The quieter we become, the more we can hear.
One of the first steps to "waking up" is to get quiet, and listen.
Are our days filled with "noise" to distract ourselves from ourselves? TV on in the background, email, news, podcasts, talking, texting, radio, channel surfing? We are missing out on hearing a lot of wisdom that is sitting there inside us, unable to be heard above the noise.
It can be scary to wake up and start to have clear awareness, but it is the key to transformation. If we truly embrace the path of awareness, there will be tears in the process. Don't be afraid of them. Every tear is the release of something you've been holding on to for too long.
"Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed." Thich Nhat Hanh
ACTION STEP #1: Today, turn off the podcasts, TV, and music. Let's get more comfortable with silence and just stay curious about what comes up.
When we start to wake up, we get a better sense of our fears. As the awake observer we can look at our fears with a neutral mind, understand them, and begin to take steps out from under them.
Some of us may be looking through such cloudy lenses, can barely hear through the noise we leave turned on, and therefore asleep. We may be so clouded that we think we have no fears, yet any bystander would be able to see from our behavior that we do. This is the other benefit of waking up: we don't just gain awareness, we get SELF awareness.
Merely being curious about our fears doesn't mean we succumb to them. It's the first step in truly stepping out from under them.
A Rebel Human has self-awareness. Are we carried away by our ego and fear thoughts? Do we react rather than act? Are we going about our day mindlessly? Are we aware of the impact we have on others? Do we know what our strengths are? Are we aware of and present with our weaknesses?
ACTION STEP #2: Go out for a walk even if you'd rather scroll on your phone. Especially if you'd rather scroll your phone. Get back in touch with your physical body and be quiet enough to hear your own thoughts. In yogic practice, the tools of asana (poses) and pranayama (breath work) actively help the physical body wake up, which aides in our mind, and eventually spirit waking up.
ACTION STEP #3: Take our 20:20:20 class called "Moving To Awaken Awareness". This is an hour class where we can move our bodies to get fluids and electrical signals moving, waking up the tissues and joints. When our bodies wake up, our minds wake up and we can be curious. In that beginner’s mindset, we can be more aware of our thoughts, actions, and treatment of others. This class allows us to try new things, notice when we get sloppy or into ruts of repetition unconsciously. The awakening is the first step towards awareness, and then we can look at cleaning out our subconscious in order to shift our thoughts and behavior. During the aerobic portion of class, you will do flutter kicks, plank jack pike jumps, wacky jacks, lord of the dances, Rockettes, twist jumps, cross ab leg lifts, leg lifts and kicks. A simple Vinyasa leads you to a lovely savasana with water sounds. During the meditation portion of class, you’ll use a breath pattern to take you deeper into a meditative state.
If you are stuck in any way (your job, relationship, personal development, habits) waking up is what is going to get you unstuck.