Learning to observe ourselves honestly may sound easy, but it is not. Often, when I was in my clinic as a healer, I would ask the client, "How would you describe yourself as a person?" Usually, the response is: "Ask my partner." Interestingly, people would find it difficult to explain how they thought about themselves. When we want to work on ourselves, improve, grow and evolve, we must learn to observe ourselves, no matter how difficult it may be at times. My thoughts are that everything has its opposite, and every word, thought, and idea has its opposite, and so it is only natural that at some stage we may observe negative trends in ourselves. Here, it is essential to be honest with ourselves. And you need not tell anyone what you observe. This is between you and your inner child. It is okay.
Learn to observe, every feeling you have or that comes to the surface when something triggers you, when you read something, when you watch something, when you speak, when you listen, use all your senses, use your whole body to hear, see, feel and observe.
This can also be called mindfulness, being connected with yourself, your feelings, thoughts and all your senses. It takes practice, and when we have thousands of thoughts and work to do, it is hard to observe them all at once. Do you know anyone who has been in an accident and talked about how their whole life flashed before their eyes? Think about it. They actually observed their entire life in a few split seconds. It's incredible how much we can actually observe and become aware of in a split second. To me, this means we can train ourselves to observe and bring awareness to it all more quickly as we practice more.
We can start by just observing our thoughts; it is incredible how many thoughts race through our brains, and we catch only a few of them each time. Spend time with yourself and observe. Think about what you can do when you master observation: you can start choosing what you want to feel, think, or experience. You can stop yourself in your tracks when you become angry, when you think negatively, and when you sense that something is wrong.
Observe when you eat or drink. How do you feel when drinking coffee? A boost then a collapse? What about when you eat certain things, when you crave things, when you overindulge or just when you eat things that may upset your stomach, or you get the runs from? Start identifying the foods that energise and uplift you, and the things that leave you dull and tired. The foods that affect your weight, etc. I have always loved bread, any kind of bread, but I know that it is one of the culprits that makes me put on weight fast, especially when I eat it in the evening. I can handle it in the morning, but only then. It is challenging to identify foods, because I always think everything in moderation is fine. Yet, it is so interesting to really observe and to make changes in your diet to observe more clearly and to see results in feeling more energised and more alert. Of course, then you will observe that hundreds of other factors that you observe will help in feeling happier and more content.
Observe the colours you are drawn to when getting dressed, or the colours of the food you prefer. Which colours, what do they mean to you, why do you choose these colours, what do they make you feel? I always tell the story of how, in the early days, my orange skirt was my debt-collecting skirt. The colour orange made me feel strong, seen, confident and creative, and it gave me the courage to ask my clients to pay their bills. It was an observation I made, and it was also the beginning of my growing curiosity about the role colour plays in our lives. The more we observe, the more we can integrate positive things into our lives. Everything is energy, and as we integrate more of these positive things into our lives, we will reflect them outward and draw more of them in. It sounds simple, but it takes practice, and believe me, we can easily slip up over and over again.
Honest observation is a tool that can help you get through challenges, but free will may sometimes block you from making better choices. Curiosity may lead you to take on a challenge, and outside influences beyond our control can challenge us as well. Karma, past lives, our DNA, hereditary challenges, ancestral challenges, there is so much we have no control over. Also, we do not have enough insight into this complex situation called life. But every tool, every observation, helps us become more aware; we can grow, learn, evolve, practice, and take on challenges when we are better equipped.
The more we observe ourselves, the more we get to know ourselves, and the more we may experience glimpses that do not reveal how true they are. What you observe in your life, inside yourself, is yours, and yours only, and others may not understand it or believe it. Keep it for yourself. Enjoy what you feel and experience within yourself through observation. Allow yourself to question yourself. Research if you want to. Be curious, with your own observations and understanding.
The more observant we become, the more mindful, the more fulfilling life becomes. We need less, we want less, and we become more peaceful with what we have, feeling no longer the need to race to get somewhere. When life calms down, we are aware of every breath we take; we smell the roses again; we chew and enjoy our food more; and all this is incredibly powerful and beneficial for us, our mind, body, and spirit.
Photograph by Barbara Schar.
No comments:
Post a Comment