What it really means to be Conscious.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock or are simply out of touch, you’ve probably heard the expressions Be Conscious, or Stay Woke. Well today I want to address what that actually means. And how we can avoid the mainstream mistakes that may befall us if we are not careful.

An entity that is conscious is aware of itself. A person that is considered conscious by the mainstream society is a person that is aware of THE STRUGGLE or a person that can rattle off facts about Nile Valley civilizations, Moorish Science, Hebrew Israelites, Life on Mars, ancient aliens and a myriad of other things. But how important is that In any of our day to day lives.

Is it important for you to know about Imhotep, or Noble Drew Ali, or Father Abraham? Is it important? Is it? If none of these facts influence your decision making from moment to moment than any information gathered from those sources in my opinion is useless entertainment at best.

I understand that having a precolonial basis for your origin is key in helping build positive self esteem for yourself. But then what. What is the next step in your development as a “conscious” or “woke” being.

I think that the point of being conscious is to be able to make conscious decisions that reflect your morals and values from moment to moment. I think that being conscious means having the ability to make a decision that transcends natural evolutionary carnal instinct. I’ll give an example.

John woke up at 4:45 this morning. Meditated on building abundance in his life for himself and his family, went to the gym, had a great workout and got cut off in traffic which was definitely out of his control. The only thing that he knew he was in control of was himself. He was aware of the sudden rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins, the subtle heat rising from his skin. Instead of reacting John took a deep breath and let the feeling pass through and over him much like waves a the beach. When the feeling subsided John took a moment to express his gratitude. “Thankfully I didn’t get into an accident” he said. And continued about his day. John was conscious. Let’s take a look at someone who isn’t.

James woke up at 6am knowing he had to be at work by 7am. He yawned and reached for his phone, checked his horoscope for the day and sat on the toilet until 630am reading the comments on a Facebook post about cultural appropriation at the hands of the Kardashians who were now calling cornrows “boxer braids”. He left a comment “what’s next they’ll be calling dreadlocks nappy twists #staywoke. He jumped in the shower got dressed, and had 15 minutes to make it to his job that was 30 minutes away. As he exited the freeway he angrily cut someone off and shouted “god damn mutha F***ka your driving too damn slow. In this moment James was not “conscious” nor was he “woke”. James was still sleep.

Hopefully from these two examples of consciousness, you understand my idea. We make decisions from moment to moment that affect our reality. Being aware of the choices we are making takes a lot of practice. Controlling our reaction to certain situations takes all the patients in the world. Be mindful, Be present, Be aware. Be Conscious, Be Aware, Stay Woke.

Until Next Time

Namaste My Ninjas

D.Banks