By Pamela J. Wells
When you are consciously aware, you are 100% present and consciously
aware of your thoughts, what you are doing, what you see, hear, smell, feel.
You are fully present and not off somewhere else in your mind. You are not
thinking about the past or the future. You are mentally present and aware of
what you are doing at that moment. If you are washing dishes, you are 100%
present and consciously aware of washing the dishes. You are not mentally
distracted by something else. When someone is talking to you, you are 100%
present, consciously aware of what they are saying to you. You are listening to
every word that they are saying and not thinking about something else. Conscious
awareness involves the mind and being alert, being aware of what you are doing
or thinking or seeing in the present moment. Awareness, by itself, does not
involve the mind and thinking. What I am talking about is conscious awareness.
I will discuss awareness in another article.
Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk, teaches the Art of Mindful
Living, which is being awake and aware to the present moment—what you are
doing and who you are with—whether you are washing dishes or driving your car,
you are mindful of what you are doing. You are mindful of even the smallest
tasks: walking, sitting, eating, and brushing your teeth. Being consciously
aware or mindful of what you are doing at any given moment is a great way to
relax and calm your mind and be fully present in what you are doing. Thinking
about other things, such as dwelling on things that you need to do, or thinking
about something that happened in the past, or worrying about the future, only
causes stress.
Copyright © 2012 Pamela J. Wells. All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment