Awareness is about being where you are, not some place else. Trouble is, most of us live mostly in our heads, absorbed in our thought-life and the emotions our thoughts trigger. But the truth is, what’s going on in our heads is mostly fiction most of the time. What you’re thinking maybe about a real event yesterday or one that’ll come your way tomorrow, but right now, the thought is only a thought. It’s not real . . . not really. So, take a guess: how much time do you think you spend fantasizing about life and not living it? So, how do you increase your awareness and the pleasure that comes from it?

Click here for a link to a concrete exercise for practicing awareness: Auditing Your Time: A Spiritual Practice