Being Conscious That You Are Conscious

“In mindfulness one is not only restful and happy, but alert and awake.  Meditation is not evasion, it is a serene encounter with reality.”

-Thich Nhat Hanh

 

“Knowledge is learning something every day.  Wisdom is letting go of something every day”.

-Zen proverb

 

“Mindfulness isn’t difficult, we just need to remember to do it”.

-Sharon Salzberg

 

One of my daily goals is to see life as it really is.  This means that I must make the effort to remove my own filters and mis-perceptions.  I am reminded of the saying, “Don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see”.  Meditation should open our eyes not close them.  Meditation is not a blissful avoidance of reality.  Meditation should teach us to be more present to life, not less present.  Meditation does not put you in a bubble.  It bursts bubbles.  Sometimes as a person ages, it appears they care less and less about stuff.  This can be misunderstood.  As an older person I care about a lot.  However, I also care about a lot less.  If one ages wisely, you begin to see the differences between what is truly essential and what is not.  I have let go of a lot but I still carry around too many concerns that I hope will eventually fall by the wayside.  Finally, mindfulness and consciousness are very much the same thing.  We are mindful when we are conscious that we are conscious.  I am mindful when I am aware that I am mindful.  I don’t think you are truly awake if you don’t know you are awake.