Many authors have explored what it means to be aware, awake, or mindful from various perspectives including philosophical, psychological, and spiritual. Some have emphasized the importance of living entirely absorbed in the present moment to be unburdened by the past or worries about the future. Others stress the importance of experiencing a spiritual awakening that shifts one's perception from being separate from nature and other people to being one with All, and some focus on the need to increase our ability to be empathetic and become more altruistic and less self-absorbed and selfish.
While I see merit in all these different perspectives, I also see another through the lens of having been what is called an "empath" or "highly sensitive" person. I cannot remember a time when I did not feel others' feelings, even sometimes to the extent of becoming literally one with them, experiencing their feelings and their thoughts, and not just with people but occasionally with animals as well. Learning to live with this intense empathy has been a lifelong challenge for me. It is wonderful to experience the world's joys and horrific to experience the world's suffering. Since I was young, I have been interested in psychology as a way of understanding this phenomenon as well as a way of learning how to reduce my own and others' suffering because living with so much emotional pain coming from all directions has been unbearable. I find solace in solitutde and taking long walks in nature where I can absorb the peaceful energy emanating from the trees, the meadows, the sky and the the life-affirming song birds. I also find solace in prayer, meditation, writing, and listening to music. However, like most of us, I cannot always live as a hermit. I must return to society to do a job or to take care of household work that must be done. I have had to learn how to live with my oneness with others, and it has not been easy, and certainly not always blissful or peaceful.
While learning how to live with my intensely empathetic disposition, I have learned that being fully in the present moment can be beneficial only when the present moment is not over- stimulating with others' feelings and thoughts, which is why I am an introvert. Ironically, I must withdraw from people not because I am antisocial but because I care about people too much--to my own detriment. This is why I did not become a member of the helping profession until much later in life, after I had learned how to separate my own thoughts and feelings from others and establish and honor my personal boundaries.
While I acknowledge that the perception of being separate from other others is an illusion, our vast oneness requires some separation of roles and responsibilites. In essence, we are made of the same energy or life source, but we are also separate parts of this energy. So, our perception that we are separate individuals is not entirely an illusion. We are all parts of the same human body, so to speak, but each of us is a separate part of the body, and we can only function as one part of the body.. Each indvidual part of the human body has only one primary function. The arm cannot be the leg, the heart cannot perform the function of the liver, and so on. However, all the parts of the human body must communicate with each other and support each other for the body as a whole to survive, and that is the point of realizing we are not separate from each other. We are all parts of the same human race, and our survival depends on recognizing that we need to communicate, work, and live in peace together, and it depends on our awareness that we are all parts of nature as well,
Understanding we are not separtate from nature is the key to having the motivation to support the wellness of nature not only for the aesthetics of nature but for our own literal and physical survival. We all need clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and food that is not poisoned with chemicals. We need to understand that all beings living on this planet are interconnected and interdependent, each playing their part in the whole of Life itself, just as every part of the human body must function for the whole body to continue to survive.
My perspective on living in a state of awareness, awakeness, or mindfulness is not limited to that blissful feeling of belonging to the entire human family, the planet, and the universe or that wonderful sense that all is and will be well or of living solely in the present moment. I have enjoyed this bliss especially during times in my solitude when I can reconnect to this sacred spirit in all of us. I simply want to add that carrying this positive energy with me and allowing it to flow through me in my daily tasks, interactions, and decisions can be challenging, and it should be discussed because the present moment, especially in my line of work as a counselor, is frequently fraught with grief, trauma, fear, guilt, and intense anger enamating from the people who come to me for help. For empaths, this work can be especially draining. The best advice I ever received came from another seasoned counselor, "Learn to live with one foot in with empathy and the other foot out with detachment." In other words, learn to live with the awarness that we are one, but also with the awareness that we are different parts of the whole, and the best thing we can do is play our part well.
So, being mindful means not only being aware of the present moment, but also of what your part is and the best way to function to keep yourself and the whole of the human family and the planet healthy. Being awake or aware starts with being self-aware, and that comes from learning lessons from the past and applying them to our present every day experience toward building a happier future for ourselves and everyone else, not by living solely absorbed in the present moment or by taking on everyone's burdens, We can be most helpful by peforming our own part well and encouraging others to play their part as best they can too.
All the concepts of awareness, awakeness and mindfulness are not separate from each other either. They are actually all parts of what I would call living consciously. This includes experiencing the great mystical feeling of being one with all the universe and applying lessons you have learned from past experiences to being your best self in everything you do or say and how you do it or say it. Living consciously is living deliberately, being mindful of your own behaviors and how they are helping or hindering the wellbeing of yourself and others.
If the world's problems feel overwhelming to you, I suggest that you pause, take a deep breath, and remember you just have to play your part as best you can. Trust that the sacred, powerful, and loving energy of the universe is with you.and everyone else. Just let this energy flow to you and through you, and never fear running out. You will be refueled with every deep breath you take. Altrusim begins with yourself. It does not exclude you. Altruism is all-inclusive because we are not separate. Whatever good you do for yourself will help others, and whatever good you do for others will help you.
Photo Credit: Ian Stauffer
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