Understanding the Difference between Self-Awareness and Consciousness

If you were to see my office, you’d find a bookcase lined with journals spanning over ten years of my life. Journaling has become a ritual for me that's played a significant part in raising my self-awareness.  

Over the years I’ve taken time to sit down and flick back over some of my earlier journals and I’ll be honest – some of them had me cringing!

Some of them had me shaking my head! That younger version of me used to think she was pretty self-aware, but the journals tell a different story!.

What I have witnessed in the journals however is a young woman on a journey. A spiritual journey of self-discovery which started at University when introduced to The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield.

That journey took me from a corporate career in Human Resources to a Therapist and Coach to running a global employee wellbeing training company.

With a passion for the mind and a love for all things esoterical and energy-related, I have continued to dig deep to understand myself. To answer that big question ‘Who am I’ and explore the tangled web of my thought patterns and beliefs.

One of the absolute joys of working with people directly is observing them become aware of something which had, until that moment, been blind to them.

This may be a pattern of thought.  A limiting belief. The reason they feel anxious. Or simply how they are viewing a situation.

When that light goes on, it brings with it so much clarity, insight and wisdom.

Self-Awareness: Exploring the Inner Landscape

People are often confused about what the difference is between self-awareness and consciousness, so let’s embark on a journey together into the realms of self-awareness and consciousness.

The Journey to Raising Your Consciousness Starts Within

Have you ever truly taken the time to understand yourself? Maybe you’ve dabbled in psychometric tests like Insights, DISC, or Myers-Briggs. These tools can be helpful starting points for self-discovery, but the journey of self-awareness and transformation goes much deeper.

From my own experience, learning that I was an ENFP, a Yellow Person, and highly dominant under pressure didn’t fundamentally change how I showed up daily.

While I’m not against psychometric tests as a starting point, alone they're not enough to create true transformation within you.

Recently, I delivered a keynote talk to a group of Unicorn Founders at an event hosted by UBS. I shared with the entrepreneurs that the unicorn symbolises the transformation that occurs within us when we tap into our innate wisdom and power - something tied to our consciousness.

Self-Discovery and Insights

Self-awareness is an intimate journey of self-discovery, a gentle exploration of your thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and behaviours. This journey can be bumpy at times, but understanding yourself and the way you show up is like embarking on an adventure to uncover the treasures that make you uniquely you.

By delving into your inner landscape, you’ll gain invaluable insights into your strengths, values, qualities, and beliefs. You’ll also identify those habitual thought patterns that around 95% of the time are running the show! Your thoughts create your perceptual reality so recognising these trains of thought, stories you’ve created from thoughts and beliefs is critical for self-awareness and raising your consciousness.

Michael Neill, in his book The Inside-Out Revolution, emphasises the importance of understanding the nature of thought and how it shapes our experiences. He writes, “We are living in the feeling of our thinking.” This means that our perceptions and reactions are created from the inside out, highlighting the importance of self-awareness in shaping our reality.

You can’t change what you can’t see! The mind loves to play hide and seek, and the ego loves to be self-righteous and defend behaviour. This is where, in my view, coaching and certain therapies are worth their weight in gold.

I work with a coach every month and have invested in the region of over 500 coaching and therapy sessions.  The vast majority of these sessions haven't been used to deal with suffering, quite the opposite!  I love to use them to grow and evolve both my self-awareness and my level of consciousness. 

I love exploring how more leading-edge therapies work such as EFT Tapping and The MAP Method work and have gone on to train in these modalities.

As part of my journey, I gained my Coaching Certificate through Jamie Smart, author of Clarity. Jamie’s work focuses on the inside-out understanding of thought. He teaches that clarity and peace of mind come from realising that our experiences are shaped by our thoughts, not by external circumstances.

This realisation is incredibly empowering for employees and leaders seeking to raise their levels of self-awareness and consciousness. We’ve witnessed first-hand the impact of this understanding on employees and leaders we’ve shared this within our employee wellbeing programs and leadership training.

Mental health problems such as anxiety have melted away. Old limiting beliefs have fallen away. And problems employees shared which had, until that point, been consuming them, no longer bother them.

The Department of Corrections in Wisconsin has been a wonderful case study of the impact of this training. For two years we have delivered an employee webinar as part of their employee wellbeing program and have continued to weave in the understanding of the outside in misunderstanding of what’s creating their experience. We’ve supported employees in raising their levels of self-awareness, and as a result, their consciousness, and the feedback have been profound.

“I have learned so much about myself and my thinking, where it came from and how to change unhealthy thinking into a different more positive view”

There is no upper limit to your consciousness. Given that we live our lives from the level of the unconscious around 95% of the time, trust me, there’s a lot to explore when it comes to raising your consciousness! I like to think of it as stepping into a glass elevator. You can only see the level you’re on based on your current thinking. But the more inner work you do and the more you develop your self-awareness, the higher you rise in the elevator of consciousness, moving to the next level of understanding and insight.

Consciousness: Embracing the Tapestry of Existence

Beyond Self-Awareness

Beyond the boundaries of your self lies consciousness. Consciousness is a wondrous expansion that extends far beyond self-awareness. It’s an invitation to dance with the universe and embrace the interconnectedness of all things. Imagine, for a moment, being part of a grand cosmic tapestry, where every thread is intricately woven together. Consciousness whispers to your soul, reminding you of your inherent unity with the world around you.

Sadhguru often speaks about the limitless nature of consciousness. He says, “When your perception is enhanced, you see everything as a part of yourself, and there is no such thing as the other.” This perspective helps us understand that consciousness is about transcending individual identity and embracing the unity of existence.

The Limitless Expansion

You are that consciousness! It’s something you evolve with. It’s an expansion of your existence that knows no limits. Consciousness lifts you to soar above the limitations of the personal mind, allowing you to see the bigger picture and your place within it.

Self-Awareness Versus Consciousness

The Dance of Inward and Outward Awareness

While self-awareness helps you understand yourself more deeply, consciousness expands your awareness beyond your identity. Self-awareness invites you to dive into the depths of your being, while consciousness lifts you to soar above the limitations of the personal mind. It’s a harmonious dance between the inward gaze and the outward embrace, each enriching and informing the other.

By nurturing self-awareness, you gain access to higher states of consciousness, tapping into the limitless wisdom and universal truths that surround you. Conversely, expanding your consciousness enhances your self-awareness, allowing you to uncover deeper truths about yourself and your purpose in this vast tapestry of existence. It’s a delicate and transformative dance of self-discovery and interconnectedness that opens doors to profound transformation and inner harmony.

Practical Steps to Nurture Self-Awareness and Consciousness

1. Daily Breathwork

When you’re caught in a thought storm, clarity feels elusive. You find yourself hopping from one train of thought to another, getting more and more tangled. We often fall into the illusion that we need to think about our problems constantly to find solutions. But the truth is, the more you overthink, the further you drift from insight and clarity. As Eckhart Tolle highlights in his book The Power of Now, your true power lies in the present moment.

I like to start my day with some breathwork and Quantum Flow. Through Quantum Flow, I tune into the present moment and observe how I’m feeling. This practice involves a series of somatic body movements that help me alchemise emotions like frustration, impatience, and worry. It activates my heart’s energy centre and connects me with a deeper consciousness. Words don’t do justice to the profound experience of Quantum Flow. I’ve tried many practices, but I’ve never felt such a deep connection through any other method.

We’re excited to start a weekly Quantum Flow practice session. To stay informed, drop an email to [email protected].

2. Meditation

Over the years, I’ve had a mixed relationship with meditation. I wanted to be more consistent, but the idea of spending hours at 4 a.m. meditating just wasn’t appealing! My breakthrough came when I took the pressure off and decided to meditate for just 10 minutes a day.

Being a practical person, I started meditating on specific questions I had. I’d ask my higher mind to show me what I needed to see or know about a situation, then drop into my heart and listen to my innate wisdom. This approach made meditation incredibly helpful and gave my sessions a clear purpose.

I don’t meditate every single day. Often, a combination of journaling and Quantum Flow is more than enough. My view is that it’s all about finding what works for you. I like to mix things up, and that keeps it fresh and effective for me.

3. Journaling

Journaling has become a ritual for me over the last 10+ years. It’s a high-performance habit and a powerful tool for self-awareness, helping you recognise patterns and triggers. The question I’m often asked about when it comes to journaling is, “What do I write?” You can use journaling prompts to get you started if you are new to journaling. Personally, I recommend writing in a journal rather than using technology because when we write, it slows down our brain waves, which is what we need for greater self-awareness! You aren’t very aware if you’re thinking at 200 miles per hour!

Here’s an example of a journaling prompt to get you started:

1. Recent Emotional Experience:
   • Choose a recent emotional experience and write about it in your journal. What emotions did you feel, and what triggered them? What does this emotional experience remind you of? Where was your focus of attention before the event? What does this experience have to teach you about yourself? What are you making this mean about yourself? What thoughts do you keep thinking that keep reactivating the emotion?

4. Personal Impact

We teach a one-day leadership course on personal impact, where we invite leaders to reflect on the type of personal impact they want to have on the people around them. The truth is, you’re always having an impact on the people around you, but the kind of impact you’re having depends on how self-aware and conscious you are!

A simple but powerful way to raise your self-awareness is to ask yourself each morning what kind of impact you want to have on people today. You can even break it down to reflect on what kind of impact you want to have in a specific meeting or conversation. How do you want to interact with other people? How do you want them to feel?

Do this consistently and notice how your self-awareness increases and your behaviour changes as a result.

5. Engage Proactive Coaching or Therapy

In The Inside-Out Revolution, Michael Neill shares stories of individuals who have transformed their lives by understanding the inside-out nature of thought. One such example is a CEO who realised that his stress was not caused by external pressures but by his own thinking. This insight allowed him to change his relationship with stress and lead with greater clarity and calm.

Jamie Smart, in his book Clarity, illustrates how understanding the nature of thought can lead to profound personal and professional transformations. One example is of a high-performing executive who, through coaching, recognised that his feelings of overwhelm were a result of his thoughts, not his workload. This realisation enabled him to manage stress more effectively and enhance his productivity.

As a coach and therapist, I’ve hundreds of examples of the impact working with a professional can have. One professional, Claire shared her experience of working with me;

I really can’t thank you enough for helping me fundamentally change the way I think! I can’t quite believe I’m saying this but I think I actually ENJOYED the talk I did at the Women in Tech event! I was able to completely be myself, without that feeling I used to have that I was deficient in some way. I seem to now realise that I can only be myself, and that there’s nothing wrong with that. I approached the talk in a completely different way to the way I normally would. I thought about what I could offer that was unique to me, and not about what I thought I SHOULD say. I got fantastic feedback and even managed to handle a surprise panel discussion! I also notice that I have lost the anxious feeling that I normally have when someone questions me unexpectedly, and I am much more able to be confident in myself. So, you are truly an angel, I’m so glad I found you.

So many people wait until they are in crisis or pain before seeking help.  I see working with different coaches or therapists the same way as going to the gym - it's the mental workout.

You only experience life from your current level of thinking! To raise your self-awareness, and consciousness and experience transformation in your mindset, get yourself a coach! To find out about our coaching and therapy services drop an email at [email protected]

Conclusion: The Journey Continues

In the pursuit of personal growth and understanding, self-awareness and consciousness are integral aspects of our journey. By exploring our inner landscape and embracing the interconnectedness of existence, we unlock profound insights and transformative experiences. Remember, this journey is ongoing and ever-evolving. Keep reflecting, meditating, and seeking new ways to connect with yourself and the world around you.

Embrace the dance between self-awareness and consciousness, and let it guide you to new heights in your journey. You’ve got this!