How to Expand Consciousness

Consciousness is your mind's awareness of itself and of the world around you. With practice, you are able to contract or expand this consciousness on a spiritual and personal level. Expanding your consciousness, or increasing your awareness, involves coming to know yourself better and exploring the complexity of your being. It also involves increasing your capacity for concentration, attention and relaxation. Expanding your consciousness can help you feel at peace and unified, or at "one" with everything around you. Practice several techniques to help expand your consciousness.

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Pencil
• Journal

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Instructions

• 1

  Practice mindful meditation to tune into your unconscious and reconnect with your authentic self. Sit in a quiet room in a relaxed pose. Close your eyes and concentrate on your breathing. Breathe in while you mentally count to three, hold the breath for a count of three and breathe out for three. As you breathe this way, let all the distractions and stress disappear around you and relish the moment of stillness and relaxation.

• 2

  Review the events of the day in the evening, trying to remember everything that happened. Improve any gaps in your memory by reviewing events at the end of each hour. Practice this until you can quickly recall the events of the day. Do this activity to help yourself think about things while you do them, instead of operating on "automatic."

• 3

  Practice flashing your conscious focus to different sources of sensory input. For example, flash your consciousness to the way the floor feels, to a spot on a wall, to distant sounds and to the way your clothing feels. Then open yourself up and absorb it all at once. Perform this exercise to expand your sensory awareness.

• 4

  Write down everything in life for which you are thankful. Take some time every day to do this to increase your understanding and appreciation for the preciousness of life and everything in it.

• 5

  Keep a journal in which you write prayers, a dialogue or a homage to whatever you consider sacred, whether it be God, Buddha, guardian angels, your higher self or simply a maker. Perform this activity to ground yourself in a physical act of worshiping, praying or just awareness of a higher power.

• 6

  Seek out a friend who is on the same or similar journey to share your experiences and perceptions with. Sharing with another person helps you increase the pleasure involved with the exploration of whatever you hold sacred.