"Do you deem yourself as being awake or self aware?

[LightSun]

Do you deem yourself as being awake or self aware? Is there a way to awake and what is your chosen way, path or discipline? What is the benefit of being self-aware?

“Most of our behavior is automatic, therefore subconsciously driven in degree by distortions of thought, self, & reality. In a sense we are not awake yet. Both cognitive therapy and Buddhism imply that we really need to wake up by being more aware of how we think, speak and act. In this way we discover the falsehoods within us as they really relate to reality. I use as a metaphor the engine light in a car. If it is on, it implies there is an internal problem. It is a reflection of unfinished business and unresolved conflict. Our emotions are triggered.


This is an opportunity for growth however if we reflect and take pains to act with reason and not react towards reality in an irrational manner or by being negative. We in effect take personal responsibility and act with an internal locus of control. If we experience a negative emotion there are distortions and fallacies of thought and cognitive reasoning. I would recommend 'Feeling Good' by David Burns, 1980 to get into learned cognitive discipline. A goal is being more aware in both cognitive science and Buddhism.


We become aware of our subconscious thought process and do not react blindly in an automatic fashion. We become more truly aware of both ourselves and reality and so grow mentally, emotionally and spiritually. We become awake and reach a heaven on earth, nirvana and personal self-actualization. The bottom line really we will become happier in life.”

 

[Lark]

I think self-awareness is a work in progress always.

There are sensory awareness disciplines or practices which were once popular in the western world and originated in the western world, I cant think of the authors now but there were two US authors who did highly acclaimed tours and sold books on the topic.

It is something which I think the present day west has permitted a kind of eastern monopoly on, I've always wondered at the assumptions western thinkers make about buddhism in particular, I think its become something that a lot of western hopes and dreams are projected upon. Its not necessarily so. As the events in with the muslims being expelled by buddhist militants in the news should indicate.

The movie Silence too was quite a stark lesson, when I saw it lately, although I think a viewer without any christian, or even spiritual, sympathies would probably view that pretty differently to me, though I saw it as a pretty clear clash between buddhism and alternative influences, buddhism was as capable of a inquisitorial excesses and mind games as any other school of thought.

 

[Lark]

Charlotte Selver - Wikipedia

This is the source I was thinking off, they co-authored books with someone called Brooks, you can find them easily on Amazon.

A note of caution though, the Human Potential Movement is something that I think should be anathema to any thinking person, likewise the school of thought labelling itself humanistic psychology, I know a lot of great humanists who would find that particular school of thought pretty strange to them.

Those are things which I think are a little dodgy, the same as pscyhosynthesis, whatever worth anyone could argue about them as literary or historic theories they all smack of snake oil or scientology to me.

 

[Typh0n]

I'm gonna be blunt: awakening is not something most people have the focus or willpower to acheive. It also takes a bit of luck, because it takes luck to find your way into the right school.

My concept of awakening is based on Gurdjieff's. Only the initiated can awaken, and the initiated have to find a school where they can be taught by teachers, from mouth to ear. Real initiation cannot happen by reading books. Gurdjieff and his student Ouspensky bring us the concept of awakening, the idea most people are "asleep" (meaning they act, feel, think, etc mechanically through automatism) and will remain that way, yet some people, a select few, can be "pulled out" of this sleep. This also brings to mind Hermetic and Gnostic teachings, the Hermetics believed in gaining knowledge to escape the sensory world, where the Gnostics held that only a select few can escape the cosmos (the cosmos was created by a demiurge they hold, and is by its nature evil, and humans have a soul which can be taught to escape the material cosmos).

I am trying to awaken, but it isn't easy, as I've read books on initiation, but have not affiliated with a teacher that can help you awaken through mouth to ear communication, the trick being to find someone you trust and that proves their progress by how they live and not end up with charlatans. It takes alot of courage to affiliate with a teacher, as they have human flaws and will always end up dissapointing with those flaws, often driving the student away at some point. Most people prefer to remain in the comfort of their home reading books, I want to go beyond the book reading phase and find the right school for me.

 

[á´…eparted]

I am incredibly self aware, but have a long way to go.

 

[ceecee]

I only came in here to see if anyone claimed to be woke AF.

 

[Fluffywolf]

Everytime I think I've mastered self-awareness. I learn something new about myself.

 

[Hiraeth]

Self-aware.

When I think 'awake' or 'enlightened,' I think of a Buddhist monk or some other spiritual guru like that. But even then, what is awake anyway? I've had periods in life of what I consider self-transformations, but I wouldn't consider that awake, but maybe awakening in some other aspect, just not the entirety.

Honestly, I'd rather worry about living a fulfilled life by my standards than trying to fulfill a spiritual quest of some sort. I do try to include some spiritual components in my life and have goals pertaining to those as well, but I don't want to make it the be-all and end-all for me. As long as I keep myself -- mind, body, and spirit stable, then that's fine with me. I'm not trying to be 'above' anyone in that regard. I don't even consider myself an 'old soul' or whatever people these days label themselves. I'm just a student of life. Always learning and knowing I will make mistakes along the way, but I can grow and learn from them and keep growing as a person. And that's good enough for me.

 

[Typh0n]

I realize I may have been misunderstood in my claims above.

I didn't mean that I wanted to find some spiritual guru who will "awaken" me, just that I want to work with others in order to gain more power. Yes, awakening creates power, because once you realize that most of your cognition and behaviors are mechanical and just reactive to random shit, this opens the possibility of de-programming yourself. The goal isn't to be reprogrammed by some guru or whatever but simply to be free (or as free as possible) from programming and propaganda. All political campaigning, as well as all advertising, is, without exception, propaganda. Those things take advantage of people's fears, just as do many spiritual gurus. I have a feeling most people are subject to these mechanics, basically powerful people play on their fears and promise them miracle solutions to their problems while of course nosuch thing exists. A decision to buy a can of a certain brand of soda or to shop at a certian department isn't as random as it seems. The point here isn't that one should become antisocial and paranoid, just that it' good to be aware of these things.

When I speak of awakening, I am referring to Gurdjieff and use that term within his tradition. There is nothing Buddhist about it. I'm not really sure I like the term myself, it's just that all terms are so overused and even abused by spiritual phonies that its best not to use any cliche terms.

The point I am trying to make here: it's best to remain cynical about spirituality. Better too cynical than too gullible.

Also, the concept of the school is interesting because doing all the work alone doesn't allow you to challenge your own blind spots, and you go around in circles. You don't grow past a certain point. The school isn't the teacher. The school's policy needs to be respected by everyone including those holding positions of high responsibility (ideally of course: in reality, there is no transperancy in occult orgnanizations, making it very hard to see who's following the organization's protocol and who isn't).

 

[Lark]

I only came in here to see if anyone claimed to be woke AF.

I'm pretty sure what you meant by that and I think its supremely ironic in most of the cases in which its claimed to be the case.

 

[Yama]

Contrary to what it probably seems like on the surface, I'm incredibly self-aware. Not by nature, but through years of effort and practice. I regularly reflect on my behavior, motivations, thoughts, feelings, etc. I'm not nearly as dumb or oblivious as most people probably think I am. I wouldn't say that most people have a complete lack of self awareness, but there are certain people who do, and when it's glaringly obvious, it irritates me to no end.

 

[Mesmeric_Moon]

I only came in here to see if anyone claimed to be woke AF.

This would be me. AMA.

 

[Poki]

Yes, very much so. Has its good and bad. Others tend to agree i am as well.

 

[Dreamer]

Contrary to what it probably seems like on the surface, I'm incredibly self-aware. Not by nature, but through years of effort and practice. I regularly reflect on my behavior, motivations, thoughts, feelings, etc. I'm not nearly as dumb or oblivious as most people probably think I am. I wouldn't say that most people have a complete lack of self awareness, but there are certain people who do, and when it's glaringly obvious, it irritates me to no end.

Is this the typical perception you have? That others view you as not being self aware? Just curious. But fwiw, I've never viewed you as such, in fact, you're quite the opposite in my opinion.

As for myself, I'm much the Dreamer, so no, I am DEFINITELY not awake, though I wish I were more often. I feel I'm missing much of the world because I'm seeing through rose tinted glasses most the time. Self aware, absolutely. Being Fi and a strong image type for the win haha

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

No, because whenever I think I've reached a point of self-awareness, I'm made aware of some new blindspot.


It's kind of an ongoing process and I don't think it's ever complete.

And I think self is somewhat an illusion we all might be clinging to like a security blanket.

I believe we are all part of the same tapestry and that each so-called individual views the universe from various points of view; I think total self-awareness can only come through awareness of the whole.

But it's all part of the same existence and consciousness. We are simultaneously unique and special and not too significant or awesome. That's not a contradiction. Revel both in your status as a unique snowflake and your status as an insignificant cog in a greater machine

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

I only came in here to see if anyone claimed to be woke AF.

I'm fuck as woke

- - - Updated - - -

Contrary to what it probably seems like on the surface, I'm incredibly self-aware. Not by nature, but through years of effort and practice. I regularly reflect on my behavior, motivations, thoughts, feelings, etc. I'm not nearly as dumb or oblivious as most people probably think I am. I wouldn't say that most people have a complete lack of self awareness, but there are certain people who do, and when it's glaringly obvious, it irritates me to no end.

don't be so down on yourself.

 

[Yama]

[MENTION=25763]Dreamer[/MENTION] [MENTION=19700]asynartetic[/MENTION] Awww thank you. Maybe my idea of people's perception of me is too inaccurate because of insecurity. Yall are sweet

 

[Qlip]

I used to be, but I fell asleep again. No joking. Woke-edness requires an open mind, if you open your mind for too it turns into overboiled spaghetti.

 

[Galena]

I contemplate my motivations a lot, and people tell me that I seem very self aware, but I can't confidently agree because I doubt that I'd have the level of existential anxiety I have if I were really that woke.

 

[1487610420]

I only came in here to see if anyone claimed to be woke AF.

i'm sleepy af rn tho