Conscious Unconscious

Every month, I get the opportunity to share thoughts and musings with a wonderful group of women in our Writing Circle.  We start the meetings with a ten-minute stream-of-consciousness writing exercise. It is an unedited free writing technique to unleash creativity and get us into the flow.  The host prepares the topic, and this time it was about consciousness and unconsciousness.

How aware are we about the choices we make everyday?  It is an interesting and thought-provoking topic indeed in these times of digital sharing, what with Twitter and Facebook on stand-by all the time and the World Cup just over.

So here’s the raw version that came out in those ten minutes:

Spontaneous:  Is that unconscious?  Impulsive: Is that unconscious?

To feel versus to think.  To give in to something without much thought.  To act on impulse. Follow your body before the mind tells you STOP! NO! That is crazy, silly and unreasonable!

Would you go back on the impulsive choices you’ve made?  Don’t you think they were the funniest, craziest and happiest moments in your life?

To dance with wild abandon, to squeal in utter delight, to scream from so much excitement: over a goal score, the sweet taste of victory, the triumphant feeling for something you have been rooting for!

And yet, there are moments when I’m standing in the shower and I realize I am done and then I stand still.

“Wait a minute! Did I shampoo my hair already?  I can’t quite remember… where was I when I was standing here?”

Mindful and mindless, to live in the moment and be aware of what is happening, right here, right now.  It doesn’t necessarily mean giving a careful thought and consideration to everything… only when it matters.

And who else is going to be the best judge of our fleeting moments… but ourselves.