How do you define “consciousness-raising“? What forms does it take for you? Can you think of any tricks to make the process easier?

The game of life is much like a camping trip. For a successful journey, it helps to be prepared, to be resilient, but not overloaded with excess baggage. Happy campers travel light and are ready to make the best of whatever situation happens to arise.

Using the word ‘raising’ when it comes to consciousness might be a bit of a misnomer, after all, the metaphor implies both altitude, which is a bit to close to hierarchy and linear progression, which posits straight-line thinking. Consciousness, and the raising of it, is a decidedly non-linear phenomenon.

Perhaps it’s more useful to think of consciousness as something that can both expand or contract. Broadening your perspective might find you with your feet on the ground and your head in the clouds.

Much like camping, the map is not the territory. Every well-planned itinerary, checklist, or schedule can go sideways with the slightest slip of circumstances. Checking your compass on the fly and resetting your coordinates as needed will get you back to your campsite or through the weeds of life as the case may be.

Opportunities for expanding your consciousness abound in the day-to-day foibles of living. Every time you pause before taking something personally, check yourself before making an assumption, or take the time to make sure that the words coming out of your mouth match the vibration of your highest good, you are on the path of doing-your-best.

Camping comes with an all-purpose tool, so what about consciousness? Patience, resilience, equanimity, grit… These and many others are all part of your cosmic Swiss Army knife, especially when paired with self-awareness and humility.

Watching a pair of American teens navigate France this past week has made me realize that there is one thing that makes everything to do with consciousness raising easier. If there’s one tool you can sharpen that will help all the others, it’s your sense of humor.

Learning a language is a form of consciousness raising, attempting to communicate with barely a bare-bones knowledge puts your feet to the fire. The minute you try to talk to someone with a foreign tongue, you step on to the tightrope of awkwardness.

The teens in my tale seemed to sense this, so they went about putting their best foot forward. Armed with minimal knowledge but big smiles, they approached every encounter with a chuckle at the ready. I saw them cracking jokes at their own expense, as soon as the person understood they were teasing the ice was broken.

Moral of the story? Never underestimate the power of benevolent humor. Levity is the key to a lighter load, so lighten up, indeed! Whether it’s a mountain trail or a mouthful of language, a little laughter in the mix smoothes the way.

Merci et à bientôt!

M+

ML #636

Mark Metz
Monday Love
Music & Movement Calendar