Living a Conscious Life

By Linney Elder

In this fast paced life filled with distractions and commitments we often find it is often difficult to stay conscious and mindful. We are in such a hurry some days and time pressures often force us to think on our feet, without consideration of the possible and often probably outcome.

Here are some tips to help you find ways to live a more conscious life.

Keep things simple: Avoid over-complicating, or cluttering your life with too many commitments, tasks, people, or indeed anything than you cannot reasonably cope with.

Choose to occupy your time with tasks you can really give your full attention to. Keep a balanced work-life ethic and mindfully give of your best to both. “Everything in balance” as they saying goes. That includes your commitments to work, family, eating habits, socialising, relaxation times. Enjoy what you do and do what you enjoy!

Connect with yourself: Enjoying occasional “me time” is so important for your overall wellbeing and personal growth.

Taking time out to just be alone for a few minutes will help you recharge at every level. Go for a walk in nature, sit on the beach, paint a picture, do something that brings you pleasure. Contemplate your thoughts as you sit in peaceful silence for a short while, focussing on releasing tension in your body and mind. Keeping a journal of your thoughts and dreams will help you by bringing clarity to situations when making conscious decisions.

Offering support: As you give of yourself, your wisdom and your time, you will find your life becoming increasingly more satisfying. The more we help others, the more we ultimately help ourselves. Giving unselfishly and with love attracts abundance into your own life in return. Selfless service to humanity is the highest thing we can offer as spiritual beings having a human existence. Perhaps you could volunteer some time at an animal shelter, or visit elderly folks who don’t have family, or join a charity walk, there are many ways to help other people.

Set personal boundaries: Make conscious decisions about the kind of people and experiences you wish to attract and allow into your life. Focus on attracting that which will enhance your life and uplift your energy vibration. It’s perfectly okay to gently, but firmly, say “no” in certain situations. Don’t be a martyr, or a victim. If you treat yourself with dignity, compassion, love and respect, others will follow your lead and treat you the same way.

Appreciate the beauty in your life: Beauty may be present in many forms in your life, learn to appreciate and acknowledge them all. Developing sincere appreciation will expand your awareness of your surroundings and the people in your life. Admire the beauty of the natural world where you live. Take time to admire the colours of the sky in the early morning and evening. Wonder at the innocence of children, the wisdom of elderly people and the diversity of cultures. Find beauty in previously unexpected places.

Loving your tribe: Your tribe comprises the people closest to you, like your family, grandparents, aunts and uncles etc. These are the people you turn to in times of need for support, guidance, love and nurturing. This should be a two-way exchange though, as you nurture your tribal connections they will want to reach out to nurture you in return. Your tribe is where you feel a sense of belonging, of acceptance and where your roots lie, but you can enjoy a wider tribal connection than just your immediate family. Belonging and feeling that you are an integral part of something bigger than ourselves, gives us a sense of purpose, value, security and wellbeing.

Be open to different perspectives: There’s generally more than one perspective of any given situation, depending on a person’s basic understanding of what’s happening. We all have our own beliefs and this affects our perceptions of events, but who can say whether one interpretation is right and another is wrong? They are often both correct and simply a different viewpoint. Stay open and ready to listen to other points of view, remain flexible in your attitudes – you may learn something valuable in the process.

Embrace life’s challenges: Every event that occurs in your life happens for a reason and is an opportunity to learn a valuable lesson for personal growth. Instead of viewing challenging situations as something to be feared, try to look beyond the obvious and ask yourself what the underlying lesson might be. You have attracted the people and circumstances in your life. What you see happening around you is a reflection of yourself, or something going on inside you that maybe needs addressing. If you take this attitude, then challenges become intriguing opportunities instead.

Get physical: Move your physical body at regular intervals during the day to avoid tension and stress developing. It’s so easy to forget to move and spend hours in concentration in front of the PC or TV, then when you finally get up you discover that your body is stiff with tension and your muscles and joints ache. The body enjoys movement. It helps to keep you subtle, increases your blood flow, aids concentration, helps you sleep easier, speeds up your metabolism and generally makes you feel good inside and out. Just a couple of minutes of stretching your muscles can make a world of difference.

Meditation and awareness: The benefits of regular meditation are well known and I would highly recommend that you commit to doing even just a few minutes a couple of times each week to release tension build up in your body and help calm your mind. You will find that by focussing on your breath and counting each in and out breath you will be able to focus and calm your thoughts much easier. When thoughts pop into your mind, which they will, just observe them and then gently let them go, returning your focus to your breathing.

Living more consciously will be a “wonder-full” experience and you will see your life in a whole new light. When you make conscious decisions, you do so with the understanding of the possible consequences to you and others. It will help you to make decisions that will ultimately attract the kind of life you dream of living.

So go on, give it a go and embrace a new conscious way of living and being.