This section of the website is near and dear to me and at the heart of what we're about here at Conscious Singles. One of our missions is to support members in being more conscious on many levels.

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We begin with the a link to the foundational article, On Being A Conscious Single, which I wrote a ways back. In the article, I define being a conscious singles as comprising two aspects. "First, is that you are someone who has conscious capacities and hence conscious interests. Second, is that you go about your singleness and your path to connectedness with a certain amount of awareness." Please take a look and let me know what you think.

Sheila Shumate's article entitled Consciousness Helps our Choices which appears in Common Ground Magazine seems to be a nice sampler of ideas from others about the importance of being conscious.

Then there are is two additional articles I wrote on this topic. Being In The Seats is a practical sort of metaphor of being conscious that I use with my clients. And On Being Aware was written as a preface to a book I want to write on Self Parenting.

A Sampler

What is it to be conscious? …What others have to say.

Webster says that the definition of conscious is ...2) perceiving, apprehending, or noticing with a degree of controlled thought or observation. 7) done or acting with a critical awareness. Ok, what does this mean? Is being conscious being mindful, aware, awake, meditative, present, thoughtful? Probably all of these things. Here are some different perspectives.

From Buddhism:

It is said that when the Buddha reached enlightenment he passed a man on the road. This man was struck by the extraordinary radiance and peaceful presence of the Buddha.

The man stopped and asked, "My friend what are you? Are you a celestial being or God?" "No" said the Buddha. "Well then are you some kind of magician?" "No" said the Buddha. "Are you a man?" Again the reply was "No." "Well my friend then, what are you?" asked the man on the road. "I am awake" said the Buddha.

Practitioners of Buddhism talk about the need to be meditative and practice a form of meditation call mindfulness. Sharon Salzberg writes in book, A Heart as Wide as the World (1997) about this point. She states that by practicing meditation, we bring forth some splendor, luminosity, and power into the activities of an ordinary day.

We practice meditation to be aware, no matter what we are doing. And the deeper our awareness. The greater the luminosity. Through meditation we come to life so as not to someday die as "one who almost lived." (p.6)