We have spoken of the only thing we have control of is ourselves and we are our greatest enemies when we get caught up in the blaming game, beating ourselves up for doing something and creating pain within our life. To become self aware is to awaken our emotional world where we can control our responses, we can understand how we hold ourselves back, why we react a certain way. So, to get to know yourself and awaken your emotional world, the first step is to know which emotions you are feeling and why. Sometimes I get a feeling like butterflies in the stomach when I am about to do something new, previously I would let it stop me from doing something because I grew fearful. Now I take the time to acknowledge it and appreciate why it has popped up which is usually when I have not done something before. I welcome it as excitement and use it to drive me to the next level of my awareness. This awareness allows me to comprehend why I think, do or say something. I do not react, I respond in a considered way because I appreciate why this feeling has shown up. I have met people who are emotionally volatile and they believe that this is how they are, they will always be like this. This is limiting themselves, we have the ability to better manage our emotions by becoming more self aware, by awakening ourselves to the possibilities. Another unresourceful action from our emotional outbursts is that we can blame everyone else for why we did it. This is blaming others for your feelings. This is living your life in a reactionary way where nothing is your fault but is everyone else’s. When we take responsibility for what happens to us, to how we react or respond we can have that stability, balance and strength back in our lives to be grounded and able to manage challenging situations. I know when I was in my dark times I let my emotions rule me. I felt misunderstood, I was always on the defensive or critical of others, I was resentful and insensitive. I hurt the people I love most in this time because I blamed them for making me feel the way I did. I also let what other people thought of me rule me. As Mark Twain said: “What other people think is none of our business”. This allowed me to free myself from the shackles of these feelings of being bound to what other people think. We only have responsibility for our own actions, thoughts and images. It was certainly a muscle I needed to exercise and did not come easy as we are so programmed to believe that what other people think, matters. We can also transfer our emotions in the positive and negative. Have you walked into a room and there was a really flat atmosphere, or been at a low-key party and someone walked in and next thing the energy was high? This is because we can transfer our emotions. When we control our emotions, we can manage how we affect others and this is emotional intelligence, being consciously aware of who we are. Awakening or being self aware of ourselves physically is also life changing. To physically awaken is treating our bodies as a temple, mindfully considering what we do with it and what we put into it. Movement is essential to keep our bodies doing what they were born to do. It also helps our feelings of happiness, freedom, lightness and balance. Being aware of what we put into our bodies, as in the food, is as important as movement. When we shovel sugary foods, takeaways, convenience and over processed foods into our bodies we become sluggish, lose touch with the world because our brain is foggy and it is as though we go to sleep in our world. When I started exercising and being aware of my diet (not going on a diet) then I found the world for me woke up. I could then go on a journey to living a balanced and happy life as I had removed the restrictions of unhealthy living. Addressing our mindset - our values, beliefs, attitudes, thoughts can free ourselves from the crap that stops us from not living large. Awakening our mind to be free of the constraints of society, to recognise what makes us happy is illuminating. Being spiritually awakened to me was being aware that there is more out there, than just me. For some people it is religion, some it is the universe, some it is spirit, some it is a source, a creator…. Whatever it is for you, this lifts you up and opens your heart to a new awareness or perception of the world around us. It is living in the now. To be spiritually awakened can mean that you are no longer attached to material things and are not affected if there is a loss of material things. There is no greed. It is growing as a whole. There is more love, compassion and kindness to humans, animals, and nature. Being in love with and enjoying nature is about living in the now. You are free from criticism for yourself and others and stop judging and controlling others. To be spiritually awakened means you can accept other people, things, situations and circumstances completely. A spiritually awakened person has inner silence and can reduce the internal dialogue of our mind chatter, which is constantly popping up. I believe that this is a journey and one I wish to be on. I aspire to be a role model for forgiveness and humility. Everyone has it within them, the potential of self realisation. It is discovering your true self and can be exciting. An adventure that awakens your whole being. It is a state of being and doing, where we move our awareness beyond the body, the mind and our emotions to your soul. As you go on this adventure there is more love, joy, compassion, abundance, peace and stability. Meditation is a wonderful technique that can help you on this journey to quiet the mind and let the energy flow through you. Find out what awakens your spirit to have more balance and be a more rounded, compassionate and calm person.