Consciously work to shift your identity from a small, thought-based self to a true nature operating system, your knowing from conceptual thought to non-conceptual awareness, and your perception from a detached witness to a spacious, interconnected consciousness.
Use short ‘glimpses’ (3 seconds to 3 minutes) to plug into awake awareness, then consistently practice and ‘retrain your brain to remain’ in this state, making it your new primary operating system despite old habits.
Don’t stop at basic stress management or a calmer ego; push beyond the second level of mind (mindful witness) to access the third level of awake consciousness, which offers profound freedom and love.
Progress beyond basic mindfulness by shifting your attention to the awareness itself, asking ‘what’s aware?’ or ‘where is it aware from?’, to access a contentless, alert awareness.
Practice opening peripheral awareness to achieve a 360-degree panoramic feeling and drop into an embodied flow state, which enhances capability and enjoyment.
To interrupt emotional hijacks, identify with the ’thinker’ or ‘worrier’ part, then unhook your awareness, allowing it to drop from your head to your heart space and open up, or shift from thinking to effortless, inclusive awareness.
Engage in ‘glimpses’ – short, repeated practices of accessing awake consciousness – with eyes open or closed, to gradually develop and stabilize an open-hearted, responsive state of being.
Practice mindful awareness by observing your thoughts as they come and go, realizing that you are the awareness observing them, not the thoughts themselves, to ‘debug’ your brain.
When experiencing strong emotions like sadness or anger, recognize them as ‘parts of you’ rather than identifying as the emotion itself, then observe these parts from a larger, open-hearted awareness to create space and relieve suffering.
When feeling stuck in mental or emotional ‘clouds,’ shift your awareness from the cloud to the surrounding ‘sky’ or space, then curiously observe from this open, spacious perspective, including the ‘cloud’ within it, to access optimal functioning.
Recognize that true ‘Happiness’ (capital H) is your natural condition of okayness and well-being, stemming from your essential nature, rather than being dependent on external pleasures or conditions.
Understand love as the foundational, unconditional fabric of your primary dimension of self, realizing that ‘who I am is love’ and it is not dependent on external conditions or mental states.
Cultivate a ‘compassionate flow’ by recognizing your true nature, allowing positive qualities like compassionate wisdom, non-reactivity, safety, and friendliness to flourish as your new operating system, even amidst life’s triggers.
Recognize the ego not as your core identity or the ‘driver of the car,’ but as a functional part of your psyche, allowing it to relax and integrate into a larger, more comprehensive sense of self.
When anxious, first use basic calming practices like a three-part breath with a slower exhale to soothe the nervous system, then shift to finding the part of you that is not anxious, and from that space, address the anxious part’s concerns.
To address anxiety, locate it physically in your body, give it a felt sense and voice, then ask that anxious ‘part’ to create space, and observe it from a more spacious, awake consciousness with open-hearted presence.
Practice a ‘glimpse’ by softening your gaze to take in a wider field of vision, receiving sight and sound without pinpointing, then allow your awareness to spontaneously open to the sides, expanding your peripheral vision and encompassing a 360-degree field.
To unhook, intentionally drop your awareness from your head down through your jaw, throat, and upper body, settling into your heart space or ‘heart-mind,’ and perceive from this open, embodied location.
After opening awareness, curiously notice if you are aware from that spacious, embodied awareness (equally inside and out), allowing you to respond with open, non-thought-based alertness rather than reacting.
From the heart space, notice if thoughts or information arise to this space, and rest in an ‘alert potential’ that is spacious, embodied, and wide awake, feeling safe and grounded.
When practicing mindfulness, avoid getting stuck in a detached ‘witness protection program’ by opening up and looking through the mindful witness to access an effortless, awake awareness that is interconnected rather than separate.
Shift your understanding from concepts like ’emptiness’ to ‘interconnectedness’ or ‘unity,’ recognizing that all things are interdependent and not separate, which fosters a sense of well-being and safety.
Experiment with different ‘glimpse doors’ or methods to find the one that best suits your learning style (kinesthetic, visual, auditory) for shifting consciousness effectively.