What does it mean to be the conscious author of our own life? As we look at quantum physique and consciousness studies, it is now apparent that our beliefs, thoughts, words and actions have a direct role in creating our reality: our actions and words are dictated by our thoughts and our thoughts are molded by our beliefs and values. As they swirl in our consciousness, our beliefs and values, partly shaped by years of social conditioning, send, most of the time, the same unconscious signals to our bodies and out into the field. A lot of those unconscious signals are vital like the ones that tell our heart to beat or our legs to run when danger is present. But a number of those signals were acquired and don’t serve us anymore, like the ones that prevent us from trying something new.

Becoming the conscious author of our life requires us, as a first step, to notice those habitual patterns as they come up. How do we do that? There are many introspective tools out there that help in brining attention to our habitual patterns. One I like using is to pause before I speak or take action, take a deep breath and become the observer of the situation. I try to see the situation from a subjective 3^rd party observer, with the ego out of the way. By doing so, I can choose to engage my habitual response or choose differently. Deepak Chopra calls this the “observer response” or the “intuitive response”: instead of having habitual responses create our reality, we can choose, moment to moment, what it is that we want to project out into the world, and what kind of experiences we want to attract. What we send out is what we will receive. Therefore, a second useful step towards becoming the conscious author is to surround ourselves with people, thoughts and experiences that relate to the kind of life and world we want. For example, if you want to become a painter, go to galleries and art openings and mingle with painters and art lovers. If you want more peace in your life, consciously choose to be around peaceful people in peaceful spaces. As you choose differently and engage the world differently, you will send out signals that tell the field that these kinds of experiences are the ones you want and you will therefore attract more of it. So how is this different then the law of attraction? The 3^rd step in becoming the conscious author is to get clarity around what it is we really want. Not what our ego wants but what our deep inner self wants, what the collective inner self wants and what the whole universe wants. It is a holistic desire for the greater good. The primary purpose our existence, as I see it, is to expand our consciousness. We all have our unique way to do that and as we incarnated on this earth, we choose how we will contribute. Establishing a connection with that purpose, that Dharma, brings great a sense of joy, meaning and fulfillment. That unique essence is what inspiration is made of. When we witness an inspiring experience, it is a sign that there is a quality in that experience that aligns with a quality in our purpose. Sometimes, it isn’t always clear as to what that quality is but as we pay more and more attention to those moments, the ones when our eyes tear up, our breath skips a beat or our heart fills with love and intense joy, we become more and more familiar with that innate connection we have with our purpose and our true self. That blueprint, that “knowing”, is accessible to us also through meditation combined with the simple action of asking the questions, without looking for answers: “who am I”, “what do I want” and “what is my purpose”. Asking the questions everyday before bringing our attention into a centered calmness for a few moments attracts the answers into our lives. And as the answers are revealed in the form of expanded new questions, we can make inspired choices, bring meaning to all we do and become the conscious author of our lives.