Are Your Lights On?

Are your lights on?

This is not a literal question, but abstractly it may be considered one. It does not refer to the lights in your house or the headlights on your car being illuminated. It is referring to your sense of awareness.

The question itself is a reminder and can be used as a tool to direct your attention to your awareness in general. Noticing your awareness you can determine if you are aware of anything at all, and if so, what your awareness is focused on. The answer points to your awareness, and this alone forces you to take notice or become aware of your awareness. This is, in my definition, consciousness or self awareness.

The moment you are aware of your awareness, it is as if you are looking in opposite directions at the same time. You are looking out at the world or wherever your initial sense of focus is, and you are simultaneously looking in at yourself and the amazing phenomenon that is consciousness. You are observing yourself be the observer.

It is from this type of perspective that we may become aware of ourselves separate from the everyday identity that we at times confuse ourselves with. In other words, we may see our selves through the eyes of the Self and recognize that we are more than any attributes of our ego identity. It is from this perspective that we may separate ourselves from our thought and still the mind from it's constant thought processes. It is from this perspective that we may feel the underlying stillness, peace, and joy that is often covered by the ego mind which fuels the mind chatter and the resulting self induced stress.

For more on this, read the book What Is Really Good? and stay tuned!