One of the most important ingredients to gaining competency in conscious personal mastery is the ability to witness yourself. What exactly does this mean?
To witness yourself means to impartially consciously observe what and how you are sensing, feeling, thinking, behaving and perceiving. You are able to abstain from judgment and any attachment to your observations. This is particularly challenging when trying to witness the shadow parts of you. However, being able to objectively observe yourself within your shadow is a critical element to optimizing your health, resonance and self-mastery.
To fully witness yourself helps you to perceive your current reality. This includes all dimensions of you-your body-heart-mind-soul.
- Physically witnessing yourself involves using all your senses to notice where you feel comfortable and relaxed as well as any areas of tension, restriction or pain. This requires integrating all the information from your sensory receptors within your eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, fascia, muscles, joints and ligaments to determine your level of alignment, relaxation, physical mobility, balance and overall level of groundedness.
- When you witness your heart nature you are in tune with the rise and fall of your emotions. This can be very difficult for many of us as our culture generally teaches us that it is not acceptable to feel negative emotions such as anger, rage or even hatred. It is also quite painful to allow ourselves to feel such intense emotions, particularly shame, which is essentially a state of self-loathing. Therefore, we typically repress and shove these emotions down and into our bodies where they then have the potential to create all sorts of havoc on our health and wellbeing.
- Objective observation of your mind involves awareness of not only your conscious thoughts but what is just below the surface within the subconscious and even unconscious domains. It includes the underlying beliefs you have about yourself and the world around you. It encompasses the narratives and stories you tell yourself and how these drive your choices and decisions. For many, there is much work to be done within this self awareness process.
- To witness your soul essence is to truly see your level of connection to the source energy of unconditional love. You can see how your perception of yourself and the world around you is shaped by your ability to access this unlimited resource of unconditional love and acceptance. This dimension appreciates all the unique gifts and love you bring to the world in addition to you also being the world. You are able to perceive that all is one.
Witness Reflection Exercise:
It is suggested that you start out with one category and spend a day or week (whatever you feel you need or might be determined for you) focusing on that area. Once you have established a solid awareness of your patterns in that domain proceed to the next. It is recommended you proceed in the order listed below. To get the most out of the witness experience is to set the intention to refrain from any type of positive or negative judgment and be neutral in your observation. Be open and curious about what you may discover! It’s an exploration of You!
- Body Witness-Monitor how you feel physically in the present moment.
- Are there areas of discomfort, tension or pain?
- Are there areas that feel comfortable and free?
- Scan your body from toe to the top of your head. Does your body feel symmetrical or asymmetrical?
- Notice what you see around you, particularly within your peripheral field of vision. Do you sense it is equal side to side? Do you like or dislike what you see?
- Notice the sounds you hear around you. Where are they coming from? Do you like or dislike what you hear?
- Notice the smells around you. What might they be? Do you like or dislike what you smell?
- When you eat, notice the quality and nature of the taste of your food. Do you like or dislike what you are eating?
- Notice how you tend to sit, stand and walk. Is there a particular posture you tend to adopt?
- Notice how much you are sedentary vs active.
- What physical activities do you most enjoy? Dislike?
- Notice your ability to listen to and your response to your needs for water, sustenance and sleep.
- Observe if you have any physical reactions to certain foods, environments and/or people.
- Heart Witness-Notice how you feel emotionally in the present moment.
- Observe when you feel calm and relaxed.
- Observe when you feel stressed.
- If you are stressed what is the primary emotion you are feeling? Anxiety? Frustration? Irritation? Anger? Sadness? Something else?
- Throughout the day observe the nature of your emotions. What kinds are they? Do they tend to be more negative or positive?
- Do you experience mood swings?
- Do you allow yourself to feel your emotions or do you tend to ignore or repress them?
- How do you handle any big stressors or triggers?
- What or who tends to trigger or stress you out?
- Mind Witness– Observe your choices and behaviors and the underlying reasons behind them.
- Do your decisions and actions truly serve you and your highest good?
- Do you notice any archetypal patterns of the saboteur, victim, child or prostitute?
- Are you able to uncover any underlying beliefs and perceptions about yourself and the world around you that drive your choices and behaviors?
- Reflect on your attitude about your life circumstances and relationships. Notice any trends toward positive, negative or neutral and how this fluctuates based on your environment and the people around you.
- Soul Witness– Examine your level of connection with your higher self and unity consciousness.
- Are you in tune with your intuition, support and guidance from your higher self?
- Do you feel in alignment with your life’s purpose and mission?
- How easy or difficult is it for you to tap into the unlimited source energy of unconditional love and acceptance of yourself, others and the world around you?
- To what degree do you experience faith and trust that everything in your life is as it should be?
