Awareness Is Necessary for Change

If you’re trying to make progress but don’t feel like you’re getting anywhere, don’t be discouraged. Listen to this episode of the Awaken Your Wise Woman podcast as host Elizabeth Cush talks about the role of awareness in changing our behavior and our lives. 

“Building awareness is like building muscle. As your awareness muscle grows, you'll be able to handle more, you'll be able to make different choices, and you'll begin to grow those new neural pathways.” — Biz Cush

Where are you in your journey? Do you get discouraged when you find yourself falling into the same old traps over and over? Do you beat yourself up for what seems like a lack of progress? Do you get frustrated by living in your own personal Groundhog Day? Don’t give up. You might be better off than you realize. In this episode of the Awaken Your Wise Woman podcast, host Biz Cush, LCPC, a licensed professional therapist, founder of Progression Counseling in Maryland and Delaware, and soul support for highly sensitive women, talks about awareness as the first step in any healing journey. She explains how awareness opens the door for change and provides some tools to help you enhance your awareness. She also offers a simple breath awareness exercise to help you be more present and in touch with the way your feelings show up in your body. 

You can find the full show notes and resources here.

Transcript

Episode 12 season 6

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

awareness, healing journey, sensitive women, sacred circles, mindfulness, meditation, neural pathways, breath awareness, self-compassion, inner world, body grounding, podcast community, energy, membership, new year

SPEAKERS

Elizabeth Cush

Elizabeth Cush  00:00

Hi and welcome back to the awaken, your wise woman podcast. I'm your host, Elizabeth Cush, better known as biz and I am so glad that you're here. I just appreciate all of you listeners so much. And as we journey further into the new year, this community of highly sensitive women just fills my heart but also supports my soul, just to know that you're out there, whether you are a part of my membership or the sacred circles, I just feel your energy out there, and it means a lot to me. It means a lot to know that we are connected, because

Elizabeth Cush  00:54

life is a little challenging right now, and I know, for me to know that my sensitive community is available and supporting me is really important. And if you were considering joining one of our sacred circles, they are happening monthly, typically on the third Thursday of the month, but that has varied a little bit with my schedule and some conflicts that are coming up. But you can find when the next one is happening on my website. Elizabeth cush.com typically it's right there on the top of the page. If you also go to the membership page, it's right there as well. And you can also, if you follow me on Instagram, the updated dates are always there in the link in my bio, so you can follow me there and get to know when the next circles are happening, and I would love for you to join us.

Elizabeth Cush  02:09

So this, this episode is a solo episode I am recording in a different place, and my dog is right here, and it's possible he's going to jump up and start barking, because that's that's how he rolls. So hopefully we will be able to manage that in this recording and not get too too distracted or pulled out of the the episode. Yeah, this week we're going to talk about the importance of awareness and awareness as really the first step of any healing journey. In my work with clients, we often get to a place where they share that they worry they're not making progress. They share that the problem hasn't gone away, and that it keeps coming up, and that they seem to cycle through it regularly, and they're really frustrated. And I get that, I completely understand that, and I also know that as a as a therapist and a soul guide for highly sensitive women, that sometimes awareness of the issues isn't a problem, that maybe the reason you continue to be aware is because you have more awareness through this healing process. It's not that the issue is any worse or any better, it's just that now you're able to see more clearly how it's impacting your life every time it shows up. That's kind of a radical thought, right? That you being able to notice the issue is really a good thing. What I've learned over many years in working as a therapist and as a sensitive soul guide for clients is that awareness has to be the first step, because if you're not aware, nothing is going to change. You just continue what you're doing, getting frustrated with yourself without a vision for how things could be different. Awareness brings clarity. It creates the ability to make choices. Awareness brings about change. Awareness, all by itself, creates new neural pathways in your brain, and that's pretty amazing, because when you're aware of a problematic behavior or a desire to do things differently, you're also recognizing that there are alternatives, and that nudge alone opens the path for change, because you can't make change unless you have some idea of how you'd like to do things differently.

Elizabeth Cush  05:44

And when we do things differently, that's when the neural pathways can change. So imagine you're a deer walking through the forest and coming to a well worn path. This path has been traveled down by many, many deer over many, many years. But it's also also a path that's well known to hunters and wolves and coyotes. So one day, this deer thinks, I wonder if there's another way that I can get to the stream with less danger. And so she looks around for other ways to go. Sure enough, there's a small break through the underbrush, but it's pretty overgrown. It takes some effort to go this new way. With these first steps, the path has begun to clear, but it's still pretty straggly each time this deer comes to the fork in the pathways, she has to practice going the new, more challenging way. The old way might feel easier or familiar because it's so well worn, but she has an awareness that she has a choice, and the new way is more peaceful as lots to offer her. The more she travels this new path, the easier and easier it becomes, and that's what occurs in your brain each time your awareness allows you to make different choices, you're creating a new neural pathway. But it doesn't happen overnight. It takes awareness and practice. So how do we bring about more awareness, so that things start shifting in the brain, in your life and in you. How do you forge a new path so it's easier to travel two of the best ways I know, our mindfulness and meditation. I know when I say meditation, there are some of you that immediately say I can't meditate. My brain goes in a billion different directions. I can't sit still. There's a lot of reasons people feel they can't meditate. And I hear you. I hear you, but I wonder if you might have a misconception of what I mean by meditation. What I don't mean is sitting quietly on your own trying to shut off all thought, because really, I don't know anybody that can turn off their thoughts. Meditation doesn't have to be hard, because there are so many options for guided meditation out there in the world, there are apps, there are videos, there are audio tracks, and they make it easy for you to choose what types of meditation work for you.

Elizabeth Cush  09:25

The idea behind both meditation and mindfulness is that you quiet your busy mind to bring more awareness. Yes, here it is again, awareness. Bring more awareness to your present moment experience what's happening right now, right here, right in this moment. But a busy worrying, stressed out mind makes it hard to be aware of anything. Anything other than the worry.

Elizabeth Cush  10:11

And when learning anything new, you need to practice, and that goes for quieting your mind too, practicing the stillness of being with your thoughts, being with your feelings, with your body, with your awareness, that awareness begins to grow.

Elizabeth Cush  10:45

So here are a couple of ways for you to slow down, be present with your experience right now, to get quiet and to bring some more awareness to your inner world, and I just want to, I don't know if it's iterate or reiterate, because I'm not sure I said this already, but when practicing anything new once again, it's very important to be kind to yourself in the process. If this is new to you, it may not come easily, but that doesn't mean you should be hard on yourself, because self compassion, taking care of yourself even when things are hard, is really important. So be kind to yourself in this process, it takes practice and time to feel more at ease with being comfortable in yourself, so that that awareness can grow and bloom and help you take that new path through the woods,

Elizabeth Cush  12:08

one of the simplest ways. And this is not for everyone, because breath awareness can be challenging for some, but I think one of the simplest ways to bring more awareness to our inner experiences through breath awareness meditations, and with any meditation, you don't need to close your eyes, but you do need to sort of center yourself in what's happening right now. And sometimes, for many of us, closing our eyes is the easiest way to do that. But you can also soften your gaze, find a point to really focus your gaze instead of closing your eyes. There are so many breath awareness meditations out there that if you google them, I'm guessing you're going to find at least one or two. They're out there. Many are free, but bringing your attention to your breath as it flows in and out helps your body feel more at ease, because our breath is one of the best grounding tools that we have on hand all the time. 24/7, it helps you stay present with your body as you breathe in and out and through the practice of breath awareness, it can help regulate your nervous system, which is a really great way to bring more awareness to what's happening in your inner world.

Elizabeth Cush  13:56

A body grounding awareness practice is also a super great way to help you be more present with what's happening with you inside. So here's one that's simple to do and doesn't take very long. You can sit or stand, but just make yourself comfortable. Notice your feet on the floor. Feel where they make contact with the ground or the earth below you.

Elizabeth Cush  14:43

And take a moment to just rock your feet back and forth, so bringing your feet up on your toes and then back on the heels. And do this a few times.

Elizabeth Cush  15:07

Now clench your toes and release them a few times and just notice how that feels.

Elizabeth Cush  15:28

Now again. Just notice the surface below your feet as they rest. Notice any new sensations you might be feeling after moving your feet. It.

Elizabeth Cush  15:53

And now I want you to sway your body side to side, very gently. I'm

Elizabeth Cush  16:11

and just notice how that feels.

Elizabeth Cush  16:22

It reminds me of soothing a baby, back when I had little baby, baby, children, just holding them to me to my chest and swaying side to side to help them calm down.

Elizabeth Cush  16:42

Try crossing your arms and holding yourself as you sway.

Elizabeth Cush  17:02

And now slowly, still the movement and just notice whatever sensations are there in your body.

Elizabeth Cush  17:26

If you closed your eyes, you can open them now, stretch or move in any way that your body needs to and come back to this space, wherever you are.

Elizabeth Cush  17:50

Just another reminder be kind to yourself while practicing building awareness is like building muscle as your awareness muscle grows, you'll be able to handle more, you'll be able to make different choices, and you'll begin to grow those new neural pathways so that each time you approach A path that's different, that you're choosing to do differently, it becomes easier and easier as that path becomes more well worn.

Elizabeth Cush  18:36

Thank you for being a listener. Thank you for sharing the podcast, I appreciate you so much. If there is a sensitive woman in your life that you feel like would benefit from the podcast, I do encourage you to share it, because the more of us in community, the better our energy is needed in the world right now. And I do believe, when we gather together, gather together, that energy grows and blossoms and finds its way out into the world.

Elizabeth Cush  19:21

If you're interested in joining us in the sacred circles or joining the membership, you can find all the resources on how to do that in the show notes for this podcast episode. You can also head to my website, Elizabeth cush.com to find out how to join us each month. I hope you will check it out. I hope you'll come join us. The group of women who have become a part of the membership are just close to my heart and I. It is an experience I look forward to every month, so I hope to see you there. Take care of yourselves, take care of your being. Be kind to yourself and others. Have a wonderful week, and I look forward to connecting with you next time, right here on the podcast.