At the foundation of every human experience there is neither thought nor emotion, but awareness. A quiet, present, unconditional force that continuously illuminates us from within. It is not the ability to think, but the ability to notice that we are thinking. It is not a feeling, but the space in which all feelings appear and fade away.
In the practice of presence, awareness is not a goal, but a starting point. It is the inner silence from which the flow of life is observed, without the need to influence it, without the wish to fix it or escape. It is a space of pure being, beyond identification, which connects us with the unchanging within us, with the Divine breath that is in each of us.
Awareness is not a mental function, but the ground from which the mind, emotions and body appear. In systemic work, we recognize that every symptom, every emotion and every thought is only a wave coming from the deep sea of consciousness. Where the flow of energy gets stuck, awareness invites illumination. For what we observe with love begins to transform.
Awareness is connecting with the universe within yourself, with the five elements, space, air, fire, water and earth, and their reflections in our body and behaviour. Also, the feminine principle (nature) and the masculine principle (spirit) meet precisely in consciousness, in the balance of what we are and what we are becoming.
In the human being, three levels of using consciousness can be distinguished:
- Wakefulness is the basic state of presence; it enables us to be functional.
- Awareness is a deeper recognition of inner processes, an introspective being with oneself.
- Self-awareness is awareness of oneself as a spiritual being, the recognition that “I am not a thought, nor the body, but that which observes.”
When, through systemic work, focused attention and inner liberation, we allow awareness to illuminate family lineages, unconscious beliefs and inner patterns, we set out on the path of self-realization. Not as an act of will, but as a natural flow of returning to Truth.
In the Orthodox tradition, awareness can be understood as grace-filled attention, as the “mind of the heart” acquired through silence, prayer and the purification of the inner movements of the soul. The Holy Fathers did not speak of consciousness in the psychological sense, but of being in the presence of God, which in its essence is the same direct experience of Love without fear, judgment or expectation. Awareness is thus not a means to an end, it is the end itself. In it, peace, freedom and the holiness of every moment are born.
In Buddhism, awareness (sati) is the basic practice of liberation. There is no path to awakening without observing thoughts, sensations and emotions in real time, without attachment and judgment. The Buddhist view says: “When we see how everything arises and passes away, we stop suffering.”
In Hinduism, especially through Advaita Vedanta, awareness is brahman, the absolute, unchanging reality. Everything we perceive, change or experience appears in chit (awareness). Awareness is the witness that is always free, even from the “I”.
In science, awareness is one of the deepest and still undefined topics. Neuroscience tries to explain consciousness through the workings of the brain, especially through the so-called default mode network, which is active when we are in introspection. From the standpoint of epigenetics and psychology, conscious attention changes the patterns of neural connections.
That is why awareness is not an “activity”, but a space in which life can reveal itself.
In it, we do not have to know the answer. It is enough to be there.
An invitation to deeper change
If this text has touched you and you want to go further, you will find more on these themes in the books of Dr Jelena Đorđević, which are the fruit of decades of work in the field of systemic constellations, inner healing and spiritual maturing.
The books are available in our Online Shop
If you want to work on your own, at a pace that suits you, choose the Systemic Affirmations™ program that best fits your inner landscape at this moment, whether it concerns emotions, relationships, health, boundaries or the strength of the Spirit.
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Whether you choose a book, an affirmation, a workshop, a training or the community, choose yourself.
All it takes is conscious intention. And the path of conscious intention does not ask for perfection, but for presence. It does not ask us to know everything, but to be ready to open up.
The first step is not big. But it is true.
And when it is true, it is already bright.