Self Awareness; The Ultimate Goal? Get Over And Beyond
Self Awareness;
The Ultimate Goal?
Get Over And Beyond
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Self awareness is a term used left and right now days.
The search for the self is nothing new. I’d venture to say that is has been a part of the human experience, to some degree, since the awareness of being a separate individual appeared in our conscious mind.
What got me thinking about this is reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. This book is the author’s journal of a one year journey through self awareness, discovery, and re-inventing of herself.
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What is self-awareness?
Webster defines these terms as follows:
- Aware: knowing; realizing; conscious.
- Self: the identity, character, or essential quality of a person or thing; one’s own person or being as apart from all others.
The basic level of self-awareness might then be defined as simply knowing you yourself are separate from others; recognizing that there is a whole (community or village) and single units (people). It’s knowing that outside forces have an effect on your person. It’s the recognition that you have your own personality with distinct likes and dislikes.
Little kids are certainly self aware in that sense.
An experiment was conducted with a chimpanzee to determine how “self-aware” they might be. A spot of paint was painted on the top of the forehead of one chimp, with a mirror placed close by. Looking at himself in the mirror, he noticed the paint on top of the head of his reflection. He then proceeded to touch his own head -not the mirror- to feel the paint, and spend the rest of the experiment trying to remove the paint from his head, all the while looking at himself.
This chimpanzee was fully aware that the image in the mirror was a reflection of his own being, and not another chimp.
He knew that the paint he noticed in the mirror was an indication of paint on his own being, and that it did not belong there -an indication that he recognizes himself, or knows what he should look like to some extent.
I’d say that makes him pretty self-aware. If that’s not an advocacy for protection of animals, I’m not sure what it. But that’s another topic.
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Recognizing our own uniqueness
Let’s define the next level as recognizing the uniqueness of our own personality, beyond likes and dislikes. What makes Me absolutely Me, different from “You.”
These are talents, gifts, and aptitudes; things “I” am particularly good at that no other can do, or at least not as well or not in the way I do it; traits that are appreciated and bring me pleasure; some might even me make valuable and/or bring me certain privileges or stature in relation to my peers.
On the less positive side are personality traits that leave a little to be desired. They range from mere annoyance to outright nuisance, to actual danger for the safety and survival of other members of the community.
Various degrees of self-awareness within this bracket are where the majority of people reside. We all know what we do well and not so well. We are aware, to some degree, of our positive and negative qualities. Some are more conscious of patterns, buttons, triggers, coping mechanism, etc. than others.
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Reflection and self-reflection
So far we’ve only addressed awareness of the self. Doing something about it is a totally different proposition. One can be aware of one’s personality and nature without doing anything about it, being willing to change, or even recognizing that anything is in need of change.
Self Aware does not necessarily mean Self Reflective.
Back to our trusted Webster:
- Reflective: produced by reflection; meditative, thoughtful; syn. Pensive
- Reflection: of serious thought; contemplation.
What brings us to the state of giving some serious thoughts about whom and what we are?
I believe the most effective route to be through other people.
A certain amount of self-reflection is evident for most. However, if we were to live by ourselves and seldom interact with others on a close, familiar and intimate level (not necessarily sexual in nature; intimacy has multiple levels), then there is only so far we can go. Other people are a necessity in the deeper development of self-awareness; i.e. self-awareness brought on by a reflection of ourselves through others.
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Oh, Mirror, mirror on the wall…
Our peers often take on the role of mirror. They, in essence, reflect back to us who we are. The reflection can be pleasant or unpleasant. It is up to us to recognize it for what it is. It can be a harsh lesson or the greatest compliment, and certainly the most powerful tool -a wonderful gift in fact- we have for growth.
We learn by interacting with others and noticing how we respond to them and they to us.
We learn by observing others’ behavior, habits, reactions, patterns, etc. This gives us insight on how we do and would react to a similar situation. It inspires us through role modeling of traits we admire and might want to take on. The reverse being true, we will come across attitudes we find unpleasant and do not want to be known for. People interaction is fuel for self-reflection about our own personality makeup.
This is a tremendous asset.
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Suddenly, a gradual evolution
Growth in awareness can come gradually or in sudden leaps. We can invite the process and choose the experience on our own terms, steadily working to improve ourselves, or it can come of its own accord, when least expected, at an intensity that will not be ignored. Sometimes the Universe in its wisdom sends a wake up call. We then have no choice but to work through the issues at hand.
This is where I imagine Elizabeth Gilbert was when she dropped everything and took a year off to dig deeper into what, and whom, she was and hopefully come up with answers. She had come to an impasse for which only a drastic solution would do.
That wall can hit so hard that you are left spinning and disoriented. I’ve experienced this phenomenon a couple times in my life, and though the going might be a little rough for a while, to say the least, it is the most amazing awakening of all.
Self awareness in and of itself is just that: awareness of the self. End of story.
Self Awareness and Self Reflection with a desire to change for the better is what makes human being capable of evolution on a spiritual level.
