I, like many, wasn’t borne into a thriving, balanced and attuned family landscape. The illusive patterns that sowed the illusive culture of my lifestyle weren’t heart-centered. Instead they were based upon fear, anger, unhappiness, discontent and jealousy.
Thinking
This led to years of seeking out meaning, understanding, and a life purpose that didn’t include the harming elements of my earlier family life. This also led to supporting others along the way.
Through this exploration I have made the connection to one’s thinking and their results. I have observed how the ways of ‘thinking’ create one life’s garden.
We are prisoners to our thinking
To put it another way, I have seen and experienced examples of how we think becomes what we experience and create in our lifestyle. A lifestyle that can be calm and wonderful, or chaotic. Thinking seems to be responsible for how we actively respond mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Being unconscious to it makes us prisoners to it.
I have also discovered the process of thinking is separate from mental functions. How do I know this? As a babe we aren’t born with a pattern of thinking, yet as a babe we had the mental ability to integrate cultured patterns of thinking.
Usually ones focus isn’t on the brain’s functional abilities and its relationship to how experiences are processed.
I have witnessed and heard stories of life times lived through reactive behaviours originating from thoughts. Thoughts based upon one’s thinking process that are not real or the truth of what is happening in the moment. One example of a case study in years past is the reaction of running from situations, literally by driving across the continent! As the reaction would begin to calm I would be contacted only to discover the flight was from an initial triggering thought that wasn’t connected to any real actions of checking in to the source of it. The flight was an expensive reactive behaviour mentally, emotionally, physically, financially and spiritually.
Exploring this life path I have discovered that even though I was born long after the honeymoon was over in my families experience, I thrive in beauty and the attributes of loving kindness, and have a high propensity for empathy. My family and I simply weren’t a match. In retrospect, the pain and suffering became the incentive to find ways to align with my true nature. Along the way I have found clarity and understanding, and come away with some ways to live in the beauty that the garden of life can be.
A system of understanding to have clarity & for understanding
that is balancing
Sharing these ways with others while continuing my own practices has become an open system of learning. This system goes out beyond the closed thinking patterns of making evaluations and moral judgments, and beliefs of right and wrong thinking. Each of the methods I integrated had their challenges in the learning stages due to the depth of ego that is experienced in our culture. Ego is imbedded into behaviour yet it’s another elusive quality that people experience without being consciously aware of it and unable to identify and name it.
To borrow an evaluative experience from Buddhism, each method I dug deeply into is founded upon the concept of becoming enlightened. However the challenges of the teachers and participants wanting to be seen, heard and valued caused hurdles to overcome and created events of pain and suffering for all immersed in the educative experiences. Taking the time to integrate these methods as a foundation for living myself has taken time and evolved over the years. The system I am interested in contributing follows the Buddhist concept of eliminating incorrect use of ego. We all have ego, however, I focus upon ego usage that pays attention to power with, not more over/under. Why? I want to live in the beauty that inspires and motivates. The heightened stimulus I hope to experience comes from passion. Passion for life, living and creating.
Mentoring others to switch on their innate ability to learn
Somes ways of contributing to others as they commit to engaging in life to align more with their true nature are with individual programs or mentoring integratable life components. Life area programs and components focus in these areas of one’s experiences:
- surroundings
- inner sense of oneself (confidence, self-esteem, empowerment)
- life purpose
- cultivating awareness to identify and name intention
- functional movement that cultivates awareness that holds the connection to the interplay of body movement, reactive behaviour, thinking and emotions
- functioning relationships that cultivates awareness the holds the connection to the interplay of what’s real in the moment, what one thinks, and how one responds
- value-based programs to support inner discernment to transform moral judgments into value based judgments
Finding your intention and creating a target for meeting the goals of who you long to be with these programs
The learning modules here at Inside Awareness can be specific to life areas whether you are:
- looking for your life purpose
- seeking to improve your relationships to all life
- wanting to enhance your physical abilities
- introduce a sense of sacredness in your environment
Each module are concrete actions steps that bring one into the shift they long for.
Each module has a foundation in practical steps and have applications that are logical yet bring focus to the elusive.
Renee focuses upon switching back on one’s inherent ability to learn where the experience becomes the teacher and the student becomes the sage.
The intention is to increases creativity and expressiveness in living.
Awareness Through Living Mentoring Programs Available:
1st Level – Getting Started (Introduction & Pattern)
2nd Level – Getting Intouch (Experiencing & Connection)
3rd Level – Integration (Embodiment)
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I saw a new student to our balance class walking in behind her walker. She was bent completely over with arms outstretched in front of her, hands on the walker handles, head and eyes looking directly down towards the floor. I was surprised and curious at how to teach the class and include her.
From the looks of her posture she never stood back up! Did I forget to mention she is 4 foot 11 inches and a senior!
A few hardcore Feldenkrais®
Recently I enjoyed viewing a “Coles Notes” explanation of the a Medicine Wheel from a fellow Canadian in Alberta. This Elder was connecting with a troubled youth through the act of walking. There was not a direct focus on any issues. I observed through their discussion that the Elder was very aware of this youth and their needs through their behavior and unspoken expression. Rather than being direct and telling the youth anything, it was through guidance and modelling. The Elder began sharing the concept of the Medicine Wheel and encouraged the youth to walk, enter and stop in the center. The explanation of the Medicine Wheel was subtle and included the four directions, north, south, east and west. There was also mention of the balance of the four aspects of self for connecting to ones center. 
Center for Inside Awareness 