How do you know you are alive? Seems like a pretty easy question to answer. “I’m breathing; therefore I’m alive” seems to answer it nicely. Or does it?

There is a difference between existing and aliveness and when I feel the distinction, I know I’m alive.

When are you alive the most? I just had an experience yesterday that speaks to this. I was meeting with a vendor who was helping me with some items for a home improvement project. I was really getting juiced as I began to see the project coming together. I could actually feel the aliveness in me. It was more than excitement or anticipation; I could actually feel it as though it was happening in that moment. It wasn’t potential any more; it was alive now.

The telltale after sign of aliveness came on my ride home. I hadn’t eaten anything so far this day and had spent hours with the vendor. I came to realize that I was genuinely hungry. Not the “it’s lunchtime, so I should eat” hunger, but a genuine signal from my body that I hadn’t eaten. Aliveness will dispel conditioning that usually keeps it from happening.

When you are going through your conditioned routines, you probably aren’t feeling alive. The good news is you don’t have to have an event to trigger your aliveness like I had yesterday. Aliveness is always present. All we have to do is take the time to acknowledge its existence by taking time to feel it.

How do you feel your aliveness? Here’s a simple exercise: Just notice what sort of sensations are going on in your hands right now. Just put your attention on your hands and feel what you feel. There is an aliveness in your hands that you’ve been ignoring while you go about your routines. It was there the whole time, but you had to make time to feel it. That’s the the key to feeling alive more often; make time to feel your aliveness. It’s in every part of your body at all times.

To paraphrase from my favorite poem*, The Children’s Hour by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – “take a pause in the day’s occupations” and feel your aliveness. It’s there whenever you want it and it’s always ready to come out and play.

* It’s my favorite poem for two reasons:

1. It depicts the specialness of little children.

2. It’s the only poem I ever memorized.

All the best,

John

LOSE WEIGHT & KEEP IT OFF

STOP SMOKING FOREVER

SLEEP ALL NIGHT

IMPROVE YOUR SELF IMAGE

ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING

RELAX IN 2 MINUTES
I LOVE MY BODY

FOREVER YOUNG

HYPNOSIS FOR GOLF MASTERY

VIRTUAL MASSAGE

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CALM & COLLECTED