The Doorway
Seeing the Path
If you are curious you will love to explore. Where does that path lead? Where does that track go?
Here at Self Awareness Explorers we turn our exploration inwards. It is still a path, a track, a trail. Sometimes we swim a river. Sometimes we climb a mountain. Sometimes we sit quietly in a cave.
The Doorway Waypoint is fundamentally about ‘exploring our curiosity’.
We are bringing attention to ourselves and asking the question ‘Do I want to go exploring?’
Way-Marker 1 : Stepping Forward
What do you believe self awareness exploration to be? Have a look at the diagram. It is all of that and more.
Your journey will different from anothers journey. Some places you will need to stop longer. Others you will jog through. The route map for self awareness exploration takes us on an inward journey first, then we explore outwards. Each persons journey is different. There is no right or wrong.
Consider why you are here. What brought you to this place?
There is nothing to fix, only something to discover.
The aim is for you to know you are welcome exactly where you are , and for whatever reason brought you here.
My journey started with a horse….to see more you can pop over to My Journey
Way-Marker 2 : Beginning with Hope
‘When I started on my journey I was hoping for a better relationship with my horse.’
The aim is to take some time, sit quietly, and share something with yourself. It can be very simple at this point or even quite deep without seeming to be.
Notice how you feel when you right it down.
You are not going to do anything with this except acknowledge it. It is your hope. It is just a beginning.
Explorers Experiment
Take a piece of paper and write at the top of it ‘I Hope..’
Sit and think about yourself…what would you love to discover, or even re-discover about yourself?
Finish the sentence.
Way-Marker 3 : Finding Courage
Courage is not about climbing the mountain in one leap. Courage is about looking at something that is a little uncomfortable and asking why. That is what self exploration is all about.
In a lot of ways we, as people, have become comfortable. We have created a comfortable life, with food on the table, a roof over our heads (in strong economic communities anyway). But sometimes what we have become comfortable with is not good for us. It is just easier not to look and ‘put up with it’. That saying ‘It is my cross to bear’ has a lot to answer for!
The aim is to ask you to take a little step into discomfort. We can liken it to a wall we have built around us. Now we are going to take a brick out and look through the gap. Not enough to bring the roof down, but just enough to let a bit of light in.
Explorers Experiment
Draw a line on a piece of paper. At one end write ‘comfortable. At the other end write ‘ Uncomfortable’.
Using the examples below place yourself somewhere along the line.
Meeting new people
Saying what I really think
Admitting I don't know
Trying something new
Being quiet when I normally fill the silence
Now ask: “What would one tiny step towards the uncomfortable side look like?”
Courage doesn’t have to be dramatic..
Way-Marker 4 : Practicing Acceptance
After looking at what makes us uncomfortable, we now come back to ‘We are okay just as we are.’
We can accept that we are uncomfortable with something. Because when we accept it, we can explore it and understand it slowly, compassionately, and kindly.
The aim is to understand that acceptance is where we begin our journey.
Explorers Experiment
Notice, or note down if you wish, something about yourself right now that you might normally judge.
It could be something incredibly ordinary: “I'm often distracted.”“I'm feel tired with something.”“I'm nervous about something.”“I don't know what to notice.” It could be what made you uncomfortable in the last exercise.
Now, accept whatever it is by saying , or writing down :“This is what is here right now.”
How does that make you feel. What did you notice? Did anything change within?
Way-Marker 5 : Following Curiosity
Curiosity is the underlying basis of self awareness exploration.
An explorer cannot explore without curiosity.
When we say ‘This is that way, and that is this way, and nothing will change’ we close doors.
If we say ‘This is that way, but it could be this way’, we open curiosity. It doesn’t mean anything will change, but it also means that we can explore the potential before closing the door.
The aim is to get curious. That is all. Find your ‘Why?’
Explorers Experiment
Consider this sentence : “I'm always putting things off.”
Can you see the judgement hidden inside it?
Curiosity doesn’t ask :“What's wrong with me?”
It turns it into: “I wonder what happens just before I put things off?”
Take these everyday statements and have a go at transforming them into a curious question :
I always need to be in control.
I hate being alone.
I get annoyed very easily.
I never speak up.
I always say yes.
We don’t have to judge what we discover. We can become curious about it.
Way-Marker 6 : Walking with Intention
As explored in the last way-marker, curiosity is the underlying basis of self awareness exploration, and the aim is to get curious.
The intention is to walk forward with curiosity. This is where you want to lead yourself. Get curious about the little things and the big things.
The aim is to take a step with an intention, the intention being a way of being, not a goal, a project, or something to fix.
The first intention I had when starting on my journey was ‘I will have a better relationship with my horse’. Through accepting where I was, and not judging it, the hope turned into an intention. But this was a project more than an intention. I then asked myself “what does this mean in terms of me?” What eventually came to me was ‘Trust’. To have a better relationship I needed to Trust the Horse, which meant I had to first Trust myself. My intention was ‘Trust’.
Explorers Experiment
Consider your exploration of the last five waymarkers, and look at these words.
Curiosity · Kindness · Courage · Openness · Patience · Playfulness · Honesty · Wonder · Acceptance · Trust
“Which word would you like to carry with you as you begin?”
“What might it look like to carry that intention into your everyday life?”
Just one quality to walk with.