THIRD EYE
SWAMI SUKHBODHANANDA

Being Conscious

The exercise of changing ourselves involves observing ourselves. Only by being more conscious of ourselves can we change ourselves. In our everyday life, we only focus on the outside and fail to see what is inside us. We fail to be more conscious of the way we think, the way we feel, and the way we interpret.

Increasing self-observation involves being more conscious. Increasing consciousness involves being more spiritual. Being conscious to some extent is not good enough.

Reflect on this story.
A beggar, while taking alms kept repeating that he was a rich man at one point of time. He recollected about the poster he had which read, 'THINK BIG, THINK RICH, THINK WISELY'. One day a sweeper swept it away and threw it away with the trash. Since then, the beggar said he had become poor.
A jargon and not commitment seems to run our life. Can one be more conscious of this fact?

How would self- observation help us in our relationships?
Most of us live life mechanically. Man is a conscious being and being mechanical is killing the very source of life. When we wish others ‘Good Morning,’ how many of us really mean that the morning be good? Does our intention and energy really flow in our wishing? This shows how mechanical we have become in our lives. We suffer in relationships because we mechanically form opinions, have likes and dislikes that rule and ruins our lives.

I was counselling a couple in New Jersey. They were on the verge of a divorce. When the husband goes out for work, a cat enters his computer room and bites away the wires. He blames his wife for the chaos. The wife says she runs the house with no servants, hence cannot keep a watch. She wonders whether she is married to this stupid cat.
The husband gives his set of reasons and the wife hers. I told them that they are in love with their reasons and not each other. 

Can you be more conscious of this fact?
Let your observation include both the outer and inner world. If you are more conscious of the inner world of thoughts and interpretations then you will see the outer world more objectively. To be objective is a part of wise living. 
What do you mean by being objective?

This is a Zen expression - A rose is a rose is a rose. We don't see a rose but we say we like a particular rose, dislike some variety… Roses in Kashmir are better compared to roses in Bangalore. Thus we pollute our perceptions with our likes and dislikes, with our opinions and dogmas. With this inner, polluted perception we refuse to see the world objectively.