April 2021: The Awareness Journey
How do we become wise? How do we make distance from dark times? How do we learn what we really need?
When quiet awareness
Replaces restless distraction
And, like a baby discovering toes,
Connections are seen
In feelings, mind and body,
Patterns appear within and without.
And the sun rises on new ways.
paean to the inner journey
Awareness lets the light in. Awareness notices. Awareness is curiosity without judgement, opening the doors to the great healers – honesty, acceptance, understanding, kindness. Awareness throws open the windows to the joy of life – appreciation – and so to meaning, to wellbeing, to wisdom. It is the indispensable beginning.
take 5
Sit, or lie down. Start with the breath, and become aware of the body as a whole. Focus on each part of the body in turn, without judgement. Wriggle toes, explore skin. Enjoy. Don’t rush. Consciously release tension. Perhaps start at the toes, work up to the chest, then detour up the arms and end at the neck and head.
Big exhale & check-in: how did this body scan affect your sense of internal connection, and specifically how you feel about your body?
…and an experiment!
Strengthen moment by moment awareness - of the inner world (the body, thoughts, feelings) and the outer (nature, others, the present). Notice by asking gentle questions.. ‘what am I.. thinking, feeling, seeing, hearing…’ Don’t look for ‘answers’, just observe. How does this practice affect you? How can you embed these questions as habits?
quotes…
self–awareness – recognizing a feeling as it happens – is the keystone of emotional intelligence ~ Daniel Goleman
each of us has a world within, greater than the external ~ William Blake
that which is in me lives in the whole ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
ps
Check out Antidote Resources - a shared doc of all the resources Antidoters love.
Have done Being for Beginners? Please:
give 1 minute to the B4B impact study (it’s multiple choice!)
rate B4B on Trustpilot
And here is where you can tell me what you think about Antidote Notes
Roddy xo
Roddy Bray is an anthropologist, speaker & facilitator. His workshop series ‘Being for Beginners’ explores ideas for wellbeing, and is used widely at the University of Oxford. To learn more about the course contact Roddy: thrive@antidotecafe.com
Thanks for making it this far! if you found antidote notes valuable, you might like to forward to a friend! they can sign up here.