The emptier I get, the fuller I feel. By empty I mean letting go of anything that I’ve outgrown.

Consciousness is the key to knowing what does not serve me any longer but is still taking up precious space in my life - whether in my psyche or in my physical environment. The more I get to know my soul, the clearer I can see what I truly need and want in my life.

This clarity that I enjoy now was severely lacking when I lost touch with my soul. I recall being too busy on the fast track, accomplishing tasks that didn’t have real meaning to my soul. Now I understand why I used to get confused so often and easily about what I genuinely wanted; Charles can attest to so many instances in the past when I just couldn’t choose what I wanted and when I agonized over and second-guessed my decisions. I didn’t give myself enough time or space to block out everyone else’s voices — voices which relentlessly drowned out my own thoughts. Back then, I was so busy living a productive and demanding life and responding to everyone else’s needs that I didn’t even recognize I was living unconsciously.

I was heeding everyone’s voices, but my own, and even when I recognized that things were going awry, it took me a while to separate out the loud unfriendly voices from my own soul’s quiet whispers. Since around April 2009, however, my daily meditation practice (even for 5 minutes in the morning if that was all I had before rushing off to work) and journal writing have helped me immensely. These practices have become like brushing teeth for me now; when I skip them, I know immediately that something is off!

More than anything though, once I was awakened from my sleep — from living unconsciously — I never wanted to go back to sleep ever again. Living an unexamined life is no different from being a marionette attached to a puppeteer’s string, whoever that puppeteer might be!

I also learned that consciousness loves a clear mind. It does not like anything to pass unexamined, or to stay hidden. It likes to shed light on the things I’d rather avoid or hide. It likes to sweep my mind clean every day, and the ironic thing is that the cleaner my mind gets, the richer I feel. With this consciousness, I feel full to the brim! Why would I ever want to fall asleep again and lose the full, rich life that I now enjoy every day?