UNCONCIOUS VERSUS CONSCIOUS LIVING
Have you ever been to the Daintree rainforest? I just returned from an adventure-filled road trip up to this oldest known rainforest in the world. It’s a good 22 hours drive north from the Gold Coast. I would highly recommend it if you haven’t. And so this brings me to share an insight I received during this time; two weeks away from my regular routine brought up a valuable lesson…
We all get stuck in a routine. Usually a combination of “survival” activities like a job and chores, and “escapism” activities like socialising, hobbies and “downtime”. This becomes etched into our way of being. We lose track of conscious thought as we faithfully work on auto-pilot going through the motions. Often, teamed with this regular schedule is a sense of duty, pressure, stress, numbness, unfulfillment, and the associated survival mechanisms of fight and flight, hence why many turn to escapism via television, alcohol, etc.
As we awaken to our programming, we realise that we are not really using free will, rather, that we are simply repeating the same subconscious thoughts from the day before like a well oiled machine. According to the National Science Foundation, 95% of our thoughts are the same thoughts from the day before and 80% of these thoughts are disempowering (self pity, blame, anger, judgement, shame, guilt, criticism etc). As we know, like attracts like, and so these negative thought programs are bringing in more of the same. When we stay “safe” in our routine day in day out we are stuck in this self-perpetuating cycle. Most people feel a niggling sense that there must be something more than this – and they would be right to feel this way…
Did you know there is another way to live that will return excitement, joy, creativity, exhilaration, invigoration, celebration and deep peace to your daily life? First though, it takes recognising the unconscious cycle. You can awaken to genuine flow in your life that inspires you to take creative action that will bring in more reasons to feel joy. The “flow” state is one of losing track of time and space, of being completely present. These moments tend to manifest more moments of the same nature and eventually, your life has a spark to it that wasn’t there before, a flow.
When we live in a constant state of tomorrow (what I have to accomplish, produce, achieve, plan, strategise, and worry about…), we miss out on today. Anxiety comes from this perpetual distraction. Instead, practicing being present will take us back to the only moment that is real- right NOW. That’s why time seems to stop when we lose ourselves in a task we love. We are purely focused on one thing, in the moment in an alpha/theta brainwave state. We are not living in the illusion of tomorrow or the confusion of multiple spinning plates. We move away from the survival part of the brain. Simplifying and taking a break from our regular life routine can help us to step out of this unconscious cycle so we can actually see it.
From here, we have the ability to step back from all habits and addictions and CONSCIOUSLY CHOOSE our next step. One foot in front of the other – everpresent. It is this act of conscious living that is the foundation needed for using WILL. We are truly only free when we can choose independently and DESPITE our subconscious programming. Genuine joy arises when we live in a flow state as a default. Contrary to popular belief, this does not mean shirking responsibilities, it means experiencing increasing synchronicities, guidance, wisdom and intelligence within each moment.
So my challenge to you is to ask your awareness to work with you to show you when you go into “sleep mode” throughout your day. Maybe take a break away for a week or two. Then, in those moments stop and recognise the unconscious programs running in the background (self pity, blame, anger, judgement, criticism etc). Replace these with surrender to the grace of flow. How do you do that? Simply move from your head down to your heart. Quieten the monkey mind and all of its programs. Allow your heart to show you what a CONSCIOUS life of flow can be like. Become present to each moment. Awaken from the dream and experience the freedom of real will power in action. Once you catch a glimpse, you won’t want to go back.
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