We are told knowledge is power. That may be true, but I also feel awareness in its own right is also very powerful. I looked up Awareness and one definition was: conscious knowledge. I love that phrase, conscious knowledge. Have you ever experienced a time when you’ve heard yourself saying: Wow, I knew that, but now I actually get it! I myself have experienced this many times when I’ve been told something, and then somewhere down the line, lo and behold, I really get it! That knowledge has become conscious. Something inside has awakened.
I knew this, but now I really know it!
Awareness is the state of being conscious of something. More specifically, it is the ability to directly know and perceive, to feel, or to be cognizant of events.
Wikipedia
I agree. I bring this up because I have recently become aware of a pattern: how I behave right before a big change. Something within me knows a big change is coming well before I am consciously aware of what’s going on. An appointment set to go off within my internal alarm clock called: ‘a big change is coming’ gets activated. I then go into a spiraling down mode and it’s usually a one-way ticket. I am always amazed how I can unconsciously resist change well before I consciously know it’s going to happen.
Even though the status quo is familiar and comfortable, if it lingers on past its due date, it can get moldy and stale and have an “I’ve overstayed my welcome” kind of feel. The alarm goes off and activates my behavior change. Life becomes a drudgery and it’s suddenly hard. It’s an outward sign that something is going on behind the scenes.
Get a clue!
It’s happened to me so many times I’ve even named it: My Death Spiral. I get frustrated, crotchety and withdraw. I can’t be bothered. I don’t want to know. I trudge on, even though moving ahead gets harder and harder and I get tireder and tireder – doesn’t matter. My mind tells me: Facing change means work! My energy is tied up in the pattern trying to maintain the status quo – and so it goes, the pattern continues on, taking me with it, spiraling down.
This behavior and pattern can go on for weeks, even months if it remains unconscious. Through years of working with this pattern though, I can at least now begin to recognize the signs. It’s a vicious one. The fatigue of resisting what’s going on contributes to my withdrawal and not wanting to face what’s coming. It feeds itself as I weaken. It becomes personal – the worst thing that can happen. “What’s wrong with me, I’m crotchety and negative.”
Like I said, I have lots of experience with change and how it effects me. It’s a matter of knowing the signs and waking up from the spell – calling a spade a spade. I must see the pattern for the pattern’s sake, and not as something that’s wrong with me. It’s not personal. It’s a matter of fact – change is coming. Having this awareness will create the space needed for things to effortlessly shift.
Getting back to knowledge and awareness. In this instance, I have the knowledge that something’s off with me. Great, it’s a good start. But as I move into – this is familiar, I’ve been through this before, I gain awareness (conscious knowing) by identifying the pattern. It’s no longer personal and I take my power back! Awareness is a powerful step towards healing!
I have now taken a stand and made an intention to shift my focus. I see the pattern and know what it is – I have conscious knowledge about it. I am aware. I am also aware that once I set my intention to create space for change to happen, it will happen with ease and flow. I am now a cause in the matter of change, and no longer at the effect of my pattern. The fear is gone as I am the one now doing the inviting.
There remains always two choices. The choice is in attitude. I can resist it kicking and screaming or I can make space and invite it in because, no matter what, the change is coming. It’s inevitable. So I choose to enjoy the time I have before things change and look forward with anticipation to a smooth transition.
When We Are No Longer Able To Change A Situation, We Are Challenged To Change Ourselves. Everything Can Be Taken From A Man But One Thing: The Last Of The Human Freedoms—To Choose One’s Attitude In Any Given Set Of Circumstances, To Choose One’s Own Way.
Viktor Frankl
Relevant past posts!
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