Pavitra Gurumurthi

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How to become self-aware

"You are sensitive"
"You are nice"
"You are smart"
"You are loud"
"You are ________" (insert adjective here)

When we hear these references, we think that we are those things because, of course, people know us better than we do ourselves.

What if there was no one tell us who we are?
No one to influence or limit us in our understanding of who we are?
How would we describe the qualities that make us who we are?

SELF-AWARENESS

Self-awareness is bringing presence to our individual life through our senses.

It has the ability to open our world to a range of brand new experiences which may have been previously hidden away due to our limited beliefs and perceptions.

The benefits of becoming self-aware are endless.

  • Trust in our own decision-making processes as we become accustomed to our gut instincts

  • Less anxiety about the future as self-awareness requires us to maintain complete presence

  • More creativity flowing through the body as we attune into subtle realms of your consciousness

  • Deeply connect with parts of our being that enhances our mood

  • Greater communication skills as we gain more clarity on the energetic subtleties that are exchanged through our interactions with each other

How does one practice self-awareness?

Listed below are simple techniques that can enhance your practice in becoming self-aware.

Breathing

Bring your attention to your breath. Notice how you breathe - is it fast, slow, deep, shallow? Does it have a texture? A colour? Notice the flavour of your breath without any judgement.

Body Scan

Starting from your toes up to your head, notice the sensations in your body. Do a slow scan and observe what you feel - do you experience aches, sounds, strain, ease? Do you sense tightness or numbness in any part of your body? Does you body feel heavy or light? Observe the subtle shifts and changes happening inside your body without attaching yourself to any story or reasoning.

Sensing Presence

Feel the air around you. What does that feel like? Do you feel any tingles or shivers? Is the air cool or warm or just right? How does the body respond to the air around you? Notice how the air fills you, from inside out. And how it extends out from your immediate environment to include other people and things in your room and further out. How much further out can you sense the air around?

Observing Thoughts

As you bring your attention to you thoughts - what is the flavour of your thoughts?  Are your thoughts bringing you a sense of peace or making you anxious? Observe how your thoughts link to other thoughts creating a story which is either causing your happiness or stress. Notice if you are able to allow the thoughts to just breathe with you, without pushing them away or attaching yourself to the stories?

Subtle Body Sensations

Notice the subtle coincidences that happen to you in your everyday life. Try not to brush them off as nothing. Find ways to honour the coincidences, even if you do not understand its meaning. When you are out and about, notice how your energy shifts and changes with each person, place or thing moment by moment. And watch how these subtle shifts impacts your energy.

Expressing from the Heart

Cultivating the habit of writing your thoughts, feelings and emotions is not only an healthy outlet but also an empowering way to see the coincidences unfolding in front of your eyes. Write anytime, anywhere, as little or as much as you want. Let the words flow through you or if you are someone who prefers structure, pick a theme and write. If you hate writing, use a voice recorder or create private videos expressing yourself fully with no inhibitions. You can always delete them later and you are not obligated to watch them after either. The key is to create an outlet for your thoughts, feelings and emotions.

New Experiences

Explore ways in which you try new things that are out of your normal routine. It could be as small as changing your route to work or as big as moving to a different country. Small changes open you to new ways of experiencing your life and also expanding your senses towards bigger inevitable changes of life. Notice how you feel when you implement a small change. Do you feel empowered? Did you meet someone new along the way? Engaging with new experiences also gives birth to new ideas and gets your creative juices flowing.

Would love to hear how you go - send me a message on Instagram to touch base.