The Light Within: How Consciousness and Awareness Can Transform Your Life E176
December 17, 2024
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Have you ever wondered why life feels so overwhelming, even when everything seems to be going fine? Why do our thoughts and emotions have such a strong grip on us, pulling us into frustration, worry, or sadness? In today’s episode, I’ll be sharing a concept that completely shifted my perspective—a metaphor from Michael Singer that beautifully explains the difference between consciousness and awareness.
It’s not just a philosophical idea—it’s a powerful tool to help you let go of life’s struggles and reconnect with your true self. Since learning this, I’ve started exploring it in my meditations and everyday life, and the results have been profound. Today, I’ll take you through what I’ve learned and how you can use it to free yourself from the weight of your thoughts and emotions. Let’s dive in—it might just change the way you see yourself and your life forever.
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I have been hugely inspired by a podcast episode this week. It’s a recent episode from the Michael Singer Podcast called “Achieving Inner Awareness By Letting Go”. And you know I am a sucker for teaching and learning more about letting go. But that was not even the amazing part of the episode that made me listen to it already 3 times.
In this episode, Michael Singer explains the concept of consciousness and awareness with a beautiful metaphor that just makes it so much more understandable. Until I heard his description, I didn’t even know about the difference between consciousness and awareness. But now that this knowledge arrived with me, I keep playing with it during my meditations.
I want to share it with you today because I truly think that it can change your life. It has started to change mine. I already had profound experiences while practising this new knowledge and I am so excited as this is just the beginning. I am a beginner right now discovering this for myself and I can’t wait to see where this leads me. So let me share with you this information through the fantastic metaphor that Michael Singer teaches.
The Foundation: You Are Consciousness
Until last week, I thought consciousness and awareness were just 2 different words but had the same meaning. Being conscious or being aware, for me, that meant the same thing. And I know that this is what we truly are. We are consciousness, we are awareness. But now I know that there is a difference between consciousness and awareness.
And this is described best with this simple metaphor: Imagine a lightbulb. The light bulb shines its light outward when it’s turned on. For the light to shine from the light bulb, the bulb doesn’t leave its source, it just radiates light outward. Your consciousness is the light bulb. You are consciousness and you radiate awareness outward. You can use the sun for this example as well. The sun shines its light onto everything around it. But it does not need to leave itself to be able to do that. It stays where it is and emanates its nature outward.
Your Awareness: The Light That Shines Without Leaving
Let’s look at what I just said again. Let’s turn a light bulb on. It creates light and it’s shining on all the objects around it. Did it have to leave where it is? No, the bulb is still where it is. It did not leave, but it’s able to emanate its nature. The sunlight has a source which is the sun and it radiates its nature away from the source. And when it falls on objects, did the sun come down and fall on the object? No. It radiated its nature which is light onto the object.
That is what you are doing with your awareness. Your consciousness does not leave the source, the seat of consciousness, but it’s able to emanate its nature which is then called awareness. In the case of light, the nature is photons. The nature of consciousness is awareness. It emanates its awareness onto the object. I’m sitting here in the chair, but I can emanate my consciousness through awareness onto the screen in front of me. I didn’t leave.
Returning to the Seat of Consciousness
The source is the bulb or the sun. The sun does not leave the sky to emanate light onto the Earth. The bulb does not leave its place on the ceiling in order to emanate its light onto the objects. You don’t leave your source ever in order to emanate, radiate, project your consciousness onto objects. You do that through awareness. And what is all of what you shine your consciousness on through your awareness? You are aware of all the objects around you, your body, your thoughts, your emotions, your behaviours, your actions.
So the fact that you become aware of a thought is the same as the light falling on a picture. The light falling on that picture, the light didn’t leave, it didn’t do anything. Your consciousness is at all times seated in the seat of consciousness, emanating, radiating its awareness onto the objects of consciousness. If you get that, you are able to get back to the seat of consciousness which is what you truly are.
My experiments with the seat of consciousness
I told you that since learning all of this, I played around with it during my meditations. I become aware of being aware. And I have done this in the past, but I never went the step further to move past the awareness to the source, the seat of consciousness. That’s what I am practising moving towards now. Not focusing just on being aware, but being the source of the awareness. And just hanging out there. It sounds easier than it is.
One of the realizations I had this morning while practising was something Dr Joe Dispenza describes is putting on the VR headset. He talks about life being a game, just an illusion that we are in and for us to be able to play this game called Life on this Earth, we had to put on the VR headset. When I was hanging out in my consciousness this morning, I had the sense of looking at the current version of myself and my life as being one particular game but there are many other options of games to play. But here is the point that I took away from it.
The Illusion of Fulfillment: Returning to Source
I can choose a different video game, if I want to, but that’s not going to be who I am either. When we are in the middle of life, we desire something different to what we currently have or are, we want a change to occur, we want our reality to look different. But behind all of that is always the wish to feel better, to feel more fulfilled, to feel more accomplished, to feel more worthy. When we turn our life into the version that we think we want, THEN we will feel finally whole. But that’s not going to happen – that’s what I realized this morning while hanging out in the seat of consciousness.
Choosing a different video game is only swapping out the character in the video game, playing in a different scenario and potentially a different meaning of the game. But it’s not going to make us whole. Only returning back to source and realizing that we are source, will do that. Everything else is just going to be an attempt to feel whole and never able to reach it. The failure is built into the system, even if you seem to be winning the game.
Breaking Free: Reclaiming Inner Peace Through Letting Go
That doesn’t mean that life is pointless and we cannot enjoy the experience of it. But with the knowledge that I just shared with you, we can create some distance between the experience and who we truly are. Let go of our fixation on our lives and make it all in all more enjoyable. That’s when we come back to the point Michael Singer is trying to make in his podcast episode. That’s why it’s called “Achieving Inner Awareness By Letting Go”.
When we lose ourselves in the objects of awareness, life becomes a constant struggle. Think about it: when you fixate on a negative thought, it consumes you. When a difficult emotion arises, it pulls you under. When life doesn’t go your way, you feel like everything is falling apart. Here’s the hard truth: the more we identify with the objects of our consciousness—our thoughts, emotions, and external circumstances—the more power we give them. We become prisoners to our experiences.
- A passing comment from someone can ruin your entire day.
- An uncomfortable memory from years ago still defines how you see yourself.
- A future worry paralyzes you from taking action in the present.
When we live this way, we are constantly in a state of reaction. We fight to control the external world, hoping it will make us feel okay inside. But it never works, because the problem isn’t out there—it’s in here. This is the tragedy of human life: we, who are infinite beings of consciousness, reduce ourselves to the limitations of our experiences. We forget the truth of who we are.
So, what’s the solution? It’s not about fixing your life in the video game, your external world. It’s not about avoiding difficult emotions or thoughts. The solution is to return to who you truly are: the consciousness behind it all.
Learning to Let Go
Letting go doesn’t mean avoiding life. It means learning to handle experiences as they come, without clinging to them or resisting them. Let me share 3 areas in your experience where you can practice letting go.
Handle the Present Moment Every experience you have is temporary. It comes in, and it goes out—just like a wave. Most of what you encounter in life passes through without leaving a trace. But when you resist an experience or cling to it, you store it inside.
For example, think about a time when someone said something that upset you. Maybe it was a passing comment. But instead of letting it go, you held onto it. You replayed it in your mind, adding layers of meaning to it, until it became more than just a comment—it became a wound.
Letting go means allowing experiences to flow through you, like water through a sieve. It means saying to yourself: “I can handle this. This moment will pass.”
Release the Past So much of our emotional weight comes from the past. But here’s the thing: the past is over. It’s gone. The only place it exists now is in your mind.
When old memories arise, don’t push them away. Don’t fight them. Instead, welcome them. Say: “I see you. I feel you. And I let you go.”
Remember, these experiences are not you. They are objects of your consciousness. You are the one observing them.
Stop Fearing the Future The future hasn’t happened yet. Everything you fear is just a thought. When you notice yourself worrying, come back to the present moment. Ask yourself: “Right now, in this moment, am I okay?” Chances are, the answer is yes. The present moment is always manageable when you approach it with awareness.
Now let’s talk about how you can start integrating these teachings into your daily life.
Daily Practices to Return to Awareness
Morning Intention: Start your day with a simple mantra: “Today, I will remain aware of my consciousness. I will let go of what I cannot control.”
Pause and Observe: Throughout the day, practice observing your thoughts and emotions. When something arises, pause. Ask yourself:
- “Who is aware of this thought?”
- “Who is observing this emotion?”
This simple question reminds you that you are not the thought or emotion—you are the one who is aware of it.
Let Go in the Moment: When a difficult experience arises, repeat to yourself: “I can handle this. I don’t need to resist it. I can let it pass.”
Evening Reflection: At the end of the day, take five minutes to reflect:
- What did I hold onto today that I could have let go of?
- Where did I forget that I am the observer, not the experience?
Advanced Practice: Returning to the Seat of Self
If you want to go deeper, practice returning to the “seat of consciousness.” like I have been doing over the last couple of days. This means sitting in stillness and focusing on the awareness of being aware.
Here’s how:
- Close your eyes.
- Notice your thoughts as they arise, but don’t engage with them.
- Shift your attention to the one who is aware of the thoughts.
- Rest in this awareness.
The more you practice this, the more you’ll begin to feel the lightness of your true self.
As we wrap up this episode, I want you to take a moment to reflect on what we’ve explored together. The teachings I shared today—rooted in Michael Singer’s profound metaphor—aren’t just abstract ideas. They’re tools, invitations to remember who you truly are: the unshakable consciousness behind all the experiences of your life.
Embrace Your True Self: The Power of Awareness
You are not your thoughts. You are not your emotions. You are the awareness radiating from the seat of consciousness, observing it all. That light within you has always been there—constant, unchanging, and infinitely powerful. Think about the possibilities this perspective unlocks. When you let go of identifying with the objects of your awareness, you reclaim your freedom. You stop being a prisoner to passing comments, painful memories, or imagined futures. Instead, you step into a place of clarity and strength, where you can engage with life fully while remaining anchored in your true self.
As you move through your day, practice what we’ve discussed. Whether it’s pausing to observe a thought, releasing a heavy memory, or reminding yourself that the future hasn’t happened yet—each moment is an opportunity to return to your source. It’s a process, and you don’t have to get it perfect. Just begin.
Thank you for sharing this journey with me today. As always, I’m honoured to walk this path with you. If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who might need it. Let’s spread the light together. Until next time, take a deep breath, let go, and keep returning to the beautiful truth of who you are. You’ve got this.
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