Awareness

During my MBA, which is about 15 years ago, I was exposed to a book. I remember reading it, or rather dipping into it, and enjoying what I was learning.  The book was called "Awareness" and the theme was all about making yourself more aware of yourself and your surroundings.  

I remember sharing it with a friend, and interestingly enough during our last get together, we talked about it. I have not picked it up since my MBA days, but as I sat in the garden earlier today, one of the exercises came back to me and I decided to have a go.

Basically, you sit uninterrupted and still for 10 minutes, which as you will agree is a sheer luxury, and in those 10 minutes, you reel off to yourself, all the things you are aware of. Ideally you use all your senses, and you explore what are you seeing, feeling, smelling etc.

Like any meditation, you push all other thoughts to the side, temporarily, and just focus on what you are aware of right now. In that moment.

For me, I felt my feet touching the floor, I heard the birds, I saw the green grass in front of me, I noticed by breathing, I heard a motorbike, I felt my arms against the arms of the chair, I heard the birds again, I saw the cranes building the new school behind our house, I smelt the air and on I went.

Not sure I mangaged for a full ten minutes, as I realized my lasagne was about to burn in the oven, but hey I am no expert at this stuff, I just like having a go!

When I finished, I realized that I had some big omissions in my awareness, eg the sun was crashing down and is was boiling hot, I had not brought to my awareness the fact that my face was being warmed by the sun at all.

And this was just a reminder, that sometimes we miss the obvious, even when we sit down and think. Having a quiet mind is a practice, one which I do not master, but I get the point of it. I am sure practicing this, really helps the big stuff to raise to the surface quicker.

I imagine, that only by becoming aware of things, can we be truly greatful and possibly make good holistic life choices.

I think I am going to the cellar, to dig out the book again. I think it was written by Robert O. Stevens, let's see if my memory serves me well.

Anyone else read it?

Anyone else having a go at being aware?

Anyone else got any tips at this stuff?