In this article, we will talk about conscious living. What does conscious living mean?
Conscious living means living consciously and acting attentively, not in an automatic, unconscious way.
Most people carry out most of their activities in an unconscious, automatic way. I don’t mean to say that they are unconscious. They are conscious but are not fully aware of themselves, their actions, and the world around them.
Let me ask you, are you aware of all your thoughts? Are you in control of your reactions and always focused on what you do?
Are you living consciously every moment of your waking hours, or are you often absent-minded, doing things on auto-pilot?
What Does Living Consciously Mean?
- Living consciously means being aware of your thoughts and your actions, your habits, and your reactions. It means becoming more aware of what you are thinking and doing instead of acting impulsively and without thinking.
- Conscious living also means being aware of what is happening around you, aware of the people around you and the words they say. It means becoming more aware of the environment in which you are living, acting, and working.
- Conscious living expands and sharpens your awareness of deep truths, the meaning of life, your inner self, and your real essence.
- Living Conscious is also the way to spiritual awakening.
The Path to Living Consciously
There are various ways to help you live consciously. Two of the main ways are meditation and mindfulness.
This website is all about conscious living, even if this is not mentioned explicitly in the articles on this website. It is also about living a positive lifestyle. In some way, conscious living and a positive lifestyle are interconnected.
I have written about living a positive lifestyle in another article, and here, I would like to focus on conscious living, what it means, and how to adopt it in your life.
You can find here, at this website, all the tools you need for conscious living. This includes advice and exercises for increasing your willpower and self-discipline, learning to think positively, mastering manifestation and creative visualization, and acquiring inner peace and freedom from nonstop thinking.
Of course, you can also find here guidance and information about meditation and mindfulness.
All these tools and skills have much to do with enhancing conscious living.
Conscious Living Requires a Peaceful Mind
It is possible that my description of conscious living is a little different from what other writers say. I am talking about what I consider to be conscious living.
As said earlier, conscious living means living your life consciously, being aware of your thoughts, being aware of your actions, and thinking before speaking. It means possessing self-discipline, willpower, and motivation and acting consciously, not in an unconscious manner.
This requires that you focus on your actions instead of doing them absentmindedly. This means that you need to be more focused.
For example:
- When you eat, focus on the act of eating.
- While drinking, focus on drinking.
- While reading, focus on what you are reading.
- When you work, focus on your work.
To live Consciously You Need Focus
Always focus on whatever you happen to be doing at that moment.
This means that you avoid doing one thing while at the same time thinking about something else.
Your actions and focus should be aligned.
What does focusing your attention mean? It means being able to pinpoint your attention on one thought or activity without moving your attention somewhere else.
Focus requires training. As you train yourself, in time, this ability improves, and you will be able to discard the thoughts that you do not want.
Instead of wasting your time following every thought that pops into your mind, you would be able to direct your attention to positive and useful activities.
If you keep training yourself, gradually, you will be able to clear your mind of thoughts and experience the bliss and calmness of a peaceful mind.
Possessing a peaceful mind means being fully conscious and fully aware, but without thoughts running through your mind.
This is not a trance state. You remain aware of what’s happening around you, are aware of yourself, and are fully attentive and active. This becomes possible when the waves and agitations that the thoughts and worries create cease.
Steps to Conscious Living
How to live consciously?
I would like to suggest a few tips to help adopt conscious living.
Be aware of your thoughts
Put some effort and attention into becoming more conscious and aware of your thoughts. In other words, pay attention to the thoughts that pass through your mind.
You might not be able to do this always, but even if you can do so several times a day, that would be great.
Think before you act
Do not rush into anything without thinking first. Look at the situation before you act.
Do not react immediately
Take a few seconds to wait before reacting in anger or resentment. This will give you time to regain your poise.
Focus and concentration
Always strive to focus on what you’re doing. This would make you more aware of what you are doing, and helps you do things more efficiently and with fewer errors.
Willpower and self-discipline
Develop a certain degree of willpower and self-discipline. This would increase your ability to have more control of yourself, your thoughts, and your actions.
Expand your viewpoint
Attempt to see everything from a wider point of view, beyond your ego, your beliefs, and what is possible or impossible.
Respect people and be patient with them
Respect people’s opinions and beliefs, even if they differ from yours. You can disagree with them, but this does not mean spoiling your relations with them.
Get out of your comfort zone
Staying in your comfort zone can lead to stagnation. Getting out of it, no matter how uncomfortable this might be, would bring new experiences, new life, and improvement.
Practice meditation
Find the time to meditate every day, preferably in the morning, before you start your day. Even only 10 minutes a day would do you good.
Practice Mindfulness
Mindful practices help improve your focus and awareness. They also help you become fully present. This means that you are fully focused on the present, on the here and now.
Your smartphone and the social media
Don’t immerse yourself in your smartphone. There is real life around you. Don’t forget the world.
Where your awareness is, that’s where you are. If you are always looking at the screen, you become captivated by it, lose your freedom, and let it enslave you. This is the opposite of conscious living and being free.
I am not telling you to stop using your smartphone. It is a useful instrument. However, you need to reduce the time you spend looking at the screen and start looking at yourself, your mind, and the world around you.
Live in the present
You cannot change the past. Dwelling on the past can lead to remorse and unhappiness.
It’s much better to focus on the present moment and live in the present moment.
Focusing on the present and living in it enables you to enjoy it more. When you make your present a good place to live in, your future will improve, too, because what we do now impacts the future.
Build the habit of living consciously by following these tips.
Conscious Living Quotes
“Being conscious of your actions can save you much wasted time and pleasant situations.”
“Conscious living means paying attention to your choices, decisions, and actions. This helps you make better choices.”
“While walking, look up at the sky and notice the color of the sky and the shape of the clouds.”
“Dare to be optimistic. It doesn’t cost you money or time. It’s free and makes you feel better, more confident, and more energetic.”
“Meditation is the gateway to the world of inner freedom and bliss.”
“Clear thinking produces definite results. Muddled thinking leads to lack of results.”
“Make conscious living a way of life by becoming more mindful of your thoughts and actions.”
More Conscious living quotes.
