By Julie Dieterle

I think we are all here on earth in an adventure of self-discovery.  Approaching this idea from the outside from our bodies to our daily lives—we are exploring this by asking–How much faster can we run, ride our bike or drive? How long can we hold our breath? What is it we can find that no one else has seen before?  How successful we can be? In our outer life we experiment to find out.

How about our inner self? Then the journey is one of self-acknowledgement this leads to self-acceptance. At some point we begin to ask “who am I?”

The ageless wisdom suggests that at some point we developed a sense of being more—an individual with our own perspective and that is when the Thinker was born. That is when our journey of self-discovery was born. Ultimately the path of self-discovery leads us to self-acknowledgment and what we truly think and what we are.

We have passed through a multitude of stages in our evolution of mind, our awareness has expanded. We see a sky filled with a myriad of stars. We notice a line of satellites put out there by man. We have “eyes in the sky” as pictures are sent back showing us our beautiful earth and galaxies far out there. Maybe some questions come to mind such as, “How do I fit into the bigger picture?” “Am I insignificant or am I a part of this whole infinite universe?”

Through our own answering of these questions we develop our self-acceptance, acknowledging our own perspectives and limitations. We can see this journey as a series of steps toward acceptance and wholeness.

I think humanity, as a whole, is ready for developing self-awareness.

The dictionary says—self-awareness is the ability to understand and recognize your own thoughts, feelings, actions, and characteristics, and how they make you who you are. It’s a psychological state that’s central to your identity, but it’s not something you’re always thinking about. Instead, it’s woven into your being and emerges in different situations depending on your personality. (AND I would say that reflects not only your type of personality but where you are on your evolutionary path.)

Another dictionary source says—self-awareness is the conscious knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, motive, and desires. It says “the process can be painful but it leads to greater self-awareness”. It opens us to examine our lives.

An internet reference says–Having self-awareness gives us the power to influence outcomes; helps us become better decision-makers and gives us more self-confidence. We can communicate with clarity and intention, which allows us to understand things from multiple perspectives. It frees us from assumptions and biases. Jan. 27, 2022 google self-awareness.

People with strong self-awareness skills can:

1. Recognize their strengths and challenges.
2. Understand and talk about their needs and feelings.
3. Recognize other people’s needs and feelings.
4. See how their behavior affects others.
5. Develop a growth mindset and learn from their mistakes.

To read more about this topic you might refer to organizational psychologist, Tasha Eurich, PhD and her book of “Insight.”

I want to go back to some of the defining attributes and extrapolate forward:

1. Having a NATURAL power to influence outcomes–from Soul perspective.
2. Being a better decision-maker — perhaps an INDEPENDENT THINKER.
3. Gives us more self-confidence — being in your power and not a victim.
4. Increased ability to communicate with clarity and intention — for the greater good.
5. Gives the ability to understand things and accept there are multiple perspectives.
6. Frees us from assumptions and biases.

As we become more sensitive to who we are growing to be, we note that some friends and associates seem to become less significant and new people come into our lives that have similar sensitivities and want to see a better world. We are creating a group-awareness. Together we can make it happen.

What a wonderful world that would be.

After I finished the article, I was asked how can we become more self-aware? How do I start?

I need to know myself first. So, what would my first thoughts be? For me it started by my being sensitive to notice—to notice how I’m feeling in my body and how that changes in different environments and with different people. What does it mean? What feels relaxed and easy? That is what I want as much as possible. What am I doing when I feel that way? I noticed—when I am prepared, in familiar places, with people most like me. My challenges are when I am in unfamiliar places, when I don’t know the people and when I am expected to perform. The challenges are important for expanding my world, for exploring new places and ideas. If uncomfortable, I keep asking what would make this moment better, more comfortable allowing me to be more open. Then I am more sensitive and aware of what is around me. I can listen better. Because I care, I want to grow and know. Then I decided to ask “the curious cats” group. What follows is some of their suggestions: 

One curious cat offered:  I noticed that I got angry and reacted but sometimes didn’t even know why? I learned to avoid reacting, try the following:

◆Our thinking consciousness (called the Thinker) notices a surge of emotion rising up.

◆Thinker asks: (I notice) What is going on? That will stop the ego because it does not have an answer. The ego is only a group of patterns and does not have the ability to think it only reacts.

◆Next the Thinker realizes: I am or was starting to react. That acknowledgement then stops the reaction of running a pattern.

◆Then I can take an honest look at what is going on. The Thinker needs to learn from experiences.

Note: If you ever feel like your life is out of control, try using this simple process. ” Arline Rowden 10-4-21

Another curious cat offered: I am exploring who am I, by looking at the best and worst of me. I easily criticized when I did wrong, less than my best, thought I failed: BUT who am I at my best? I began a list of what I thought were my best skills. Then recalled what others have said about me and what they appreciated about me. Did I agree? Did I accept what they said? As I do this, I discover more about me. From this point I notice how I feel and can use my attributes or skills.