AWARENESS

As a human being, you have an Awareness that transcends the consciousness of all the other species on the planet. As far as we know, only humans can step out of themselves and look back at themselves in an objective way. Human beings are capable of laughing at themselves for being such humans. But giraffes cannot step out of themselves and laugh at themselves for being such giraffes.

We sometimes call this capacity our Magician, because it is well embodied by the archetypal figure of a Magician. The Magician’s powers depend on the ability to detach from a situation in order create a shift in perspective. You may picture a Magician casting a spell, or offering some wise advice, or performing magic tricks which seems to defy the of laws of nature. Magicians just seem to know things which ordinary folks don’t know. They live in an enhanced awareness of some kind. Their power comes from the ability to detach from the ordinary way of seeing things in order to see something different.

Magicians aren’t always good. They can serve the light or serve the darkness. But good or bad, they have in common the capacity to step outside of the prevailing ways of thinking to cultivate some kind of an enhanced awareness or secret knowledge.

As a teenager, you began to develop your own Magician-like capacity by mentally stepping outside of whatever you were being taught by your parents and teachers. At some point, you could analyze their beliefs more objectively than before. You could be suspicious. You could look with a critical eye. You could question their judgment (if not their sanity). Teenagers are known for being contentious because they are just developing their capacity to view things more objectively and therefore more critically. So the Awareness Corner includes your ability to step back from things, and look at them objectively. It involves your ability to see lots of different options, rather than accepting only what you have been told. And, most significantly, it entails your capacity to look at things critically.