One of the many things I love about my profession is the alignment between learning and coaching. As an executive, I had to learn on my own time. Time in the office needed to be devoted to achieving – to getting things done.
As a coach, I understand that learning and growing are part of the gig. I’m here to support others in their journey to learn and grow, and part of how I do that is to embody that growth mindset.*
My most recent read was The Awakened Brain by Dr. Lisa Miller. This book is a fantastic exploration of the neuroscience and psychology of spirituality, bringing scientific rigor to close the gap between science and spirituality.
One of my favorite insights from the book is her distinction between achieving awareness and awakened awareness. Today, I’ll explore this concept and how you can begin applying it to support your learning and growth.
Achieving Awareness
Using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to map activity in the brain, Dr. Miller was able to identify two modes of awareness. The first mode of awareness she calls achieving awareness.
“Achieving awareness is the perception that our purpose is to organize and control our lives. When we live through achieving awareness, our foundational concern is How can I get and keep what I want?”
Achieving awareness is not a bad thing. We use it to focus our attention. It is encouraged and rewarded by Western culture. I have spent decades refining my achieving awareness, with my love of productivity being one concrete example. This is the world of setting and achieving goals. Filtering out distractions to focus on a key deliverable. Getting things done.
I, for one, over-rotated on achieving awareness. I think most successful leaders do so at some point in their careers. As my kids were growing up, they had a saying – “Dad is not a noticer.” They would often find great entertainment in watching to see how long it would take me to notice a change in the house – a new piece of furniture, a plant, artwork. My achieving awareness literally filtered this information out when my brain processed the sensory information coming in.
I have spent the last few years loosening the grip of achieving awareness. I’m not throwing the baby out with the bathwater—achieving awareness is essential to flourishing as a human. But I’ve been gradually letting go of metrics and rituals that no longer serve me, especially those that limit my big-picture view.
In so doing, I have been creating space for awakened awareness.
Awakened Awareness
The other mode of awareness Dr. Miller identified in the fMRI scans is awakened awareness.
“When we engage our awakened awareness, we make use of different parts of our brain, and we literally see more, integrating information from multiple sources of perception. Instead of seeing ourselves as independent makers of our path, we perceive ourselves as seekers of our path. We look across a vast landscape and ask, What is life showing me now?”
When we engage our awakened awareness, we take the blinders off figuratively and literally. The area of our brain that is actively filtering out sensory information that isn’t relevant to what we’re focused on settles down and lets more information through.
Here is a simple example. On my run yesterday, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of color – the wings of a bird in flight. In achieving awareness, my brain would have filtered that data out. I’m running, not birdwatching. But my awakened awareness was intrigued, and I stopped running. The bird landed on a branch just a few feet away from me, and we stood there observing each other for a few minutes. It was moving for me to connect with this bird, feel them taking me in and pondering me as I did the same. This simple moment greatly enriched my morning.
Awakened awareness allows us to shift our perspectives, be open to new information, and identify synchronicities in our lives.
“Achieving awareness is necessary. It helps us move and chase the ball up and down the field. But to decide where the ball needs to go, to see the bigger field of play, to be aware of the other players, to understand the consequences and impact of our choices – and to perceive why we are playing the game in the first place – we need awakened awareness.”
Integration
The next chapter in Dr. Miller’s book was titled Integration. As I turned to that page, I wanted to find her and give her a big hug. She was in perfect alignment with the life lesson I’ve been learning (in no small part, thanks to my emergent awakened awareness). Both modes of awareness are incredibly valuable. Our goal isn’t to focus on one or the other but rather to integrate the two, moving seamlessly back and forth between them as needed.
She offers a more practical, accessible way of describing my beloved teliodosis:
“Teliodosis: A state of living characterized by the integration of doing and being, where actions are naturally aligned with a deep sense of presence and purpose, fostering a harmonious and fulfilling life.”
When I wrote about the neuroscience of doing and being, I shared what I intuitively sensed. That doing aligns with the Task Positive Network (TPN) of the brain (our engineers), and being aligns with the Default Mode Network (DMN) (our wizards).
I often work with leaders actively seeking ways to quiet their DMN. They want to eliminate the ruminations and mind wandering that distract them from their ability to focus.
To integrate achieving and awakened awareness, we embrace both networks. We don’t shut down our DMN. We leverage it to expand our awareness of the external world and sensory perceptions. My goal is to help clients understand each network’s value and integrate the two, rather than silence one in favor of the other.
Putting It Into Practice
Here are some of my favorite posts that can help develop your awakened awareness:
- Strengthen your ability to be fully present.
- Look for and reflect on the synchronicities in your life.
- Embrace intuition.
- Practice patience.
- Listen to the wisdom in your body.
- Cultivate social connections.
Walkabout Corner
For the second time this month, I’ve experienced snow in Texas – this time in Austin. I’m sure the Texans are happy to see me clear out of the state!
When people ask me what I think of my various destinations, I’m hard-pressed to compare them. I have loved them all. I think this has always been my way of being, as evidenced by what my father wrote about me thirty years ago:
“I have long ago written somewhere that I started learning from Josh when he was 2 years old. When people would ask me: ‘Does Josh like Jefferson High School? Does Josh like William and Mary, does he like Datatel, does he like being moved into cubicles and out of his office?’ I would say these were poorly posed questions because Josh likes wherever he is, he sees the up sides of it. Josh is blessed with this outlook that money can’t buy and parenting can’t produce. But parenting probably can keep from destroying it.”
Good news, Dad – your parenting definitely did not destroy it.
Next stop – Albuquerque. Every time I type that, I express my gratitude for the existence of auto-correct.
I am an executive coach and life coach with software executive roots in higher education and EdTech. I coach because I love to help others accelerate their growth as leaders and humans. I frequently write about #management, #leadership, #coaching, #neuroscience, and #arete.
If you would like to learn more, schedule time with me.
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* On the Council of Joshes, Coach Josh and Learner Josh sit side-by-side around the bonfire. They collaborate a lot.