So how does ‘consciousness’ align with our mission of empowering you (and the other 100,000 people)?
The facilitator, Andrew Outhwaite, takes us through some reasons why our members might pursue increasing consciousness.
1) Because it’s for you.
Meditative and contemplative practices can improve your: memory, focus, happiness, relationships, creativity and relationship to emotions. Science says so, as cited in Inc, Entrepreneur and Medium.
More than 80% of 140 world-class performers interviewed by Tim Ferriss have a daily meditation or mindfulness practice. Include too: Marc Benioff, Ariana Huffington, Jack Dorsey, Joe Rogan and 33% of Aussie startup founders interviewed by KPMG.
Consider this: are your experience, your thoughts and emotions for you? Are they from you or randomly coming to you? Greater consciousness can illuminate, change your relationship to and even create your whole experience.
2) Because it’s for not you.
Other than you is not you, for example: other people, objects and forces like gravity. Being conscious of what and how not you is, can increase your effectiveness.
Imagine two people playing the same game (of business): one deeply conscious of the rules, dynamics (e.g. market principles, human relations) and how to win. The other isn’t so much, but is randomly trying their hardest. Which is more likely to be effective?
Being more conscious doesn’t’ guarantee effectiveness, nor is effectiveness necessarily a personal characteristic across contexts. To re-purpose a Shunryu Suzuki quote: “There are, strictly speaking, no effective [enlightened] people, there is only effective [enlightened] activity”.
Beyond effectiveness, consider that consciousness of the nature and principles of any context for itself could enable something even more remarkable: discovering a principle or creating something new comes to exist for everyone.
Take a context like physics as an example and imagine the level of curiousity and openness required to ‘discover’ gravity. What about the internet, non-violent resistance or crypto currencies? All are profound creations affecting billions, emerging from deep and open investigation of not you.
So, increased happiness, effectiveness and creativity are all good reasons to add ‘become more conscious’ to your to-do list.
But when? Now or “later”?
Here’s another reason to pursue consciousness that has some urgency to it:
3) Because you are too busy (and then you will die).
It’s true.
You are probably too busy and then at some point you will die. Death is the final deadline for all your to-dos and has horribly unpredictable timing.
Your life may be productive, filled with great relationships, and leave a beautiful legacy through work and charity. And in the end there may just be you.
Now, do you have any nagging, unresolved questions or a simple sense of wonder? Who are you?, What is life? Is there a purpose to this whole existence?
You can’t outsource answers to existential questions. You can listen to others answers but will they be true for you, in and as your lived experience?
Becoming directly conscious of what’s true, absolutely and for you, IS possible.
But only you can do it.
Now is the perfect and only time.
Here, now and for you, the invitation into meditation, contemplation and consciousness of life, death and existential questions is (always) open.
If you're interested in increasing your consciousness come along to the preview session of their 16 week course at Riff next Monday 14th.
Find out more and join the meetup group here.
