Conscious Living Short Cuts: For You and Your Family

By C Grace Lewis

This book, Conscious Living Short Cuts for You and Your Family, contains tools that support awareness and transformation for adults, teens, and children. It has simple suggestions and scenarios of how familiar concepts can enhance your life. Chapter summaries, short cuts, and highlighted key words weave the text together and provide easy access to the ideas. Read this book and learn new ways to smile and enjoy living consciously.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jan 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781504344333

C Grace Lewis

C Grace Lewis was born a middle child in the 'Sunshine State', Florida, which turned out to be the perfect launch pad for years of study, exploration, and travel. She discovered the world is a big neighborhood and having a choice in life is like being given a magic wand where with a wave anything is possible. C Grace loves science fiction films, engaging conversations, trees, her wavey hair, deep laughter, and, recently, paddle boarding. She is currently having adventures with her partner and two children in New Zealand, Aotearoa, "the land of the long white cloud".

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Copyright © 2016 C Grace Lewis.

Artwork by KDLM, age 3

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Balboa Press

A Division of Hay House

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.balboapress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5043-4432-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-4434-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-4433-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015918774

Balboa Press rev. date: 12/10/2015

CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1 Source

Culture, Spirit, and Science

Connecting

Love Link

Sound

More Connection Activities

Timing and Free Will

Source Summary

Chapter 2 Earth

Practical Grounding

Cleaning

More Simple and Fun Ideas

The Present

Earth Summary

Chapter 3 School

Lessons

Evolution In Action

Environmental Influences

Positive Attitude

Honesty and Trust

A Life School Lesson

Getting Your Family into the Game

School Summary

Chapter 4 Tools

Altars

Engaging Your Surroundings

Color

Inner Promptings

Tools Summary

Chapter 5 Emotions

Responsibility

Baby Steps

Family Dynamics

Classic Ideas

Fear

Replace Reaction With Response

Emotion As Fuel

Emotions Summary

Chapter 6 Balance

Brain Balance

Exposure and Balance

Communication Including Silence

Additional Balancing Ideas

Balance Summary

Chapter 7 Clarity

Goals And Dreams

Practical Clarity

Clarity In The Present

Patience and Courage

Refocusing

Bridge Building to Clarity

Clarity Summary

Chapter 8 Ego

The Evolving Ego

Practical Ideas

Non-Judgment Lessons

Circular Current Support

More Practical Ideas

Competition

Ego Summary

Chapter 9 Help

Helpful Interconnections

Humor

Creative Support

Asking For Help

Physical and Less Physical Help

Practical Help

Little Miracles

Help Summary

Chapter 10 Practice

Epiphany

Adventure

Experience

Thoughts and Reality

Remember Resonance

Non-Resistance in Practice

More Magic and Miracles

Practice Summary

Chapter 11 Conscious Living Keys

Chapter 12 Conscious Living Short Cuts

Chapter 13 Conclusion

Selected Resources

For my son, Kaye Donald, and my daughter, Hogan Kealoha Minoaka, who have helped anchor me on the conscious living path while teaching me that there are many short cuts along the way.

INTRODUCTION

I went to a Catholic primary school back in the ‘old’ days when nuns wore traditional habits and rulers were used for discipline as well as measuring. It was a time when beliefs, even those beyond religion, were held sacred no questions asked. One of these beliefs was that children had to write with their right hand.

I will never forget a boy in my class. He would try so hard to print on the blank lined paper whatever letter of the alphabet we were learning that day. Invariably he would only be able to accomplish the task with his left hand. When a sharp rap across the knuckles did not produce the desired results, he was made to stand in the corner where his isolation produced tears of shame. Everyone got the message. Do what you are told, stay within the lines, and write with your right hand!

This experience made a big impression on me. However, as children do, I accepted such ideas as absolute. We all have childhood memories of events that may seem inconsequential now but were significant for our development. I took to wearing long sleeves and even sweaters on hot summer days to hide a mole on my arm that surely would not be acceptable. I was afraid a mole would be a ruler or a stand in the corner offense. Fortunately I was already right handed!

Eventually mandating that all children write with their right hand was discarded as was corporal punishment. Catching the wave of such movement, I wore short sleeves without fear. However, changes in what I thought were truths sewed seeds of uncertainty in my mind. It was not an uncertainty generated by Catholic school or nuns specifically. It was more a general wonder about how we could absolutely know things, like how writing with a certain hand was ‘better’. As I matured the seeds sewn years before began to take root and grow. With the road map for my life continually changing, I began to see that the same question really could have many answers.

My awareness was piqued by events like my classmate crying in the corner for no other reason than his inability to write ‘correctly’. Years later by trying to find answers, strengthening my own awareness and sharing this with others, I am in a sense trying to find clarity regarding my long ago friend. This book is not an attempt to define conscious living absolutely, but rather an endeavor to signpost a conscious living journey in helpful ways.

Of course living with greater awareness is not a new idea. Throughout time one of the traits that has defined us as humans is the ability to analyze and adapt to the world. From our cranial machinations flow discoveries, inventions, and ideas that influence and transform our existence. Some of these ideas though, while originally enlightening, have resulted in a quiet stagnation of mind and culture. How many of us go happily into an unconscious zone while watching television?

Today, more than ever before, we face the challenge of living consciously in our high tech multi-faceted society. When we try to meet this challenge our lives become invested with meaning and purpose. We experience happiness and joy as mainstays in our lives. As our awareness expands, our understanding and appreciation of our society and world is significantly amplified. Simply put, living consciously results in a better life and world. I tend to think of conscious living as a fundamental part of the job description for human beings.

I have been trying to live consciously throughout my adult life by means of a wide range of experiences. These have included training as a lawyer, sheep farm worker, prison minister, licensed massage therapist, teacher for inner-city gang kids, and organic food co-op manager, among other things. This odyssey has been about seeking ways to support conscious living through the broad expanse of living itself.

If my life has been defined by this process, having children has accelerated the task. Children are naturally aware and a conscious lifestyle supports their awareness. Though many fantastic books, lectures, and films have helped, I found that as a parent I needed something geared more to the child and family. So, as I continued to work to improve my own consciousness I took notes on things that supported awareness for children and teens, indeed for our entire household. Eventually I realized that sharing this information with a larger audience could benefit others on a similar voyage, and Conscious Living Short Cuts for You and Your Family was born.

Many of the concepts in this book are universal truths that you will recognize on some level whether through intuitive, spiritual, scholarly, scientific or personal means. This book is not so much about the ideas though, as it is about the application of the ideas. This book explains concepts, but more importantly it provides practical information and stories illustrating how such ideas may work for you and your family. It gives signs for the road you will map out yourself on your journey. For example, humor is a wonderful road sign. It has reminded my family for years to play basketball in public bathrooms by trying to score a winning shot with our used paper towels.

In summary, the beginning chapters, Source and Earth, are dedicated to consciously reconnecting with our already interconnected world. The idea of lifelong learning or life school is covered in the next chapter, School, and the following chapters examine closely how this learning can be done in simple ways. There are chapters on Tools, Emotions and Balance, as well as Clarity, Ego, and Help. Finally, the Practice chapter indicates how the information fits together to support an integrated conscious life.

Included within each chapter are Conscious Living Keys, concepts that highlight important conscious living ideas. The Keys are introduced as such the first time they appear, and thereafter are in italics even when the Key is modified to be grammatically correct. It may also be in parentheses as a reminder when it is being referred to indirectly. (I have tried to keep such cross referencing to a minimum in order to reinforce but not distract from the material.) The chapters cover different topics using the Keys as important common threads to bind the conscious living ideas together.

Each chapter ends with a list of Conscious Living Short Cuts relating to the chapter. A Short Cut is a simple thought, activity or focus that will empower you and your family to lead a more conscious and thus a more fulfilling life. They are meant to be an outline or quick reference so they are short and simple.

Many chapters suggest that you make up your own list of Short Cuts for conscious living. You may find yourself developing your own Keys as well. Only you know what will work best for you and your family. My ideas are merely suggestions or starting points. Perhaps just read the Conscious Living Short Cuts or the Conscious Living Keys chapters, and leave the rest until time permits or necessity dictates. This book is written so that you can find information in whatever way that suits you and your lifestyle.

For best results, take immediate action whenever you come across something you like or something you think might work for you. Get a highlighter or colored pen and mark the things of interest. Make notes or lists of your own in the page margins or on the back of a favorite birthday card (or on some other keepsake). Perhaps draw a spider diagram or a decision tree with an idea you like in the center and branching pathways indicating various solutions to help with decision making. The things that sound fun and interesting, or the ones that just feel right, will be the easiest to start with and will lead you to other ideas. Maybe look at the Selected Resources list for more details.

My family’s journey is shared with the hope that through our experience you will be supported on your own conscious living adventure. This book provides fun and helpful ideas to do just that. With each step you will gain momentum. Although some suggestions and even chapters may seem more relevant to children, we are all kids at heart. You do not have to hug a tree. You may feel better just leaning against one however!

Please note that this book is not meant to substitute for counseling or medical help. In certain situations getting assistance from a trained professional can be the most supportive thing you could do for yourself and your family. Such aid can bring a tremendous peace of mind and heart to your household.

Conscious living can be a challenging but also a rewarding and life affirming experience. It is a way that we can learn, grow, and finally live the life we were all born to live as conscious members of the human family on Earth. So turn the page and begin your conscious living adventure now!

CHAPTER 1

SOURCE

Source is the expansive, limitless essence of all. Even through definition, it defies specific classification. Throughout time, however, humans have strived to grasp the nature of Source seeking to give meaning and purpose to their lives. This has been an effort underlying the course of humanity.

At this point in our evolutionary journey, we have matured enough to proceed despite uncertainty. We understand that our strength lies not within the confines of previous encapsulated thinking, but in exploring the unknown. As a result, we begin to perceive that we are part of something grand and beautiful. We comprehend that we are a small but essential part of a perfect whole and that we are meant to improve our awareness of this most basic fact. In this way, our life becomes infused with a deeper understanding and significance. This is conscious living.

I introduce this book with the idea of Source as a possible platform from which you can weave together your own conscious living experience. You may not need such a concept. Your explorations will lead you and your family on a voyage that is uniquely your own.

CULTURE, SPIRIT, AND SCIENCE

Examining Source from a historical perspective is a good way to begin your family’s conscious living adventure. In this light, one can see that though called by different names, many cultures and traditions have honored Source in special ways. For example, Native American Indians believed that all life is connected. They had spiritual practices in keeping with their convictions like vision quests, feasts and ceremonies for harvests, and prayers of forgiveness and thanksgiving for prey. They believed in the ebb and flow of Source, and knew that treating all with honor and respect benefits everyone and everything including them. The Native American Indians provide an example of living consciously by respecting all of existence as interconnected Source energy.

Other cultures incorporate these ideas as well. When Hawaiians say Aloha it is to honor the ‘presence of divine breath’ within you. Similarly, the Hindi hello Namaste means ‘I recognize the divine in you and the oneness of all’, and the Mayan greeting and goodbye In Lak’ech Ala K’in means ‘You are another me’. (These are rough translations.) Such spiritual greetings remind us of our connection to Source through our connection to each other. They can be an easy way to reinforce the daily practice of conscious living.

When my family and I lived in Hawaii we loved seeing and feeling the ‘aloha’ tradition practiced in everyday life. People seemed to share, love and laugh with such abandon. I remember four-way stop signs where people would wave others through regardless of whose turn it was. Car horns were used just to say hello. When we moved away, we ordered a special car license plate that said ‘Aloha’ to try to spread the idea of honoring our interconnection, and as a gentle reminder to ourselves to practice ‘aloha’ even with such a common event as driving. This exemplified conscious living for our children, family, and even other drivers on the road. It is hard to come up with road rage when practicing ‘aloha’!

Today life’s interconnections are being studied and written about from the perspective of quantum physics and unified theories. Although not couched in terms of Source, science is redefining the universe in ways that shed light on how everything is linked. For example, scientists have demonstrated that they can influence the outcome of their experiments simply by their own observation. It has been shown that people affect their reality in ways science has never previously considered. Science, then, is finally catching up with the spiritual and cultural belief in our interconnectedness. This means we no longer have the luxury of thinking we are impartial observers of the world around us.

These ideas make it clear that there is spiritual, cultural, and scientific support for a unified reality of which we ourselves are a part. There are no longer any exclusive areas of study. Our knowledge, based on what were once many differing fields of learning, appears to be converging. This is significant because by illustrating how we are all connected, these ideas are leading us toward integrating the underlying nature of existence into our lives. The fact is that despite the appearance of separateness, we are all part of a magnificent whole. We are all pieces in ONE infinitely varied and perfect puzzle.

The term Source has been used to describe this underlying interconnected whole, but it is up to you and your family to find the terms and ideas that best suit you. This is your journey. No one else can define your adventure. I endeavor merely to provide some sign posts. I hope to illustrate what we have done in my family with the thought that our experience supports your own. What is exciting is that while you may find your own belief systems relevant and helpful for your conscious living journey, no specific set of beliefs is required. Conscious living does not presuppose any particular cultural, spiritual or scientific doctrine; conscious living, and the unity consciousness that naturally flows from it, is simply a way of life that you define yourself.

CONNECTING

So, how do we strengthen our understanding of the nature of existence? How do we support feelings of interconnection? I watched a movie recently that helped me with these questions. It was about a dog, and for most of the movie the dog was labeled a ‘bad dog’ because he tore things up, ran away and in general caused trouble wherever he went. By the end of the film, however, the owners of the dog realized that they had given him the label ‘bad’ when in reality all he did was love them unceasingly with all of his heart. The dog did have some highly irritating but dog appropriate habits. Still, he never judged others or withheld affection; he just lived every day with joy and love.

The film would hardly be a revelation for anyone who has ever had a dog or been around pets. For me, it went even further to show that labels, such as ‘bad’ or ‘good’, can hide the truth of the love and connection that surrounds us. When we let go of our judgments and preconceptions we begin to see the world in new and different ways. In other words, the more we move away from labeling everything including ourselves, the more we affirm our interconnection. As we distance ourselves from the polarity such pigeonholing causes and instead embrace unity, we support conscious living.

One way to strengthen this unity awareness is to connect consciously with what we perceive to be life outside of ourselves. Throughout this book, this Conscious Living Key will be referred to as Reinforcing Interconnections. Reinforcing Interconnections amplifies our awareness because it requires us to link consciously with our already interconnected reality. When we bring such relationships to the forefront of our minds and hearts, whether through visualization, affirmation or sound, for example, we support unity. Our place and purpose in the world is highlighted and strengthened.

It can be easy for children to Reinforce Interconnections particularly if their imagination is engaged. Perhaps you and your family can begin by standing up straight and tall and imagine being on one end of a plug, arrow, string, or rainbow. (My daughter might visualize doing this with her favorite pink hair ribbon.) The other end could link to a special toy, a bedroom, a friend (real or imagined), love, a spiritual being or deity, heaven, the sun or the moon, or the top of the stairs. Literally anything and everything is possible since in reality we are already connected.

You could use their recent art work as a connecting thread to the subject of their art, the colors used or how they felt while creating it. Even a game they play on the computer can provide a useful format. Whatever captures their attention is a way to Reinforce Interconnections. It just takes a moment to use their interest as a means to highlight our interconnections and thus our unity with the world around us.

Nature also supplies countless ideas for you and your family to Reinforce Interconnections creatively. A spider’s interwoven web provides a strong visual for our interwoven universe as does a bee hive, a garden or an ecosystem. For example, we breathe in oxygen that trees release and trees take up the carbon dioxide we exhale. If you live on a farm or close to nature, you will have daily reminders of life’s interdependence for inspiration.

Drawing a picture or making a collage with the theme of interconnection further reinforces the idea. Giving thanks at meals or bedtime can provide a wonderful opportunity to feel and feed our interconnections as well. The possibilities are endless and connections can vary depending on what is meaningful, interesting, or just relevant in the moment. You will be amazed at what children will come up with or possibly even what they have been connecting with already.

For example, my daughter loves frogs. For years holding hands with them (as stuffed animals of course!), or more often holding them between her toes during sleep, has been a comforting way she has strengthened her feelings of peace and connection. Such an activity supports her through association with her favorite animal friend. Similarly, your family may have favorite creatures. Using animals to Reinforce Interconnections can be easy and fun in any number of ways