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relaxing awareness

relaxing awareness

One of the first things my teacher taught me is to "Notice what you notice." When you begin to listen to your inner teacher, your authentic nature, your intuition or whatever you want to call it, this alert noticing is investigating everything and trying hard to notice. What a beautiful thing when you start noticing and seeing the true nature of things.

What a change from a noticing that is so loose and undirected that you are not really noticing, or unconsciously experiencing life.

There is, however, a middle way that is not trying too hard, nor overly loose. A noticing that is simultaneously vigilant AND relaxed. Alert AND loose. A noticing that is aware without fixating. A noticing that is present without overly identifying and getting stuck on what it noticing trying to figure it out.

When you relax into awareness, awareness goes where it goes perfectly without your effort.

Meredith

As you notice, relax and soften your awareness.
There is no need to effort in your awareness. There is no need to try to be aware of anything. When you soften into your natural state, awareness goes where it goes perfectly. You merely notice. You don't have to effort at it. You don't need to pursue or direct the awareness.

Experience for your self with this little experiment.
If you are observing something closely, say, getting up out of chair and noticing any tension in your body, sense what happens. Once you observe tension, did your body hesitate or stop its action to get out of the chair? This is what can happen when you notice in a way that is trying to figure out what is happening. If you try too hard to observe it, things tighten up, rather than simply sense and keep sensing. You focus so closely that the action becomes unnatural.

Since life is dynamic and in motion, when you soften your awareness to sense with the dynamic movement, then you move fluidly and flow along with life.What you notice is always changing. Now, you can get up out of the chair, even walk around the room, notice tension, and as your awareness relaxes the tension in your body relaxes, too.

Vigilant yet loose awareness naturally brings you into harmony.
Being present to what is happening without fixating on it, awareness naturally brings you into harmony. And this happens without trying to make something happen- without solving, fixing,, figuring out, or changing anything. With vigilant yet loose awareness, awareness itself will begin to transform circumstances, both within and externally. That's just the way of it, when you give awareness its freedom. Too much effort restricts and tightens awareness and insight.

Awareness is not located in any one place.
Awareness itself is much bigger than in your mind or eyes or senses. Awareness is not located in any one place. It is not inside your body or outside your body. It is everywhere. If you soften awareness, it naturally moves you into boundaryless, not separateness; realigning in harmony with your naturalness. That's the way of it.

Allowing awareness to move naturally without directing it.
Since noticing is a balancing act, it's a matter of sensitivity. Not too tight, not too loose either. You may want to simply give soft attention to balanced, soft, alert awareness. When awareness needs to focus in, it does. When awareness needs to be extra alert, it is. When awareness wants you to notice something it shows you, or do something it moves you. All in perfect timing. You don't actually need to direct it at all! You aren't separate from awareness. Relax, be present, and let awareness do its natural thing.

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