The Way of Meditation Blog
Bringing Ancient Wisdom Into The Modern World
13 Ways To Expand Your Consciousness Everyday
December 18, 2015
I like to think of the raising of consciousness like a pursuit in life that one will never totally reach, a bit like happiness, you can find fulfilment in your life through your general attitude, but you will never fully arrive at that place where all the problems disappear.
This is also true for consciousness, you can become more conscious, present and aware. But you will never fully arrive at the place where your mind is totally in the moment all the time.
This is fine, because we need our unconscious mind to guide us through life, as if we done everything fully aware and in the moment we would have to relearn how to do everything, every time we wanted to do it.
Being more conscious is like exercise for the brain, each and every time you throw yourself into the present moment it is a reminder of the beauty of life and the world around you.
To be more conscious is to be more aware. On an individual level this means, being aware of yourself and on a collective level this means being more aware of your surroundings and the world that exists outside of yourself.
This is also true for consciousness, you can become more conscious, present and aware. But you will never fully arrive at the place where your mind is totally in the moment all the time.
This is fine, because we need our unconscious mind to guide us through life, as if we done everything fully aware and in the moment we would have to relearn how to do everything, every time we wanted to do it.
Being more conscious is like exercise for the brain, each and every time you throw yourself into the present moment it is a reminder of the beauty of life and the world around you.
To be more conscious is to be more aware. On an individual level this means, being aware of yourself and on a collective level this means being more aware of your surroundings and the world that exists outside of yourself.
13 Simply Effective Ways To Expand Your Consciousness
There is no better moment than the one you are in right now, so live in this moment. Don’t spend your time in regret of the past and worry of the future.
Instead embrace the moment you are in right now and make sure you are doing everything in your power to be the best you can be. Do this and the future will take care of itself.
Take time out to enjoy the scenery. Chew every mouthful of your food and really taste it. If you are in a conversation, give it your full undivided attention. Whenever possible, do what you are doing and don’t be distracted.
2. If You Can't Be Present, Practice It
When you have had a life of disconnection from being present, it can be hard to fully focus on being in the here and now.
Take time out every day to practice being present, this can be done through meditation, yoga or just by consciously re focusing every time you feel your mind slipping off.
Your brain is like a muscle that needs to be stimulated, so take your brain to the mind gym from time to time and get into the habit of being fully aware.
3. Find Your True Calling
We all have things that we naturally feel drawn to, your job is to remove the years of cultural conditioning and get in tune with your true nature.
For some people this will be glaringly obvious, for others maybe not so much. But if you start the search and actively seek to find what matters to you, with persistence and determination you will eventually find it.
4. Accept Who You Are
Maybe you are an introvert trying to be an extrovert or a socialite who is spending there days cooped up in the house. Maybe you work in the city, but would be happier working from home or you get drunk every weekend just so you feel accepted by friends.
Whatever your true nature is, do not fight it. Accept that you are a unique individual and that there are other unique individuals like yourself who you can connect with.
Don’t try to be someone you are not as this is the most spiritually disconnecting and disempowering thing you can do!
Accept you true nature and fully live and embrace it!
5. Do What You Love Everyday
Some people are lucky enough to have a job that fulfils this need. But if you don’t, make sure you still find time every day to do what you love.
If you like music, listen to music when you wake up. If you like to read, take time out for a book on your lunch break. Whatever it is that makes you feel alive, take time out and do it every day.
6. Immerse Yourself in Your Life Everyday
If you live in the concrete jungle or a remote countryside with no sign of life for miles, embrace it, accept it and fully immerse yourself in it.
When you open your eyes and throw yourself into life you will start to see that there is beauty in everything, manmade or natural.
Walk down the street and observe people or plants or even inanimate objects and fully take in what is going on around you and you will start to notice the miracles that exist every single day.
7. Be Open Minded
Don’t ever allow yourself to get to the point where you know everything, be a student and always question everything. If you think you know something never fully know it.
The sky may appear to be blue, but is it really? Or is it an illusion?
The grass may appear to be green, but is that just your perception? Does an animal or even a different human being view it in the same light?
This way of thinking may seem strange, but what it does is open you up to a different way of viewing the world, you don’t have to do this every moment of everyday as you might get a little exhausted. But take time out to practice viewing the world in a different way.
8. Absorb Knowledge
Always be on the lookout for new information that will serve you in life. If you have a subject that you love immerse yourself in it.
Read books, but more importantly study the good ones. Take courses from people who have the knowledge you seek. Find a mentor who is an expert in the subject you love and fully submit to their guidance.
We are currently living in a very automated world, in which our phone tells us which restaurants to eat at, our car tells us the direction to drive in and we can just Google the answer to any question we have.
This is not necessarily a bad thing, but means our brains need more conscious exercise, so make sure you give it what it needs!
9. Be Accepting
There is a difference between settling and accepting. Settling is lazy in nature and you saying to yourself- “This life will do” Accepting is an awareness that life will not always go in the exact direction you plan.
There are plenty of things in life that you have full control over, so focus on what you can change and learn to accept the uncontrollable things that are presented to us.
A good example of this is someone else’s behaviour or reactions to something you present them with. You have no control and no right to control this.
So change the things you are unhappy with, but have full control over and accept things that you cannot control!
10. Understand Your Cycles
Life is one big cycle, made up of lots of little cycles. A day is a cycle, a week is a cycle, but you will also have your own cycles of different emotions. Take note of how you feel and what evokes different emotional responses within you.
If you have moments where you feel down, it doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. Figure out what you are most productive doing in your different emotional states and don’t go against it.
If you are best networking and having conversations when you are high energy then do them tasks in that state.
If you are best being creative and thoughtful when you are low energy, then do your creative work at those times.
Your life is one big vibrational cycle, try to vibe with it and not against it!
11. Get Clear
If you are not clear on what you want, you can’t create the life you want. Before you even think about setting goals and creating an action plan for life be sure that what you are chasing is what you really want.
Find out what makes you tick and what you could see yourself getting out of bed in the morning for every day. These things will change over time, but just flow with it and accept it.
Brainstorm, find your values and get clear on what is important to you. This will be your map, and once you have this map you can start thinking about jumping aboard the ship of life and sailing across the stormy seas.
12. Face Your Fears
You usually need to do what you are scared to do in order to progress. Get into the habit of facing your fears every day, as when you do real magic starts to happen.
In the journey of life the people who can be uncomfortable the most without cracking up will do the best. So learn not to fear your fears themselves, but to embrace them.
I am not saying you have to face your fears just for the sake of it or that facing something that is scary but not in line with your values will serve you in any way. But when you start to connect with what is important to you, there will be moments of intimidation that you will just have to face.
13. Reflect On How Far You Have Come
Never get to busy or to focused on progression to reflect on how far you have come as a person. Take time out to celebrate your successes, no matter how small they are.
If you want to find sustained enjoyment from your big goals, you will need to learn to celebrate the small ones too. Learn to take something out of everything, even if you feel like you are in a worse position today than you where yesterday, learn to look at the bigger picture and take the lesson out of everything that happens- Positive or negative.
Reflect on how far you have come, because you have certainly come a long way!
What Now?
What you can do now is to practice being present, meditation is the best way of doing this, so if you have not done any meditation before or have, but haven’t had the results you might of wished, get started today. Right after you finish this article.
Some people are lucky enough to have a job that fulfils this need. But if you don’t, make sure you still find time every day to do what you love.
If you like music, listen to music when you wake up. If you like to read, take time out for a book on your lunch break. Whatever it is that makes you feel alive, take time out and do it every day.
6. Immerse Yourself in Your Life Everyday
If you live in the concrete jungle or a remote countryside with no sign of life for miles, embrace it, accept it and fully immerse yourself in it.
When you open your eyes and throw yourself into life you will start to see that there is beauty in everything, manmade or natural.
Walk down the street and observe people or plants or even inanimate objects and fully take in what is going on around you and you will start to notice the miracles that exist every single day.
7. Be Open Minded
Don’t ever allow yourself to get to the point where you know everything, be a student and always question everything. If you think you know something never fully know it.
The sky may appear to be blue, but is it really? Or is it an illusion?
The grass may appear to be green, but is that just your perception? Does an animal or even a different human being view it in the same light?
This way of thinking may seem strange, but what it does is open you up to a different way of viewing the world, you don’t have to do this every moment of everyday as you might get a little exhausted. But take time out to practice viewing the world in a different way.
8. Absorb Knowledge
Always be on the lookout for new information that will serve you in life. If you have a subject that you love immerse yourself in it.
Read books, but more importantly study the good ones. Take courses from people who have the knowledge you seek. Find a mentor who is an expert in the subject you love and fully submit to their guidance.
We are currently living in a very automated world, in which our phone tells us which restaurants to eat at, our car tells us the direction to drive in and we can just Google the answer to any question we have.
This is not necessarily a bad thing, but means our brains need more conscious exercise, so make sure you give it what it needs!
9. Be Accepting
There is a difference between settling and accepting. Settling is lazy in nature and you saying to yourself- “This life will do” Accepting is an awareness that life will not always go in the exact direction you plan.
There are plenty of things in life that you have full control over, so focus on what you can change and learn to accept the uncontrollable things that are presented to us.
A good example of this is someone else’s behaviour or reactions to something you present them with. You have no control and no right to control this.
So change the things you are unhappy with, but have full control over and accept things that you cannot control!
10. Understand Your Cycles
Life is one big cycle, made up of lots of little cycles. A day is a cycle, a week is a cycle, but you will also have your own cycles of different emotions. Take note of how you feel and what evokes different emotional responses within you.
If you have moments where you feel down, it doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. Figure out what you are most productive doing in your different emotional states and don’t go against it.
If you are best networking and having conversations when you are high energy then do them tasks in that state.
If you are best being creative and thoughtful when you are low energy, then do your creative work at those times.
Your life is one big vibrational cycle, try to vibe with it and not against it!
11. Get Clear
If you are not clear on what you want, you can’t create the life you want. Before you even think about setting goals and creating an action plan for life be sure that what you are chasing is what you really want.
Find out what makes you tick and what you could see yourself getting out of bed in the morning for every day. These things will change over time, but just flow with it and accept it.
Brainstorm, find your values and get clear on what is important to you. This will be your map, and once you have this map you can start thinking about jumping aboard the ship of life and sailing across the stormy seas.
12. Face Your Fears
You usually need to do what you are scared to do in order to progress. Get into the habit of facing your fears every day, as when you do real magic starts to happen.
In the journey of life the people who can be uncomfortable the most without cracking up will do the best. So learn not to fear your fears themselves, but to embrace them.
I am not saying you have to face your fears just for the sake of it or that facing something that is scary but not in line with your values will serve you in any way. But when you start to connect with what is important to you, there will be moments of intimidation that you will just have to face.
13. Reflect On How Far You Have Come
Never get to busy or to focused on progression to reflect on how far you have come as a person. Take time out to celebrate your successes, no matter how small they are.
If you want to find sustained enjoyment from your big goals, you will need to learn to celebrate the small ones too. Learn to take something out of everything, even if you feel like you are in a worse position today than you where yesterday, learn to look at the bigger picture and take the lesson out of everything that happens- Positive or negative.
Reflect on how far you have come, because you have certainly come a long way!
What Now?
What you can do now is to practice being present, meditation is the best way of doing this, so if you have not done any meditation before or have, but haven’t had the results you might of wished, get started today. Right after you finish this article.
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