The Invisible Patterns

We may not realize, but everything we think and do is influenced and shaped by many invisible patterns. Learning to be aware of them and go beyond them is the quintessential art of living consciously. And without this consciousness, we’re just trapped in the qualities of nature. We live passively…and before we realize, we head to our end. 

We are not even aware that there are patterns to everything we do. We live in patterns. It takes a certain degree of awareness to see them. I’ll give you an example. The way you start and end your day is probably a set pattern. The way you eat and talk—take note of it someday—follows a pattern. Like these, there are innumerable other patterns too. 

It’s a deep inquiry as to how these patterns are built up. But the root cause is pretty simple: lack of awareness. When our awareness throughout our daily activities becomes ‘lazy’, patterns start forming over our consciousness. For example, our bodies have a set pattern of its own: when it needs food, when it needs to go to the restroom, when it needs sleep…body keeps a track of all this. And so, suppose, you have sat down to study or do something when your body feels lethargic or sleepy, but which requires your superior attention, your awareness will drop down, and you’ll be dragged into your bodily patterns. You’ll not be able to study effectively and patterns will rule you. 

Like physiological patterns, there are psychological patterns too. Patterns related to thinking habits, emotional conduct, your reaction style and so on. Unless we break these patterns, we are as good as slaves to our own bodies and minds. Awareness is the first step. 

But we have a limited bandwidth of awareness available to us. Sometimes we need to use the entire field of bandwidth to a particular task (that’s ‘selective’ active awareness), and sometimes we need a combination of active and passive awareness. 

But the kind of awareness that we have to develop to deal with our patterns is neither of these. We need an ‘inward awareness’. Our awareness is largely outward-bound. When we turn our awareness inward—and ‘see’ our own thoughts, feelings, emotions, that’s inward awareness. In the yogic terms of Patanjali, pratyahara—the ability to direct our sensory awareness inwards.

And this kind of awareness is an outcome of prolonged practice of pratyahara. It then remains with you all the time. Whether you speak to someone, or eat, or think something—you’ll be able to see your every thought, action and reaction. You’ll be aware of speaking; you’ll be aware of eating; and like that to everything else. This is the awareness we need to see our invisible patterns and break them. Unless we see them, there’s no question of going beyond them. Seeing is being aware. If you develop this inward awareness, you’ll be able to consciously craft your life, and that’s freedom. 

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Thank you for your attention.

Feature image Credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/LGuBavAgK2s