Self awareness

In its simplest form, Self Awareness is our understanding that we exist, as a unique identity, separate from other people.

As an individual we are aware that whilst we interact with others, being a social creature, there is a point at which we become private, where we proctect out own individuality.

For many people, their indviduality is a paradox :

On one hand they wish to present themselves as individuals,
and on the other hand they wish to be accepted in their social order.

For a person with a high level of self awareness individuality within society is not a problem - they are individuals, end of story!

However, for a person with a low level of self awareness, individuality and the expectations of social interaction can be overwhelming.

The problem is one of clarification of our position. We can see ourselves as responsible individuals or become playthings of our society.

If we take our Awareness to a higher level, our understanding of self brings us back to our definition of self:

You are not your thoughts

You are the place they occupy.

Being aware of ourselves and our thought processes - as if we are standing outside ourselves - is what separates us as a true individual.

Your thoughts are not limited by physical boundaries, they can travel instantly from one subject to the next and from one place to the next.

You have the ability to start, stop or change what you are thinking at any given moment.

Note : If you thought that your thought processes were on automatic up to this point, close your eyes and visualise a polar bear eating a tub of strawberry ice cream. - See, you can consciously change your line of thought at will!

Your physical body on the other hand is inexorably bound to its three dimensional reality and solid separateness. The paradox is that whilst as a physical entity we are severely limited in what we can or cannot do, mentally we can overcome all limitations of time and space.

Your awareness of self can be focused on the process of thinking, or your awareness can be centered in the thoughts themselves.

So, can you - your awareness - be in two different places at the same time?

The observer and the observed.

Can you be both watching the movie of your life, and starring in it at the same time?

Actually you can be both.

You can be the director until destination and direction is set, then you can become the actor and enjoy the role.

However, at the same time, your self awareness is watching the movie of your life!

When we are immersed in our thoughts, we learn from the emotion of the journey, we live in the practical sense - in fact it is a sensory experience.

However, being aware of the whole process as it unfolds is - being conscious of these processes as they occur.

Our awareness of who we are expands as we discover more and more connections to the world in which we live through our interactions with other people on all levels

In fact you could say the our self awareness is what we see reflected in others.

Note : As an observer of our own life, we have a feedback loop. We can see the interactions between our life and our connections to the world around us.

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