Active Awareness

“I was on the subway on my way to work, was sitting on the express same as every morning looking out the window watching the local stops go by in the dark with an empty head and my arms folded, not feeling great, not feeling rotten, just not feeling. And for a minute I couldn’t remember, I didn’t know, unless I really concentrated, whether it was a Tuesday or a Thursday or a… for a minute it could have been any day.

Arnie, I gotta know what day it is! I gotta know what’s the name of the game and what the rules are without anyone else telling me.You gotta own your own days and name ’em, each one of ’em, every one of ’em, or else the years go right by and none of them belong to you. And that ain’t just for weekends, kiddo.”

– Murray Burns (played by Jason Robards) “A Thousand Clowns” Oscar Nominated Movie and Tony Award Winning Broadway Play by Herb Gardner 1962

When people enter a room these days so enraptured with their Blackberry, they don’t really notice or connect with the moment, the meeting in which they are barely engaged, the building, the business housed in it, the room in which they are sitting, the walls which hold the art they are not noticing, or the people with whom they aren’t sharing the space…

Much of life is conducted with the body in one location, the mind somewhere else; and the spirit experiencing a deep malaise. “Zoning Out” is not a bad thing necessarily, but it can rob us of the opportunity to be fully connected to life, the present, the moment, the place and our immediate feelings and responses.

People in airports walk around heads down… not noticing or participating in the shared space, but communing with the Gods of Cyberspace. It’s a cool place, cyberspace. But have we gone so far in search of constant and instant entertainment, that we have lost touch with “The Now?”

The universe of which I constitute a small part is one big interconnected living system. Wherever I find myself, there’s an opportunity for a “happenstance event.”  I meet someone by accident that turns out to be a big influence on my life.  I overhear a conversation that changes my perspective on an event.  I encounter a humorous server – or a cranky one that needs a big tip… A fellow traveler helps me hoist a bag into the overhead – but only if I’m paying attention…

These “random occurrences” might not lodge if I’m not “firmly enough seated” in the moment.  If my mind is somewhere else, it’s difficult for the universe to manifest a meaningful happenstance. See?  Right there – two rows over, that’s the girl!  Your one true love!  Pull out the ear buds!  Reach for her!  Nope you missed her!  She was sending an e-mail…

Moral of the story: There may be more for you in the universe than you’ve come to know, but you have to be more completely present with body, mind and spirit aligned, engaged and poised to pick up on it when the magic moment arrives.  People who are otherwise engaged – are not engaged…

Suggestions about becoming fully present in the space and time in which you find yourself:

1. Start by Noticing Yourself! Breathe! “Breathe in a circle” as opposed to in/out.  Allow the body to relax into a cycle of calm as you open up to the moment.  Slow down and connect… Push your awareness out to the corners of the room.  Turn off and stow the Blackberry/phone/computer.  The meeting is about to begin.

2. Notice: What’s happening… What’s this seminar/meeting about?  Is it gonna work?  Should I be here – or get back on the road? Is there any wisdom here?  Is there any fun lurking around the corner?  Is the facilitator sharp or can they use some help?  Is the speaker a pro, or something less? Is there any meaning to be discovered in the content?

Walk around the office, and get a sense of what the place is about.  So is this experience going to succeed on its own, or should you jump in and make it better through your presence and commitment?  What can you do to make this gathering (and the next one) better?

3. Notice: Who’s in the room!? Is there anyone in the room who can help your career?  Who has seen something you’d like to know about?  Who knows someone you should meet?  Who can teach you something?  Who knows something you should know?  Who has any insight into how life works?  Who can you help?  Who can you serve?  How can you make their day better through your presence?

4. Notice: What’s in the room!? Notice the Room! Is there anything in the room of any interest to you?  Is there anything there worth owning, acquiring, finding out about?  Is there any art?  Why?  What does it mean?  Where’s it from?  How’d they acquire it?  How’s the Feng Shui?  Is there a particular seat or part of the room in which you feel more comfortable?  Or not?  What would you change?  Why?  How?

5. Finish: by forming the mental question, “Why am I here?”  What’s the cosmic event that I am here to witness?  How can I play my role in this moment?

Active Awareness means Being Fully Present in the moment, ready to accept or contribute something meaningful. If you “show up” like this (Body, Mind and Spirit) in your daily life, you’ll not only see that girl when she appears, you’ll have the big smile she’s been looking for all her life! And that ain’t just for weekends, kiddo!

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