How to embrace conscious living: A guide to authentic mindfulness

Sep 15

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” – Carl Jung

As a licensed, holistic therapist and Certified Adult Chair® Master Coach, I know more people live in fight-or-flight mode than you might think. Once survival instincts become activated, it can be difficult to recalibrate to calm and convince the mind it is no longer in danger. Our brains are constantly trying to help and protect us, but sometimes, our brains can get in their own way. Until unconscious existence is elevated to conscious living, unhelpful behavior patterns will keep you from experiencing your life as authentically as possible.

What is conscious living?

Conscious living means to actively bring unconscious habits, beliefs, and emotions into conscious awareness for the purpose of making deliberate choices that align with your highest values and beliefs.

In contrast, unconscious living means you are controlled by subconscious habits, beliefs, and emotions and are not fully aware of how underlying, fear-based patterns of behaviors and thoughts are controlling your life. Whereas unconscious living is experiencing life from the outside in, conscious living is experiencing life from the inside out.

How conscious living works?

Your brain has two primary minds: the conscious mind and the unconscious mind.

The conscious mind includes everything you are currently aware of and is responsible for tasks such as short-term memory recollection, analytical thinking, rationalizing, and planning.

Your unconscious mind is responsible for storing, retrieving, and keeping track of all other information that is relevant to you, even if your mind is not actively aware of it in the present moment. Your unconscious mind is a powerhouse and is responsible for around 95% of all brain activity, including beliefs, feelings, habits, and all the body’s vital functions. It also acts as the library of all your past experiences and controls your survival instincts.

Signs you are NOT living consciously

You feel disconnected, distracted, or detached from your own emotions and experiences.
You feel like you are going through the motions.
You are not truly engaged in your relationships.
You frequently feel overwhelmed, stressed, fearful, and/or anxious.
You crave external validation.
You try to distract yourself by staying busy.
You make short-term decisions without reflecting on the personal or long-term impact.

Why is conscious living important?

Until you draw conscious attention to your unconscious mind, your unconscious mind will maintain a dominant influence. In other words, your brain will run on autopilot and default to unconscious patterns of thought until unconscious patterns and beliefs that do not serve you are unlearned and released. In this way, conscious living empowers you to live your life by intentional design, rather than by default.

From my personal and professional experience, I have found that the path of consciousness is also the path of healing. An unconscious mind is often a traumatized mind, and a traumatized mind can operate indefinitely in survival mode until conscious awareness intervenes. Consequently, conscious living provides traumatized individuals with a path towards healing and post-traumatic growth.

How to live consciously

Please know you are not broken. Your mind is processing, and it is normal for psychological recalibration to take time. Rest assured, conscious living is possible for everyone, and the highest, truest version of you – the “you” you were always meant to be – is still achievable.

New neural pathways in your brain can be forged, and your unconscious mind can be reprogrammed. It’s a journey that takes time, courage, and radical self-love, but the reward is well-worth the effort. If you are not sure of where to begin, the five suggestions below can help.

1. Simplify your life.

In my work with clients, I have found that the problem is rarely ever the actual problem. So often, what we think are problems are merely manifesting symptoms of the deeper, underlying cause. This is why living consciously often involves simplifying your life and removing the unnecessary distractions keeping you from being your best self.

How to simplify your life

Ask yourself, what needs to be simplified in your life? What household clutter, e-mails, toxic people, or unhealthy activities are keeping you from being the best, truest version of yourself? Take an inventory of your life and declutter anything that isn’t contributing to your highest good.

2. Do the work.

“The work” is the deep soul-searching required for bringing the unconscious into the realm of the conscious. It starts with closely examining your values and asking yourself important self-reflection questions.

Where did my beliefs, choices, feelings, and habits come from?
What do I most value, and why are those values important to me?
Do my choices reflect my values?
Are my actions aligned with my values?

What am I currently feeling right now? Is this a feeling I have felt before? If so, when? And how
Is that previous experience similar of different from this current one?
Who was I before this version of me existed?
Who do I want to be?

3. Make mindfulness a daily practice.

Mindfulness is the act and art of grounding yourself in the current moment. It is the art of embracing open curiosity towards yourself without any judgment and simply observing yourself and the way you are thinking and feeling. Mindfulness is being fully present and drawing attention to your felt senses and reconnecting with your breath so that you experience the moment from the inside out instead of from the outside in.

4. Set clear and courageous intentions.

Living intentionally means that your actions are aligned with your highest values. Take some time to explore what intentions you want to create, and then commit to honoring those intentions with your daily habits. Get crystal clear on the why behind your goals in life, and then summarize that motivation with a simple word or sentence. When circumstances, relationships, or unhelpful thoughts threaten your goals, simply reaffirm your intentions to yourself and respond accordingly.

5. Know when to seek professional support.

Living consciously involves commitment to personal growth. We are all still learning, and sometimes having a helpful and compassion guide come alongside you can make all the difference. I know how dark the mind can get, but I also know how bright it can be. If you are feeling emotionally paralyzed, you do not need to struggle alone. Conscious breakthroughs are possible, and a soul-empowered therapist or coach can help you learn to live consciously from a place of self-acceptance and confidence.

Let’s Connect

Hi there! I’m Jenny, a licensed Holistic Therapist, and Certified Adult Chair® Master Coach.

I combine both therapy and coaching methodologies to provide my clients with a holistic perspective and the techniques they need to flourish. Rediscovering who you were always meant to be is an act of courage, and radical self- love can turn unconscious paralysis into conscious growth. Learn more about me here.

Jenny Jansen