The human being is endowed with authority, intelligence, and love. Philosophers surmise that we are all masters of our own thoughts. We hold the key to every situation. We also possess within us a transforming and revitalising dimension. This is one of nature’s greatest characteristics — it makes us what we are and also what we ‘will.’ The ‘will’ to do things the way you want, or believe, is appropriate, in a given situation.
The power we possess to do things, even in our illness, or neglected states, is a god-given gift. Yet, not all of us rise above our weak spots — we sometimes mess up with ourselves and our strengths too. It’s only when we begin to reflect upon our condition and search meaningfully for the natural laws upon which our being is established, we climb up the ladder of conscious awareness and become wise folks. In so doing, we reach a higher plane and use our inner energies with improved acumen and expanded resolve. It’s all within us — it’s just a question of seeking the conscious ‘aristocrat’ residing in us by way of application, self-analysis, and also experience.
Our mind is a garden. Everything depends on how well you nurture it. You and I are, therefore, in a manner born, nature’s gardeners cultivating our mind’s land, keeping it free from nasty ‘germs,’ and growing flowers, or fruits, in its fertile soil. It is, of course, not easy to farm your ‘mindful meadow’ — or, clear the debris of wrong, or impure, thoughts, while cultivating good, useful, and pure thoughts. It is only when you pursue your quest to be nature’s best ‘mind gardener,’ would you be able to become the master-gardener of your soul, the smart executive of your life. You’ll now slowly begin to appreciate and live in the action of your thoughts and understanding — shaping your personality, circumstances, and destiny, with better effect.
You’ll also be able to direct your character, the pivot of your life and the creator of your destiny, by digging deep into the goldmine of your psyche too. Anyone who lives in the inner spaces of such a goldmine is better able to watch, control, and change their thoughts, connecting their effects upon oneself, one’s life, also others, and circumstances. It’s not that you should always connect every ‘cause and effect’ to the most important things in life. Far from it. You should apply your mind and awareness to all things — including everyday occurrences that progress towards appreciating the feelings of your loved ones and others.
One of the most fascinating truths of life pertains to the soul — a soul that is well-moulded with good feelings and made to glow in these turbulent times. There’s nothing more delightful, or fruitful, on planet Earth than celebrating the divine promise and self-belief that you and I possess as masters of our thoughts, environment, and providence. When you flood your thoughts and character with the belief that you are what god intended to be, you will be able to manifest and discover the external conditions of your life — including things that are likely to trouble you at times.
A life of happiness is harmoniously related to your inner state, a state of balance — not riches. It is your thoughts, not circumstance, that make, or break, your life, aspirations, or dreams. When you are considerate to anyone that feels ‘out of sync’ with their life, or surroundings, they too will ‘link up’ with you and feel comfortable.
This is a never-ending learning, nurturing curve. Its beauty is universal — nature gives us the belief to develop, swell our mind, acquire spiritual lessons, and find a place for our situations. When you allow your mind to flourish, you’ll automatically become the caring gardener of your own destiny.
All of us are endowed with the knowledge of what consciousness, therefore, is in our wakeful state. This is just the opposite of what happens when we are in the precincts of a dreamful slumber. These two states, in more ways than one, open the window for us to figure out what it means to be conscious, when awake, or dreaming, as opposed to being ‘unconscious’ of a thing, or notion of things, in the perimeter of our thought. In everyday idiom, consciousness is equivalent to awareness, or conscious awareness.
We all go through divergent situations in life and career. They inform and enlighten us as to how well we have understood the phrase called consciousness awareness. Conscious awareness is as much a part of everyday life as bathing, eating, or travelling to work. We are conscious when we experience things. On the contrary, if we do not experience things, we tend to float at a different level — a state of not being conscious of things around us. It is a simple equation. When there is contextual consciousness, we quickly relate to the present. When there is no context, consciousness is not in mindful attendance. This comes close to common usage and, to begin with, it is all that we need. It reduces uncertainty; it also celebrates our daily, natural language of living in the moment, not the past.
Conscious awareness and/or being in the ‘zone of mindfulness’ — when things relate to awareness — may be used synonymously. It depends on which side of the minimalist framework you would want to place yourself. It does not make any difference whether one claims to be conscious of what one thinks, or is aware, of. The big point is either way consciousness includes what we are conscious of, and responsive to, or experience in the modicum of our conscious, or unconscious, thought processes. This encompasses feelings, images, dreams, and body sensations — beyond our psyche, or our own perception of conscious awareness.
Consciousness, for the most part, is practically the same as our mind. Philosophers say that this definition is too generalised, too broad, or too narrow — depending on your own definition of consciousness. In like manner, the mind is equated as a part of psychology, just as much as its processes that are conscious, or not conscious. For some mind researchers, awareness is as much a part of self-consciousness as melody is to music.
In simple terms, consciousness is a part of wakeful awareness — a state of accessibility of our mind, body, and spirit. When we sleep, we continue to experience visual and auditory occurrences by way of dreams. Likewise, when we are fully awake, there are a number of things that we don’t experience at all. We are unmindful of ourselves, and our surroundings. We are in a state of voluntary isolation — this may be the result of a pressure-cooker situation, or a state of complete relaxation.
For some spiritual thinkers, consciousness is knowledge — even when knowledge is non-conscious, or implied. Whatever the fundamentals, it certainly helps if one agrees on definitions that strike the right chord in our understanding of things. To accept is to acknowledge. As philosopher John Dewey said, “To grasp the meaning of a thing, an event or situation is to see it in its relations to other things — to note how it operates, or functions, what consequences follow from it, what causes it, and what uses it can be put to.”
What does this connote? When we instil conscious awareness into our life, in any which way we can, we begin to live in the present-moment, while nurturing and elevating our psyche, like the mindful gardener, to a new level.
— First published in Madras Courier
