One of the hallmarks of being conscious is being aware.

One of the analogies for awareness is "being is the seats of your life."

There are three options about life positions regarding being aware of your life.

You can be in the movie of your life, you can be in the seats observing the movie, you can be in the screening room directing or editing the movie.

If your awareness position is that you are in the movie of your life then there is a level of unconsciousness that can to often feel like being in a drama. Life just seems to happen to you.

The more conscious position is to be "in the seats" of your life and be observing: (1) Observing of yourself, in all the possible ways you can exercise this most essential skill; (2) observing of others, and of your externals (the culture, environment, other living beings).

From the position of "being in the seats", you are no longer a reaction machine and can explore your insides and have some choice about how you feel, perceive, believe and react to life.

And when necessary, you can then go to the projection room and do some helpful editing.

Being In The Seats Part 2

One of the hallmarks of being conscious is being aware. This how I began Part 1. Okay, what does this really mean?

There seems to be two aspects to what this means - a process and a content. The process of awareness is the how I go about being aware or conscious and the content is about what is in what I'm conscious of. Something akin to a camcorder with a spotlight.

The process is the mechanism of the camera and light and the content is what the camera and light find/discover.

Written originally in 1971, Awareness: Exploring, Experimenting, Experiencing, the author, John Stevens maintained that there were three types of awareness: (1) Awareness of the outside world. This is actual sensory contact with objects and events in the present: what I now actually see, hear, smell, taste, or touch.

(2) Awareness of the inside world. This is actual sensory contact with inner events in the present: what I now actually feel from inside my skin - itches, muscular tensions and movements, physical manifestations of feelings and emotions, discomfort, well-being, etc These first two kinds of awareness encompass all that I can know about present reality as I experience it. This is the solid ground of my experience; these are the facts of my existence here, in the moment that they occur. No matter how I or others think or feel about this awareness, it exists, and no amount of arguing, theorizing or complaining can make it nonexistent.

(3) Awareness of fantasy activity. The third kind of awareness is quite different, namely, my awareness of images of things and events that do not exist in present ongoing reality. This includes all mental activity beyond present awareness of ongoing experience: All explaining, imagining, interpreting, guessing, thinking, comparing, planning, remembering the past, anticipating the future, etc.

In terms of being in the seats, the important aspect is to be the observer of what the camera sees and curious about what shows up.

An important point here is that what shows up is as much of our own doing as anything else. That what's there, is optional. This may seem obvious but it is essential.