On Being
A Conscious Single
Or, The Zen of Being Single
Joel Rachelson, Ph.D.
Director, ConsciousSingles.com
Unfortunately, being single today is
not easy. Understatement, I guess in light of the many single
ads, books, services and options which attempt to address
this life status.
Why is this?
There are two fundamental problems here.
First, it is difficult, for a number of reasons, to be at
peace with being single. Second, it is very difficult to meet
other singles, in most any environment much less a healthy
environment or process.
This search for other singles is made
more difficult when trying to find others who are conscious
as well.
“Conscious?” You say, “What does that
mean exactly?” In dictionary terms it means “perceiving or
noticing with a degree of controlled thought.” In regular
words, it means to have the capacity for a divided awareness
or co-consciousness. All this really means is that one can
take a step back in their awareness of themselves, of themselves
with others, of themselves in relationship to tasks, objects,
the world, etc. One has the capacity to self observe.
Certainly, being conscious is one of
the hallmarks of our humanness and is in fact becoming a growth
industry, both in the amount of it (thank the creator!) and
in the kinds of things that are by-products of it. Those who
are conscious seem to share interests in healthy, holistic
living, personal growth, spirituality, metaphysics, recovery,
social issues and the environment.
Being a conscious single means two things.
First, is that you are someone who has
conscious capacities and hence conscious interests. Second,
is that you go about your singleness and your path to connectedness
with a certain amount of awareness.
Having awareness increases our capacity
to be an adult or grownup with yourself and has three areas
of focus: historical, internal and external.
It is vital to be co-conscious regarding
one’s historical or childhood legacy, one’s internal relationship
with themselves, and one’s external behavior. This is one
of the main points I make with my clients--that it is incumbent
on the grownup part of them to be present and therefore self
monitored in these areas.
For the conscious single, being aware
in these ways will make for a healthier, saner, and hopefully
more successful life. When we are operating with co-consciousness
we are coming from a calm, centered, confident place as opposed
to the anxious, needy, frantic, reactive, or insecure place.
The historical component has to do with
how our family of origin has influenced us in our lives. Our
childhood and family experiences create a kind of imbedded
programming that is pervasive in impact. In regards to being
single, our imbedded programming can be affecting how we feel
about being a single person, how we search, who we search
for, what our expectations are, and even how successful we
are.
So it is incumbent on our conscious internal
therapist to uncover the historical programming that might
be interfering with us and do some editing. The first step
is awareness. This programming is complex and entrenched and
sometimes difficult to change.
Because of space limitations, let’s look
at just one part of this scripting. How easy was it to get
what you needed in your family? How this needmeeting happened
and what you had to do for it can, I think, influence how
you feel about meeting someone, how you go about it, and what
you have feel you have to give to become coupled. Ponder this
with awareness and see where you get.
Next-->
|
|