Awareness, an Existential View
Awareness from the existential perspective and the process of searching for meaning through increasing our awareness of the inner world.
"Wake up!" The famous movie “The Matrix” begins with this message. What does mindfulness mean, and how can a person understand whether they are living consciously or are half asleep? Do they make a free choice, perform a series of habitual rituals, and are driven by unconscious and, therefore, uncontrollable motives?
American psychologist and psychotherapist James Bugental, one of the founders of the existential-humanistic approach in psychology, compared unconscious life with life on film. He believed that our task is to strive to get out of our usual role and feel the flow of our life, to be involved in it as much as possible ( Bugental, 1976).
The concept of mindfulness means continuous monitoring of current experiences. It is a state in which a person focuses on experiencing the present moment without becoming involved in thoughts about past events or the future.
Synonyms for this concept are insight, intelligence, and clarity. How fully aware am I at this moment? What do I feel? How are my emotions reflected in my body? What am I thinking? What am I doing or not doing, and why? What's bothering me? What brings me satisfaction and joy? How does this affect my life? These are some of the many questions that a conscious person asks themselves in the process of life activity and making choices every day.
In the development and socialisation process, we have all been influenced by significant adults, teachers, peers, and the cultural and historical environment. This influence helped us adapt to society and find acceptable forms of interaction with the reality around us. More often than not, adapting to the world around us has also forced us to give up something vital and meaningful within ourselves to meet external expectations.
This could be a renunciation of some needs and wants, the ability to feel certain feelings or sensations in your body, or a personal dream. As we grow older, we may have realised that some of the patterns of thinking and behaviour adopted in childhood have lost their relevance and limited our potential. Some of us may have lost our zest for life, sense of self-worth, spontaneity, or ability to have fun. Others, having achieved what seemed to bring pleasure and joy, have experienced disappointment and are trying to find new meanings and sources of fulfilment.
James Bugental, in his book “ The Search for Existential Identity”, describes this state as a lost sense of being: “Each of us knows that we are alive, and each of us seeks a way to be more alive because we know that too often we are not as alive as we could be, as much as we want. Figuratively speaking, most of us have had our eyes covered with a blindfold from early childhood” ( Bugental, 1976, p.312).
Most often, it is discomfort, the feeling of being “excluded” from life, that prompts us to look inside ourselves and raise important questions, conduct an internal inventory of the patterns in which we communicate with ourselves and the world, and take action to change no longer effective forms of thinking and behaviour. It is by looking inside oneself that the fascinating process of self-awareness and getting to know oneself begins.
Awareness involves knowing one's inner world: feelings, emotional states, beliefs, values, and motives. This requires willingness, courage, and support. Often, when looking inside, a person encounters complexity and ambiguity: vulnerability, fears, shame, guilt, anger, and helplessness. The opposite spectrum of one’s feelings and states is self-worth, dignity, and uniqueness.
The deeper we dive into our universe, processing and accepting what we discover, the more sensitive and, simultaneously, more grounded we become. This sensitivity, a subtle connection with ourselves, opens up new possibilities for us to interact with the world and people on both an emotional and behavioural level. Our newfound stability and strength give us confidence and a willingness to develop even greater sensitivity and deepen contact with the world around us.
James Bugental calls mindfulness the fundamental nature of human life and defines it as inner vision, a deep awareness of one's inner subjective reality. He compares this inner vision to the North Star of our own identity, which shows the true path to wholeness and fulfilment. “The more fully I am aware of myself, the more fully I live. The more I disrupt my awareness, the more damage I do to my sense of life. The more I increase the range and flexibility of my awareness, the more complete and life-giving experience of life I will have.”( Bugental, 1976, p.316)
Thus, mindfulness is the process of establishing an emotional connection with personal subjective experiences, which results in a deeper connection with one’s internal needs and motives and in the identification of one's own existential values.
Existential psychology focuses on exploring a person’s life in connection with the world and other people. Existential therapy examines how a person lives in the present moment, how they make choices and realise freedom, how they experience limitations and give meaning to their lives . Any question of human life is existential.
References
Bugental, James. The search for existential identity. California, Josses-Bass Publishers, 1976
Resources
Wikipedia - Explores awareness as the ability to perceive, feel, or be conscious of events, thoughts, or surroundings. It covers various types of awareness, such as self-awareness and situational awareness.
Psychology Today - Provides an overview of existential therapy, which focuses on exploring life’s purpose, freedom, and responsibility. It helps individuals confront issues like mortality, isolation, and meaninglessness to foster personal growth.
Positive Psychology - Details techniques used in existential therapy, such as exploring values, cultivating mindfulness, and addressing existential concerns like freedom and purpose. It emphasises personal responsibility and living authentically.
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