Conscious Living

Earlier this year, following an intention to live more consciously, I deemed it the Year of Awakening. For me, I envision a lifetime of conscious living as I more fully awaken to the spiritual being that I truly am. As a part of my spiritual journey, I love to look up the meanings of things to gain an even deeper understanding. This is what Webster's Dictionary had to say about the word conscious: in the "moment", in waking awareness, mentally perceptive, alert, subjectively knowing, intentional, deliberate, inwardly attentive, mindful, possessing knowledge, cognizant, knowing one's self, realizing and recognizing.

Wow, now that is a powerful definition! Who wouldn't want to be conscious? Along with conscious living comes responsibility to act on our values and insights. We may experience emotional pain as we allow ourselves to feel what we've been stuffing down for years, but for the most part, living consciously is joyful, as we see the good in one another and trust the presence of a loving God unfolding in our lives perfectly.

In order to change old patterns and create greater consciousness in our lives it is important to make a daily practice that allows for a shift in awareness and then the creation of new, improved patterns and habits can emerge. For those who know me, I am a 'busy' woman, yet I am learning to enjoy some downtime. I see how it is leading me to greater awareness in my life.

A part of my daily practice is to spend time in the stillness, in the quiet of my own mind. I spend time in the silence when I meditate, which I also call "basking". It is there that I learn to have space between my thoughts. I listen to that inner voice and wherever it takes me is where I am willing go. I find the more I listen to the spiritual guidance that I receive, the smoother my life flows!

While spending time in the silence, I release my prayers and go over in my mind all that I am grateful for. My heart is filled with appreciation as I review in my mind the many ways that I am blessed. If there is any resentment or forgiveness work to do, I take care of this too, while my inner being is quiet and focused on the goodness of God.

For me, an aspect of conscious living is getting in touch with what brings me joy. When I follow the beat of my own inner drummer, so to speak, I know that I am on the path to conscious living, and not just doing what everyone else thinks I should do! Mythologist Joseph Campbell says, "If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living.... If you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time." Experiencing bliss is being attentive to the underlying beauty and meaning found in life, no matter what the circumstances.

Another way I live consciously is through my use of intention. I've been using the power of intention ever since I learned about the teachings of Abraham-Hicks found at www.Abraham-Hicks.com over eight years ago. I see working with intention as being a sort of traffic cop for energy, directing it, and using my focused awareness to bring about positive change in my life and in the world around me.

My use of intention has brought the right people into my life at just the right time; helped me move into seeing all my work as spiritual, allowed me to develop divine relationships; and helped me to gain a greater sense of well-being. I feel empowered in my life seeing where my intentions have led me!

I can really see the difference in my life just since January when I set the intention to live more consciously! There is so much beauty and love to see when I slow down enough to be mindful. One intention that has manifested for me is the opportunity to study with spiritual gurus! I've been attending international pyschic Kelly Powers' classes on mindfulness and the use of intuition (I highly recommend his work, you can visit his site at www.KellyPowers.com).

Through spending time in the silence, following my bliss and using positive intention, I am able to connect with life like I've never done before. I look forward to the rest of my life unfolding in a way that helps me to continue to grow and serve in love and do it consciously!

Diana Kennedy is committed to assisting others in transforming their lives from the inside out! She is an inspirational speaker and writer. Diana is the author of Living from Spirit website and E-zine. She is the Ministerial Assistant at Unity of Tallahassee where she leads the early service, classes and workshops. Diana is a licensed massage therapist working at All About You! Massage where she specializes in Relaxation/Deep Tissue massage and spiritual energy balancing. Diana also leads TeleClasses for the Mind*Body*Spirit community. To register or to contact her, call 850-878-2130, visit http://www.dianakennedy.com, or email living_from_spirit@yahoo.com. To subscribe to Living from Spirit ? A Breath of Inspiration, email Living_from_Spirit-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.