Create the Life you Desire
I created the Human Doing or Human Being workshop and presented it for recovery groups and professionals 2000-2010. The information and activity are still relevant today!
Humans are very good at doing. We even overdo and lose ourselves in busyness. We can easily make small adjustments to experience more inner peace and reduce the hustle and bustle of American life. Let’s go beyond the ordinary to take another step toward an extraordinary yet peaceful you.
Consider how our culture focuses more on doing than being and how that doesn’t match our idea of spiritual life. We can create more peace and more mindfulness. You can live an intentional spiritual life that is supported by “Being while Doing”!
By the time we go through this, you will have your own self-designed plan to live more mindfully. You can embrace the magic of creating your life by recognizing when you are doing and switching to “Doing while Being”.
Mindfulness, like just Being, are higher states of consciousness
Today, we frequently hear about living mindfully, therapists encourage it, as do yoga and tai chi instructors.
Mindfulness is staying present in what you do throughout the day.
Doing is easy and even necessary – eating, walking, working, playing, watching TV, having conversations, driving and much more.
Just Being is more challenging because it means staying in awareness, or in the states, we experience in meditation or contemplation. The state of Being or conscious awareness develops with meditation or practices such as tai chi, chi gong, and yoga. Artists experience in their creative periods. Abraham Maslow explained it as when we lose track of time and are caught up in the joy of the present.
Meditation brings self-realization
The practices listed above are unique areas of doing which are conducive to the state of “being”. In addition, some people do it easily and regularly while gardening, dancing, or hiking.
Being mindful while doing daily work, tasks, chores and errands is the most challenging. Mindfulness means not unpleasantly reactive while driving. And it means staying in the state of Being while listening to the news or while working.
It is possible however to make progress. For example, when I move into the state of Being – open to Source and write, then there is an ease and flow to the writing process. If I don’t move into Being while writing it feels forced and is surprisingly difficult.
My new area of practice is to remain in the state of Being while I vacuum. It’s a task where I used to complain to myself as I did it and found unpleasant consequences like back pain. Now I practice getting into higher states of consciousness while vacuuming. Plus I practice returning to inner peace each time I lose it. I find it requires great focus.
Activity
Let’s start the activity to discover where you currently are in the balance of being and doing and to guide you to decide what you’d like to change and how. If you are like most people you are great at doing. Consider; would it serve you to have more Being in life or more Being with Doing. The area on the chart (See circle chart below) where Doing and Being meet is the easiest to add to your life. With the availability of yoga, tai chi and chi gong classes you can add a “doing while being” practice into your life right away.
Fill out the three columns in the Venn diagram as they apply to your life. You are listing what you already do in your life (work, cooking, eating, exercising), being (meditation, contemplation, conscious contact) and into the center is a combination of the two (yoga, tai chi, creating, chi gong).
Next, decide: Do you add more Being activities to your daily life? If so, set an intention or a goal. For example, to do 10 minutes of yoga each day or to journal each morning with the intention to bring forth inner guidance.
Note: goal setting works best when you include frequency (how many times a week), duration (how long), and intensity if it is relevant.
Another option: You can change your regular activities into the practice of being mindful as you do them. Start with just short tasks and practice being present while you do it. Can you stay in the connected space in you? Stay in alpha or theta brain wave state while putting on make-up or making a simple sandwich. Even with decades of meditation, I find I really must focus to do these.
Either strategy will create positive change for you. Most importantly, if you commit to more being (such as meditation) or more Being while Doing (such as conscious gardening) you will create the possibility for more inner peace, awareness and self-realization.
Any movement towards the state of “Being” is kind to your body, stress reducing, calming, improves your mental clarity and adds to your spirituality.
Revisit the chart and the process in three or six months and see what the next step is for you.
We are Limitless Beings. Create the life that best serves you and your higher self.
Love and light to you, Lynne
In my book, Living Hope – Steps to Leaving Suffering Behind Chapter 21 has an example Venn diagram that I filled out while demonstrating in presentations. In the Human Doing or Human Being workshops, I would share an example and as a group, we would discuss what is the state of Being and what is Doing. The thinking varies from one person to the next. Seeing the example in the book might make this easier for you.
Contact me if you have questions: www.lynnecockrum-murphy.com
