Awareness Improvement Meditation

In the art of conscious perception, the practitioner devotes an hour each day to the nuances of their gaze. The aim is to detain the mind momentarily from dwelling on the past or the future, and to focus intently on the present moment.

Contemplating the past or the future is not unworthy, for without yesterday's reflections and tomorrow's thoughts, one cannot plan or select a purpose, nor can one sketch a map for the future. If we pay attention to the tone of those who speak or write about the present moment, we will easily discover that, in their view, staying in the present is far more esteemed than the intellectual preoccupations of yesteryears and tomorrows.

This perspective is not without merit: thoughts must be brought to dance, allowing them to soar through the spaces of bygone and yet-to-come times. Staying in this moment and moving with this moment can effortlessly lead to the tranquility and stillness of the mind.

On the other side, if the dance of thought is untimely, it descends into stillness and stagnation.

The best course of action is to allow thought to continue its movement but to be aware of that movement. In other words, intertwine thought with self-awareness and draw a direction or form from the ocean of thought that we seek. This endeavor requires practice and persistence, and if the daily exercises of consciousness are repeated for several weeks in a row, the reader will better grasp the meaning of this text.

In this technique, the practitioner, amidst the transformation of perspective and self-awareness, establishes a mental knot. The term "mental knot" refers to establishing a connection between two behaviors that have no apparent connection or between a neural stimulus and a specific behavior unrelated to that stimulus. For example, as you are currently reading this text, if you lift your eyes from the text and look elsewhere, your perspective changes. If, upon changing your perspective, you become aware of yourself and your surroundings, you have linked two behaviors that seemingly have no correlation (changing the perspective, self-awareness). In this state, your eyes function as a neural stimulus, and the moment they receive a new image or see from a different vantage point, you become self-aware. (The condition is that you practice it enough for both - the transformation of perspective and self-awareness - to intertwine).

Do not allocate more than one hour daily for this practice. It goes without saying that during this hour, you can attend to your daily tasks normally. However, in the first five minutes, delve deeply into changing your perspective and decide that whenever you alter your gaze direction within the next hour, you will become self-aware.

For instance, standing by the street, about to hail a taxi, the moment you step into the cab, the panorama in front of you changes. (Previously standing outside the car, and now seated inside it). Be vigilant as far as possible, aware of your presence and surroundings. After a few seconds or minutes, your attention may be drawn to the interior of the taxi, and instead of looking outside, observe the interior of the vehicle. In this state, once again remind yourself to be self-aware and vigilant (note that recalling the need for self-awareness is different from actual self-awareness, and you must genuinely become self-aware). As previously explained, here self-awareness does not imply self-confidence, self-assurance, or its psychological connotations. It simply means being aware of yourself and your surroundings at this moment.

The most crucial aspect of the exercise during this one hour is to prevent what you see from dragging the chain of your thoughts along with it, lifting your imagination on its wings, and throwing it into the trap of countless echoes.

Therefore, designate a specific hour for the practice of conscious perception.

Reflect deeply on the first five minutes, envisioning that in the upcoming hour, you will establish a mental connection between the transformation of perspective and self-awareness. So that every time you shift your gaze from one place to another, you become self-aware.

Then, practice this for one hour.

After a few weeks, your mental knot will become so firm and stable that every time you change the direction of your gaze, you will automatically become self-aware.