, the ego is eliminated). And we no longer reproduce reality through our own prisms, but are in direct contact with it.

At the point of the present (not the past or future where the mind resides),

Therefore the mind becomes silent, becomes a silent, impartial Observer, and in this process the “I” disappears. The one who looks, speaks, explains everything, sticks labels merges with the very seeing, speaking, awareness. And there is no one who should see everything holistically, become non-judgmental, not identify and be in the “here and now”. And there is the True Self, which is That-What-Is at the moment - Life itself.

Then we learn from our own experience that we are not a limited mind with its narrow, one-sided understanding, not a body that walks, talks, and does everything. They are instruments with which we mistakenly identify ourselves. We are much more and difficult to comprehend - we are a Spirit that does not manifest itself in any way, a Consciousness that does not define itself through experiences, through knowledge and achievements, but realizes itself as I Am Presence here, at the current moment. I exist. No interpretations or explanations.

To discover oneself as a pulsating Spirit, as the presence of the Self that simply Is, without complementary definitions, without the “I” that states it, means to come to Self-Awareness or Awakening of consciousness from a hypnotic sleep.

It's happening By God's Grace, alone with ourselves, in the utmost immersion into our depths, where we become Emptiness, Silence and Peace. And as paradoxical as it may be for the mind, they are our True Self. It simply Is. As an indefinable Spirit / pure Consciousness without I, mine, me. B without qualities. Without something to experience, and without someone who experiences. And this is our Essence. Our Source. God is in us. Awareness.

From this depth, the essence of what is happening hidden behind the external form becomes clear, the level of consciousness of the writer or speaker, the reason for any effect, the motives of actions, falsehood and sincerity, the intentions of a person becomes clear, does he want to involve us in his game and why... And so just as there is no “I”, no judgment of someone, and no one to compare everything with the subconscious ideal image of ourselves, so there is no feeling of our own imperfection, and there are no reactive choices that we later bitterly regret. I Am Presence – this is our Nature. This is Awareness. She, being the silent voice of the Spirit, is able to change fate, get rid of beliefs that distort life, and harmonize the most tense relationships.

Case from practice:

After another major quarrel with his wife, the man moved in with his mother, who lives alone in a 3-room apartment. Knowing her domineering character, her desire to control and subjugate everything, he plans to rent another place as soon as possible. And his demands are not high, and they offer many options, but none suits him. It’s as if someone is deliberately keeping him under his mother’s roof. "Why?" - he is perplexed.

The mind assumes that the relationship with the wife is probably not exhausted yet, and we need to return to it. But, plunging into the situation and connecting with his Soul, awareness turns in the other direction. It turns out that this person is already mature enough to look at his mother differently, reconsider their difficult relationship, forgive her mistakes, his categoricalness, soften and allow the love that unites them both to manifest itself. This is what the Soul directs him to, not letting this woman leave the house.

As a result of internal work, our hero remained to live with his mother for now. But they became truly close people who, replacing reproaches and criticism with humor, touchingly care about each other.

In self-observation, there is a disidentification with thoughts and any ideas about oneself, both positive and negative, for example, I am a success or a failure / my mother suppressed me, and I became insecure, obstinate, aggressive / I am unlucky in my personal life, etc. Then the illusory image of oneself becomes an object and loses its power.

The study of where such ideas come from, having become subpersonalities, leads to the Source within oneself, where they dissolve.

And immersion in the depths of the Source reveals the True Self. In It we are calm, confident, unconditioned by anything external, not subject to other people’s influences, not subject to labels with which someone tries to hurt our self-esteem. And a new stage in its development begins.

In this article we will talk about what mindfulness is. It is important not only to understand what mindfulness is, but also to live mindfully.

Mindfulness is the key to all doors

From the great teachers of the past such as Jesus, Kabir, Nanak, Buddha, Muhammad, to modern teachers such as Karl Renz, Ethart Tolle, Dalai Lama, Osho, we can say that all these teachers taught only one thing - mindfulness.

Each teacher called mindfulness differently. Jesus called it awakening, so he said more than once: stay awake, be alert, but people did not understand him, they thought that being awake meant not sleeping in bed, but they did not understand that even if they were not in bed, it was not means they are awake. You can sleep on the go.

Ethart Tolle called mindfulness presence, or the power of the now.
Osho called mindfulness witnessing. Whatever you call it, the essence does not change.

Awareness is the understanding that thoughts are illusory and they carry only a shadow of the past or future, and the real reality is where the human body is, that is, the real reality surrounds the body here and now.

Mindfulness helps you see your inner world

Thanks to awareness, a person begins to get acquainted with his inner world; before this, only the outer world existed for him; now the inner dimension opens up.

A person who becomes less and less reactive. It is more difficult to control him, he no longer reacts to the same stimuli in the same way, he has the opportunity to freely choose how to react to a particular stimulus. Such a person becomes more and more spontaneous and unpredictable.

Let’s say that if an unconscious person is shouted at, then, depending on his habit, he can either shout back or, fearing shouts, avoid conflicts. An unconscious person always reacts, for example, to shouts in the same way, but a conscious person can choose whether to shout, that is, go into conflict, or avoid conflict, and this depends on the situation. A conscious person increases the effectiveness of communicating with people and increases resistance to stress.

It is important to understand that there are three main aspects of the inner world to be aware of:

• body;
• soul.

Body awareness

The very initial stage of awareness begins with the body. At this stage, a person learns to feel his body, be able to direct his consciousness into the body, feel how energy flows in the body. The skill of listening to internal organs, heartbeat, etc. appears.

A person begins to better care and love himself, that is, his body. At first, it is difficult for a person to meditate on the body, thoughts are often carried away, a person constantly jumps from awareness to unconsciousness, and often falls asleep during meditation.

Over time, a new level appears when a person realizes that he is not falling asleep, thoughts still come to his head, but do not carry him away, and consciousness remains in the body more and more often and longer. Then a person begins to direct consciousness into the body already on the street, wherever he is, when communicating with people.
The hardest thing, perhaps, is to be aware of your body, move and talk at the same time.

Thought Awareness

Awareness of thoughts or observation of them is, perhaps, the second level of awareness - this is when a person already sees his thoughts and understands that thoughts are thoughts and they have nothing to do with reality.

A person can even laugh at the thoughts that come to his mind, since he has the understanding that he is not a thought and that thoughts often come from the outside, and are not always born in his head.

Life is not as serious as the mind makes it out to be!!!

A person who is aware of his thoughts lives by this principle. Such a person does not get lost in his thoughts, does not follow them, this person is already the master of his mind and does not allow thoughts to lead him into illusions, but consciously directs his attention to the moment now that surrounds his body.

Soul Awareness

Soul awareness is the third level, and can only be mastered after the first two stages of awareness have been completed.

In fact, all three stages of awareness of the three aspects of a person - body, mind, and soul - are very interconnected and complement each other, and they were separated for better understanding and assimilation of the material.

Awareness of the soul occurs due to the awareness of emotions and feelings, moods; at this stage, a person can clearly distinguish emotions from feelings and be aware of his mood and manage it.
Emotions come after thoughts, no matter what thoughts they are, positive or negative.
And feelings come from the soul, not from thoughts. Thoughts can come to mind after feelings, that is, emotions are a consequence of thoughts, and feelings are always their source.

Feelings are on a deeper level and most often come from the chest. And emotions are felt in the abdominal area, but this should not be taken as truth, all this is individual.
It is important to understand that this article on mindfulness is not awareness - it is just a direction towards it, but if you are reading it, then you are closer to awareness or awakening than ever before.
Awareness is directed towards awareness or perception

This is the fourth stage, which already happens to a person on his own, after he has already gone through the three previous stages. At this stage, awareness is directed to perception, the person already asks himself the question, who perceives all this, who I am, at this stage the person remembers Who He Really Is.

Conclusions on the topic of what mindfulness is:

• mindfulness helps a person to finally discover the inner dimension in addition to the external world;
• awareness gives a person freedom of choice, the ability to react the way a person chooses to a particular stimulus;
• awareness occurs in three stages: awareness of the body, mind and soul, all these stages are interconnected and complement each other;
• awareness has been called differently by different people at different times: awakening, witnessing, presence, being here and now, awake, alert, and so on; all these words have the same essence - a person rises to a new stage of evolutionary spiritual growth.

The consequence of a conscious lifestyle is unconditional love, joy, a more fulfilling and vibrant life.