Living Consiously...why therapy?

In our society today of flashing video games, vibrating texts and beeping phones it’s no wonder that each year swirls by faster than the last. No doubt that i-phones, texting, cell phones, facebook and twitter help us to keep in touch, live more productively and aid us in many aspects of our daily lives.  BUT, in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives of work, family, socializing, household responsibilities, benevolent endeavors, when do make time for understanding our own thoughts, emotions and behaviors?   Do we muddle through life handling the next task in front of us or are we living consciously?   What does it even mean to live life consciously?  To live life consciously means to know who you are, your likes and dislikes, it means exploring where you have been, where you are now and where you want to go.  It means being honest with yourself and it means having the courage to feel the truth.

In my experience as a counselor, I have seen many clients disconnect from their emotional selves in an effort not to feel.  Sometimes, we disconnect from our emotional selves so that we don’t have to feel pain, embarrassment, sadness, sometimes we even resist feeling joy or happiness.  Yet, we are given the ability to experience emotion just as we are given the ability to experience physical pain.  As physical pain is necessary as an indicator to aid in our safety and wellbeing equally imperative to our wellbeing are our emotions.  If we ignore the important emotional aspect of ourselves we lack very valuable information in managing our lives.  More importantly, we stray from truth which thwarts us from our highest good.  At its worst, straying from this path of truth can eventually lead to an unfulfilling life, depression, anxiety or perhaps even a physical manifestation of the pain.  Our bodies will get our attention one way or another.

So…I encourage you to take time to live life consciously, to ask yourself the difficult questions and most importantly to be honest with yourself.