how to be aware in an unaware world

Tag: love

Faith
Faith is like a tree. It stands tall and weathers the storm because it is firmly grounded. Its roots reach deep and wide, its base thick and solid. It grows stronger as time passes and it reaches up, receiving warmth with open arms.
This was a little bit I came up with a while ago when living in Nashville. It was a beautiful afternoon and I was in a particularly reflective mood.
As I walked around the small apartment complex where I lived, I noticed a tree I so often overlooked, standing, beaming in the sunlight just outside the apartment and I went to sit there beneath it, witnessing this analogy to faith.
Reflection
A few years back, I did a purge of almost all my posts, pictures, and videos on Facebook so that I could start fresh with the intention of sharing only the content I valued.
In the process, I found reflections of my early faith in Christianity, for I grew up in a Christian household and was influenced greatly by the religion.
When I was younger, I had a naive sense of faith. Like a child, I was more willing to believe in something I didn’t fully understand. But somewhere in the naiveté, a feeling emerged. A feeling that surpasses all comprehension.
In essence, that is what faith is—an incomprehensible feeling.
Even now, I grasp that feeling from time to time, like a tree, feeling forces outside my understanding and comprehension supporting me.
I learned to question my faith and even the faith of my parents and those around me.
I found through that questioning that what I feel is what truly matters, and mindfulness gives me the awareness to recognize what I feel more and more.
I found that I aligned most with the core beliefs and philosophy of Buddhism, but also held on to the values instilled in a Christian household.
Mindfulness meditation and journaling instilled in me a compass that guides me when I am confused or unsteady and community-based fellowship and prayer instilled in me the faith needed to face any challenge this world throws at me.
I had to discover for myself that I do feel a sense of peace and contentment in believing I was created, that I was beautifully and wonderfully made.
Creator, Higher-Power, Yahweh, Father, whatever incredibly simple term we use to describe such a feeling as God, faith is the pillar to reaching it.
Faith requires a complete and utter surrender of self. It is letting go of logic and reason like meditation is letting go of thought and sensation.
Faith exists in the present too, I cannot be faithful towards a higher power or even another person in the past or the future, only here and now.
Encouragement
I encourage us to really question our beliefs, our perspective of faith, and what it means to us.
Ask yourself specifically what you believe or even if you believe in anything. It’s completely okay if you don’t know, this is simply a healthy thought experiment.
Write down those beliefs you hold firmly, those you would like to change, and those you would not support at all.
Thanks
Thank you deeply for your attention in reading this post, it is a rare gift these days.
As always, feel free to leave a comment or share this post, let me know if you enjoy the posts. You can also Buy Me a Coffee if you are inclined to do so. Thank you in advance!
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November 4, 2023
Experiments
“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”
– Albert Einstein
As we all know, Einstein was a brilliant mathematician, physicist, and thinker. Like many involved in the field of science, experiments are crucial to success.
He gestures to the fact that a series of the right mistakes pave the way for a series of incredible breakthroughs.
Just in case you don’t read the links I provide, here are a few of those breakthroughs (after many, many mistakes) that Einstein contributed to the world:
1. Found the Brownian Movement that helped to prove the existence of atoms and molecules.
2. Developed the quantum theory of light which television is a practical application of.
3. Discovered the special theory of relativity explaining that time and motion are relative to their observers.
4. Created the famous formula, e=mc^2, demonstrating that a small particle of matter contains an enormous amount of energy. This forms much of the basis for nuclear energy.
All these breakthroughs were through trial and error, research, and dedication to the work and passion of experimentation.
Reflections
I myself can attest to the power of mistakes and the willingness to not just accept them but actually seek them!
I have and still do make so many important steps in the wrong direction. Both learning the outcome of these steps and learning to apply the lessons later in life is what changes everything.
For example, I have, on two separate occasions, forgotten my passport before boarding an international flight (a very expensive mistake). But what I learned was massively valuable, to always double-check my luggage list before boarding a flight.
Most importantly, I must forgive myself when I make any ridiculous mistake, remembering that some of the most audacious mistakes led to the most fantastic self-discovery.
Encouragement
I encourage us to experiment, with our minds, bodies, and beliefs.
The mind is a rather tricky place to navigate, but questioning our direction is never a mad idea. Experiment with the way you think and the path you are on right now. Does it align with your values?
The body is in a constant state of impermanence, and with 500 different companies telling you what to eat, drink, and do to better your body, there’s no reason most people just give up. One truth that will always remain in life is how we feel, not how others want us to feel. Experiment with that feeling food, drink, exercise, and other health hacks bring you.
Our beliefs are like the tides of the ocean, high and low, exceedingly receding (not all the time, but I like the way that rhymed lol). What we believe or don’t believe dictates the position we hold in life, and that is no small matter. Are those beliefs good in nature, and do they provide a sense of peace that surpasses all comprehension? Discover that for yourself!
Thanks
Thank you deeply for all the kind feedback and encouragement ya’ll have given me these past few months as I’ve bombarded your inboxes.
As always, feel free to leave a comment or share this post. You can also Buy Me a Coffee if you are inclined to do so. Thank you in advance!
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October 30, 2023
Beginnings
Mindfulness is simply about stepping back to see the world with a little more clarity and appreciation.
When I began my mindfulness journey and meditation practice about 8 years ago, I had no idea the impact it would have on me.
All I knew at the time was that if I showed up, every morning possible, to sit with all my feelings, sensations, and thoughts, I could learn to master them.
And although I’m nowhere near that lofty goal (nor may ever be) I can say with profound certainty that I am an entirely different person than I was at 21.
Through sitting day after day in guided meditation, I learned something so powerful, something that meditation inevitably teaches at one point or another: Gratitude.
Reflection
I am blessed to live in a world where this is possible for me for even the tiniest amount of gratitude offers the largest amount of joy.
As some of you who know me know I have a really hard time making up my mind.
I officially created this blog sometime in 2018, then deleted it, then brought it back, then did nothing with it, and then this year decided to re-write the original posts written mostly while backpacking Europe in 2021.
This is my very first blog post (for the third time).
As I sit back and reflect on the reason for re-writing this post and the effect I hope to achieve, I remember the first time I practiced meditation and the beginning of my blogging journey too.
As I wrote about in Mindfulness & Meditation, I was spending the summer of 2016 in gorgeous Colorado, working and traveling in and out of a family friend’s basement, as carefree as any 20-year-old could be.
My space during that time of transformation consisted of boxes and boxes of random trinkets, a huge flatscreen TV, a maroon leather couch, two lounge chairs, a broken treadmill, a bookcase filled with children’s books, and an old basketball arcade game in the corner.
In that stuffed basement, I realized that the clutter really bothered me. I was born a natural minimalist, able to get rid of almost anything at any point with ease (sometimes with too much ease).
Surrounded by all this stuff, I also found myself drawn to the stillness of the present moment, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the cluttered room using a simple meditation app to guide me into a ten-minute meditation.
The app was called Headspace, and at the time it was just a catalog of ten or so guided meditation packs recorded on a decent microphone by the British co-founder and former monk, Andy Puddicombe.
As I sat in that cramped basement throughout that summer listening to Andy’s calm, clear voice, I began to notice a greater sense of calamity and clarity within myself.
I noticed things I never did before, like the hum of the A.C. running in the background, the itch behind my left ear, the faint smell of mold, and the delicate weight of gravity.
I started paying more attention in conversations too, feeling my emotions and reactions play out inside me. Meditation began to change my relationship with my thoughts.
I was practicing, as one would learning an instrument or riding a bike, how to be aware in an unaware world.
As I began to awaken, I noticed the world still asleep, unconsciously riding the motions and getting caught in terrible situations, having no idea how they got there.
It’s mind-boggling to me to watch people run back into toxic relationships, ruminate about how they look, consume entertainment to satisfy an illogical hunger, and beat themselves up over the smallest things.
In that moment of stillness, I realized what a simple yet profound activity meditation was, the art of awareness.
Then slowly, over many mediations, I also learned how to take my practice beyond the nice, quiet setting and into everyday life with all its hecticness, busyness, and complications.
I observed my relationships, my work, my passions, my habits, and my desires. Everything I did became more mindful and more deliberate.
The coolest thing of all is I still practice meditation through Headspace today. It has become my lighthouse, my beacon if you will, to return to when life gets in the way of living.
Meditation, as if God had planned it, was the only thing I had ever turned into a solid routine in my whole life.
It just somehow made sense to meditate. And even though it came naturally to me, anyone, anywhere, at any time can learn to meditate.
All it takes is a little willingness to sit, be present, and observe the mind.
Encouragement
Once, while anchored in a powerful meditation, I heard Andy describe meditation by way of five affirmations.
These affirmations were not necessarily put in order, but they made the most sense when the first step was achieved before the rest.
I encourage us to speak these affirmations each day (even if they aren’t your cup of tea, trust me, they work)!
First, you are capable, knowing you can truly do anything you put your mind towards.
Second, you are calm, using your breath as your anchor.
Third, you are clear, knowing where you’re going and what you’re doing next.
Fourth, you are content, understanding that you already have everything you need.
Five, you are compassionate, speaking your love languages loud and clear.
Underlining all these steps is the awareness of our thoughts, sensations, emotions, and surroundings. Without awareness, we cannot reify change.
Also, lastly, compassion is the entire motive of meditation. Without it, our practice will have little meaning or depth, and will most likely fade away with time.
Thanks
Thank you deeply for your time and attention in reading this post or newsletter, it is a rare gift these days. Feel free to leave a comment or share this post. You can also Buy Me a Coffee if you feel inclined to do so. Thank you in advance!
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October 24, 2023