We practice meditation for many reasons. One of the reasons I practice is to cultivate more awareness and strengthen my sense of self or identity. Strengthening our sense of identity requires introspection. This means knowing who we are on a deeper level. How do we get to know ourselves better? Same way we get to know anyone, by spending time. Meditation is one of the best ways to spend quality time with the self. Through this practice, we can cultivate more stillness and understand the difference when we are operating more with awareness or with the lack of it. This can also be referred to as operating with the conscious or nonconscious mind.
The Nonconscious Mind
The mind is so called “nonconscious” when it lacks awareness. This manifests outwardly in many ways such as when we feel inexplicably uncertain or chaotic or when we act out of turn, through unconscious routines or by mirroring others.
We often let ourselves slip into mindless habits without understanding why we do them. Often, we don’t even notice that we do these things. Have you noticed that most of our actions, habits, conversations are done out of repetition? We tend to live on autopilot. We make the same mistakes, we fight the same fights and so on. Noticing these habits and how they are impacting our lives matters.
Deeper Understanding Through Meditation
Deeper understanding of our own thoughts, behaviors and emotions can come from meditating. When we meditate, we pay attention to the mind. It allows us to declutter our thoughts and make more sense of what we do and why we do them. It helps us think more clearly and therefore engage in daily activities more consciously. Essentially, meditation is a cognitive training technique that enables us to monitor and regulate our behaviors. We begin to see and feel more. We see our unhealthy habits and we feel more of how it impacts us and those around us.
As the Buddhist Centre says, “By engaging with a particular meditation practice you learn the patterns and habits of your mind, and the practice offers a means to cultivate new, more positive ways of being.”
Cultivating More Awareness
One way to cultivate awareness is to increase our sense of objectivity and lessen judgment. During meditation we are taught to focus on the breath. When a thought arises, simply observe it and gently let it go. Refrain from seeing the thoughts as either good or bad, simply let it go and bring your awareness back to the breath, again and again. This simple practice can improve focus and willpower. It strengthens our ability to focus on what truly matters. It also trains the mind to listen more, judge less and practice more objectivity and compassion.
During a meditation workshop I attended, the teacher said that every time we get distracted by a thought or a sensation, simply acknowledge it and then go back to the breath. For example, during meditation, we might notice an itch on the nose. Rather than reacting, simply observe and quietly say “sensation” to yourself and then go back to noticing the in-breath and out-breath. Resist the urge to itch. As another example, if we notice that we are thinking about what we’re gonna have for our next meal, simply observe and say “thought” then go back to the breath. Resist the urge to go down the rabbit hole of culinary pursuits. We can practice and apply the same principle in daily situations. We can notice situations and behaviors without getting consumed by them or having to make a judgment call.
This above tactic is called the “noting technique” by Headspace, a meditation app. You can learn and watch more about it here.
The Conscious Mind
When we live with more awareness, objectivity and compassion, we are tapping into the conscious mind. We are present for ourselves and others. We are living more mindfully. This is not to say to get rid of the nonconscious state. It simply means tapping into the ways of thinking that serves us most when we need them.
I invite you to spend more time with yourself, to gain insight of your own thinking patterns and habits. See if you can commit to a practice of meditation, get to know yourself more intimately, and live life with more awareness.
Give this mini-meditation a try!