Conscious vs. Unonscious Living

Hello Friends,

Hope all is well. I've been reading a lot lately. I just finished The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle. I highly recommend reading this book.

"Our lives are not determined by what happens to us, but how we react to what happens."

In Tolle's book he talks about living in the NOW. He explains that in reality, neither the past or future ever exist. There is only ever, Right Now.

According to Tolle, there is Conscious living and Unconscious living. Being in a state of consciousness is what we should be striving for. It is a state in which you truly understand your "inward" self in relation to your "outward" self.

The way to live consciously is to first identify any unconscious behavior. For example. Say you are wanting to lose weight so that you can be healthier. This is a "conscious" decision because it is something that will be good for you.

Two days into your diet you decide to eat three Whoppers, fries, and coke. King Sized. This would be an example of an unconscious decision. You know that your decision is not a good one but still you do it. Unconscious behavior stems from memories of the past or looking to much into the future.

Eating three Whoppers is an activity, that in the past, brought you joy and satisfaction. Choosing to diet threatens your comfort level or "ego". I'm realizing that the ego is the biggest hindrance to anyone achieving any goal.

The ego wants you to be comfortable. It tries to tell you who you are. The ego says, "you will never lose weight." "Why even try. You'll lose your lunch buddies." "Everyone will criticize you." The ego has a very powerful voice and we tend to listen because we lack the necessary foundation to stand strong.

Tolle tells us to recognize unconscious behavior as soon as it arises. The second you hear those voices, recognize it as unconscious behavior. Recognizing unconsciousness brings you closer to conscious living.

This can be done with anything in your life that you are wanting to change. Say you are prone to fits of rage. As soon as you feel an episode coming, recognize it for what is is and move on. Once you recognize the behavior you will not act on it because you see that action as being unconscious.

So how will react this New Year when you start to hear the voices in your head. The ego is a very powerful thing, but can be controlled if you start to get to heart of what is feeding your ego. Identify what needs changing in your life and do it now. Live for the moment. Don't worry about the future. It doesn't exist. Don't live your life based on past experiences. It doesn't exist. All that exist is right now. That's all we have. Who cares what happened in the past. Who cares what is going to happen in the future. If you live for right NOW, the Universe has already provided everything that we could ever want or need.

Here's a quick video of some quotes by Ekhart Tolle. Apply the concepts to your life and living in the NOW will become totally natural for you. Many blessings, and thanks for listening.