Conversations With Consciousness

 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 

What Are ‘CONVERSATIONS WITH CONSCIOUSNESS’?

 
 

The short version:

They’re wisdom gems that emerge from god-knows-where and pretty much always blow way past the boundaries of my current ‘known’ reality.

*Just want the conversations? Scroll to the bottom.

The “woo” version (and how to create your own):

For about 20 years I’ve had an on again/off again relationship with Morning Pages, a stream of consciousness approach to daily journalling that I learned from Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way”.

The practice is to put the pen on the page and let whatever is in your head stream out unedited for 15-20 minutes, or about 3 pages worth.

Once I got past controlling the shit out of what was showing up (primarily by using increasingly crappy notebooks to disarm my attachment to this exercise as “real writing”), it became a fascinating process in which, occasionally, some insight or gem of wisdom emerged.

Then the practice became super-charged.

In 2017, while taking a writing course from Martha Beck and Liz Gilbert, they both suggested actually asking for help when journalling. Martha wrote an entire book with the words “I need your help” written at the top of each page, and Liz invites ‘love’ to converse with her.

Intrigued, I sat down one morning and wrote, “Hi, are you there?”

Immediately, the answer came back. “Yes. How can I help?” Which, frankly, kinda freaked me out.

And there’s been an answer everytime, ever since. Despite the wtf ‘woo’ of it, and my inner skeptic going batshit crazy, it’s evolved into one of the most fascinating and important relationships in my life. 

It’s a curious connection with a wise, loving, playful and supportive entity that is infinitely patient, non-judgmental, and just as curious as I am. And not only am I talking with Consciousness; interestingly, I’ve come to realize that I am Consciousness, expressed as human-with-pen-in-hand questioning, “Hey—what the hell’s actually going on here?”

It’s a place of full permission to bitch about challenges, and to stretch into the bigger questions that those challenges stir up. And it’s a dialogue that constantly delights, inspires and expands me.

I transcribe them here close to exactly as they show up on the page. They’re an awesome way to connect with the support that’s always available, and they’re one of my most direct go-to tools in my journey to Track Yes.

If you want to try it yourself, sit down with a pen and paper and bring your open, curious self. If it’s anything like what happens over here—you’ll be endlessly surprised and entertained by what shows up on the page.

*Caution - side effects include wonder, awe, and unlimited access to a wise presence that has your back.