Conscious Living

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” - Socrates

With connections to a myriad of spiritual philosophies, including Buddhism, the ideology of conscious living has been practiced by many cultures for many centuries. Its recent resurgence as a social media trend has left us wondering...what is it, why should we care, and how can we integrate it into our lives?

Essentially, conscious living is about bringing awareness to all aspects of your daily life. It asks us to consider every choice we make, every belief we hold, and to be present for every moment we experience. When we lack awareness, we fall into patterns of conditioned habits and impulses that are most often not serving us in the ways we deserve. It’s too easy in the age of 1-click buying and 2-day shipping to default to an “autopilot” mode for life. We’re handed a universal path of least resistance and we willingly and blindly follow wherever it leads. Conscious living asks you to stop, dig deeper, and start again on a new path that holds truth and authenticity for you, individually. It, quite simply, asks you to wake up.

To begin living a life more conscious, you must evaluate your current belief systems, thought patterns, and daily actions. How much of your life is built upon your own individual, considered choices, and how much of it has been put on “autopilot” mode? Begin a practice of daily meditation in which you dig deeper into the unconsidered actions in all aspects of your life: your health, finances, relationships, work, and play.

Does a daily meditation practice seem daunting? Start by choosing two activities that you do on a daily basis, like showering or making a meal or folding the laundry. Then, commit to doing those tasks with presence, awareness, and conscious thought for the next 30 days. Keep a journal of the thoughts and emotions you have during these seemingly mundane tasks. Ask yourself how you can derive meaning, joy, and gratitude from them. Now expand this practice to...everything!

Conscious living reaches into every area of our lives when we open ourselves to its power. It expands our empathy and understanding for other people and the world around us, and leads us to make meaningful and impactful decisions. Even the act of selecting, purchasing, and enjoying the objects in our homes can become conscious and considered acts that bring joy and peace to our daily lives.