Awareness Alone Is Curative - How To Autocorrect Any Unwanted Behaviors - Summary

[Christian]

 

When we try to make a change, what we typically do is to try to change the system from within the system itself. This does not work because the system is really helpless to change itself. To change the system, you must become aware of its functioning and apply this principle: Awareness alone is curative.

What this means is that you can make any unwanted behaviour auto correct simply through awareness. Awareness is an in the moment observation of what is happening in the present moment.

An example of one using awareness to get rid of an unwanted behaviour:

A person goes and orders a unhealthy burger. Whilst he is ordering it, he stays aware of the process and once he sits down, he does not try to manipulate himself to not eat the burger, but he does it with awareness.

This awareness has to be applied CONSTANTLY in any situation where you want to stop a bad behaviour. It is not enough to be aware once and then loose awareness. That will not work because it will send you back into unconsciousness and lead to more doing of the unwanted behaviour. In fact, to do any unwanted behaviour (eating a burger, smoking, drinking, moralizing, it is required that you MUST be unconscious to an extend whilst doing it. Because if you were fully conscious, it would reveal the damage that it does to your life and you would not want to engage in that behaviour any more and the behaviour will stop. Not only will it stop, but it will also auto correct which means that it will automatically be corrected to something more ressourcefull. So this person in the example stated previously would likely substitute his burger for something more healthy like a salad in his meals.

This is just one case and this principle that awareness is curative can be used with ANY unwanted behaviour you have. 

To use this, of course you need awareness first, so how do you develop awareness? By flexing your awareness muscles. The best way to train this is through  meditation - build a habit of doing it for 20 minutes daily for the rest of your life - no sick days, no days off at ALL.

Hope this helped

 

[vizual]

Thanks for writing this up. 

I just want to say that I do not resonate with the phrase "flexing your awareness muscles" as it implies it needs some kind of mental or physical effort. While awareness is more of a relaxation than an effort. You can check this for yourself. If you are addicted to junkfood, notice the contractions that appear in your body and mind when the craving comes up. Your body tenses, and also your mind tenses. We've probably all had the experience of when we we're craving something really bad that we totally zoned out and only had that one thing in our minds. The whole mind focussed on indulging on that burger, or cigarette or whatever. In a way, we become that burger and the burger becomes us. In that moment, you feel you are powerless to stop the craving, no matter how hard you try, the craving overrides all your good intentions. So you totally pig out on burgers and hate yourself for it afterwards, you think to yourself, how could I let this happen?

If you want to beat these bad habits. You need to become aware of what is really going on in these moments of you going crazy. You have to become aware that this crazed out mind that is totally zoomed in on eating a burger is not 'you' in that moment. It feels as if it is you, but it's not. When you can become aware of the physical and mental contractions that appear during these moments, they actually get the opportunity to release, if there is awareness that these sensations are not 'you'. 

Note that this awareness does NOT require effort. If you are "efforting" through you temptations you are actually resisting reality. When you keep resisting reality, reality will hit back, and reality always wins.

[Christian]

 

5 hours ago, vizual said:

Thanks for writing this up. 

I just want to say that I do not resonate with the phrase "flexing your awareness muscles" as it implies it needs some kind of mental or physical effort. While awareness is more of a relaxation than an effort. You can check this for yourself. If you are addicted to junkfood, notice the contractions that appear in your body and mind when the craving comes up. Your body tenses, and also your mind tenses. We've probably all had the experience of when we we're craving something really bad that we totally zoned out and only had that one thing in our minds. The whole mind focussed on indulging on that burger, or cigarette or whatever. In a way, we become that burger and the burger becomes us. In that moment, you feel you are powerless to stop the craving, no matter how hard you try, the craving overrides all your good intentions. So you totally pig out on burgers and hate yourself for it afterwards, you think to yourself, how could I let this happen?

If you want to beat these bad habits. You need to become aware of what is really going on in these moments of you going crazy. You have to become aware that this crazed out mind that is totally zoomed in on eating a burger is not 'you' in that moment. It feels as if it is you, but it's not. When you can become aware of the physical and mental contractions that appear during these moments, they actually get the opportunity to release, if there is awareness that these sensations are not 'you'. 

Note that this awareness does NOT require effort. If you are "efforting" through you temptations you are actually resisting reality. When you keep resisting reality, reality will hit back, and reality always wins.

Yeah, you're right. You should not forcefully try to be aware and flex those awareness muscles. That will create a lot of anxiety and frustration and it can make you RESIST meditating and reality. I have been there. Instead, meditation and being aware should come naturally without any you forcing yourself. And I know that I did not hint through what I said, but that is what meditation should be like regardless. You're right - thanks for the input

 

 

 

[LateBloomer]

Isn't there an element of so called 'paradoxical intention' going on here? Atleast with the burger -case that Leo demonstrated in his video it seemed very similar. Theres always unawereness going on and when you actually take the control of any given action it shows up very differently. Similarly if ones depressed or anxious, then when heshe actually trys to 'do the anxiety' its very likely he/she fails to produce that deliberately. Obviously awareness and intention are different but with some cases , like anxiety, it can remove the sensation right away because the feeling is just so overwhelming and unwanted.