20 questions to raise Self-awareness

getting to know ourselves is the path to living a more fulfilling life.  Take this self-assessment in a journal and reflect on the answers. Notice what invites changes in your thought, word and action. as gandhi echoes- Be the change you wish to see. 

1. What are my strengths?
2. What are my weaknesses?
3. What evokes my disgust?
4. What do I spend most time engaged in?
5. What are my priorities?
6. Who are the most important people in my life?
7. What is the average time I spend asleep in bed?
8. What evokes stress in me?
9. What relaxes me?
10. What is success to me?
11. What would I be doing if money matters not?
12. What makes me sad?
13. What brings me joy?
14. What triggers my anger?
15. What is my ideal state?
16. What type of friend do I want to be?
17. Where do I see myself evolving?
18. What are my core values?
19. Where am I congruent/ incongruent in my life? (which actions R aligned with thoughts & values/ not?)
20. What evokes fear in me? What can I do to master/ overcome this?

Tune into a deeper purpose

Many people are conditioned to create a vision for a happy life and set out to realize it. Such a vision tends to include a profession and situation imagined to be fulfilling.  And yet, as life challenges arise, shake us up, our experience deepens, and curiosity arises.  People can go through whatever formalities are deemed necessary in life, but these never interfere with what is most important. When ready, we choose to go beyond the familliar to uncover something more.

As we realize we create our lives, it dawns that we also have the power to change how we create and what we see. It also grows clearer that some people create a bigger illusion of importance for themselves than others. Adopted filters block seeing more clearly. To allow ourselves to develop is to grow conscious of our capacity to look at things differently.  When ready, it dawns that laying a foundation for a whole new life is unrelated to conditioned ideas of who we are.

We exist for those for whom we exist.  Every encounter we create to help us recognize perception, explore new connections and opportunities for growth.  To perceive what is really going on in our lives and the Universe, one need only look into one's self without filters.  Everything we devise arises so we get-to-know thoughts, feelings, emotions and aspects of Self often missed.  Everything we uncover depends on the purity of our thoughts and the motive for asking.  All experience invites us to tap into more confidence so we do what feels right even if it scares us.

In Harry Potter: The Philosopher's Stone, some characters say "there is no such thing as magic."  Those that experience a different reality hold a different view on magic and what is possible. The wizard Dumbledore says, "The time comes Harry when we must choose between what is right and what is easy." Thus, purpose evolves with us, how we choose to grow and redefine priorities.

Feel joyful for no reason

Whatever has guided you to this website, from the moment you make up the mind to change, you are already shifting into a new level of consciousness.  Now is the moment to get clearer about what you are doing, why you are doing it, as well as the underlying reasons for your life choices, how you are living, breathing, feeling and being. 

As the will to shift grows, it helps to hear about inspirational mentors who have made lasting personal change. This of course, is only heresay until we experience unique inner shifts ourselves. It pays to train ourselves to be more observant, to break conditioned emotional patterns, to see our environments and time anew to allow authenticity to blossom.

Rest assured, you may have already begun this process.  Nonethless, it can be valuable to receive a bit more insight, related to meditation, breathing and how your body and behaviour offer you signs and signals.  Who you present to the world is not necessarily who you ar at the core.  

Feeling joy for no reason happens as we dismantle our old identity and break the habit of pretending to be someone we are not.

Three views of Life

Our view on a given situation depends on our magnification, that is, our relative physical, mental emotional closeness to or distance from it. What may be viewed as a conflict or issue close-up may seem like part of a larger harmonious system from a wider vantage point.  Where one person sees a source of tension, another sees as a passing wave in the vast ocean of order. All views are equally correct as they are simply different points of view. How we experience life varies based on our level of consciousness.  Let's reflect on three views on life;

1. As Completely Random

We can look at life from an extremely passive perspective: assuming our existence is a bit precarious, that we have little or no control over things, not over how we came to be born, or who our parents and social conditions are or how we make our way through existence.  Some people view themselves as a pure accident, that everything is a random occurrence, from how the Earth and life came to be to more complex interactions.  What if things that happen inside or external to our bodies, felt like they do not belong or do not even feel connected to other happenings? Does life sometimes feel like it is a thing that happens to you?

2. As Controlled by External Authority

Another view on life is everything that occurs unfolds under the authority of a higher force beyond our control that we somehow feel obliged to obey.  From this view, we are at the mercy of the world around us, still, to a degree helpless, yet having a slight influence on the direction of our lives, provided we follow the rules which have been laid out for us. Sometimes we may push the envelope or bend the rules. As confidence grows, we may also rediscover a journey to reclaim personal power. Our sense of identity, success and self-worth may all seem to be wrapped up in the results of our actions.

3. As Energy

To see that everything is a play of energy pulsing on and off in space, changes how we perceive and interact with what occurs. If energy is us, flows within, through and beyond us, and we decide how to respond to everything, then personal responsibility takes on new signficance. We move through perceptions of order and disorder, love and fear, pleasure and pain like waves, with opportunity toa gain insight. As we realize this, we no longer panic about whatever is arising. From this view, at every moment, everyone has access to the same patterns of energy.  We each have unique filters, conditionings and ways of experiencing.  The moment we see space is connective, we begin to understand that we are not exclusively a body or what creates our adopted identity.  The stream of a candle is a stream of hot gas just like each human is a complex flow of energy that is whirling and dancing through space. What happens as fear ceases to control our life choices? We may fear on the surface of getting burnt by fire, getting sick, losing a relationship, your job, a contract or something else we currently hold dear.  Yet, we can come to see a continuity of energy flow, the rhythm of comings and goings. 

Ultimately, the perspective we take on life and a given situation, is based on our self- and wider insight into consciousness. Being in control and being ourselves cannot be understood without recognizing something out of control and what it is to not be ourselves.  Yet, our attention is captured by what is moving in the foreground rather than what is in the background and relatively still. We actually notice far more detail. Our views on ourselves, and life and our conditions, are limited to what we are taught is important. We pay attention only to what our values define as our priorities.  As our perception expands, what we notice changes. How we spend time also changes. 

Interview with Maria

I am often asked what brings particular clients to me. Some wish to journey into higher realms for guidance, get grounded, transform troubled relationships, identify and release limiting beliefs, or increase capacity to heal their bodies. Every individual is unique. I share this recent exchange with Maria for the benefit of you who are seeking answers to your own questions. 

What prompts you to open up to me?

Maria: To be honest, I was not looking for a coach with specific credentials. I am trusting my gut. In speaking with you,  I felt a real connection. It just felt right to take the next step. I explored your website.  What I read on the internet confirmed this is the right choice for me. 

Have you had  coaching expectations?

Maria: Well, before beginning, you asked if I had specific intentions, whether I have any experience with hypnosis, remembering my dreams, past life regression, various therapies and healing practices. I suppose my point of reference for our sessions began with the idea I could add to what I have experienced.  I want to learn to trust myself more, get to the root of obstacles I am facing, to shift patterns I see that are holding me back, get clearer on where to go from here.  If I ask you what you feel you can do for me, what would you say?

I am not here to answer your questions, I am here to help you stop asking them. As a sound-board, I help you to notice when you think and feel the way through life.  I also help you to begin to recognize and take responsibility for each of your choices.

Maria: That says a lot.  I ask loads of questions.  Answers are not always clear to me.  I am told I am too emotional and wish to get a handle on that, take more time for me and get over my fears.

Whatever you fear invites you to get-to-know yourself differently. As you change the way you see things, what you see changes. Noticing anything about filters?

Maria: I am seeing obstacles differently.  I am more aware of lessons and options to respond to what life throws me. The way I react emotionally to people and events my life is not always helpful. I also notice emotions I am not really in touch with and resist feeling.  I still take some things personally and wish to change this. I do not like losing control.

Some perceptions are helpful and empowering, while others keep up negative patterns.  A shift in perspective starts with an increase in awareness. Do you relate?

Maria: Yes. As I grow aware of the my judgements and beliefs, I begin to grow aware of what and who triggers me. I really want to stop losing control over my emotions.

Indeed.  As we progress with sessions, are you noticing any shifts?

Maria: I am noticing that my reality changes based on how I feel about it, who I hang around and how I use my time. I am also more aware that making the unconscious conscious is one path to healing. My own ignorance, indifference and inaction only perpetuates discomfort and keeps dreams out of reach. 

You may have heard the idea, 'you are becoming like the five people you spend the most time with.' Personal reality is based on beliefs, expectations.  Experiences reinforce beliefs. So, if you want to change your reality, changing perception is key. 

Maria: In my case, re-training the mind for change takes practice. I work on self-discipline.

Letting go gets easier. Of all the practices we are exploring so far, what stands out?

Maria: The breathwork, different mental processes and ah-ha moments that I have after our open dialogue.

Why are you receptive to breathwork ?

Maria: What you offer are techniques that enable me to gain deeper insight into myself, my resistance.  It hits I allow myself to hinder or speed up self-healing. I am more aware of core beliefs that have been running me and the reasons why my life brings me to where I am.  It feels good to take steps to shift my focus and priorities. 

Why has your most recent session helped you?

Maria: You give me opportunity and space to explore things that I do not make time for by myself. I am more aware than ever before that I get wrapped up in the day-to-day tasks of being a wife, parent, student and doing my best to juggle it all.  Until today, I had no idea the deeper source of my patterns.  Making the unconscious conscious is already changing how I feel about myself and how confident I am about where I am headed.  You guide me to recall what I forget.

I'm sure you have a theme: the theme of your life. You can embellish it or desecrate it, but it's your theme, and as long as you follow it, you will experience harmony and peace of mind. - Agatha Christie