Lesson: Conscious Leadership with Diana Chapman

Step #7 Practices: Locate yourself

What can I do today to start to practice that will allow me to be more self aware, more conscious?

One of the simplest things is, we would just say, "Can you just learn to locate yourself?" Just that process alone, in this now moment, am I above the line, or am I below the line? And how do I know? How do I know I am above? What indications do I see? Or how do I know I am below the line? You don't have to worry about shifting yet. Just see if you can pay attention.

We all have this app that we've been using. It's an app that will remind you several times a day, a question that you put into the app. We just have it about seven times a day to say, "Where are you?" The phone pings and I look down, "Where are you?" It just reminds me to pay attention. And I just locate myself. It's just a simple first step practice of can you locate yourself. And as you do that, you also start to notice other people, and where are they? And just that in and of itself will start to bring you more present. .

Another one you can do is four by fours. Four by four is breathing. Four seconds in, inhale, and four seconds out, exhale. It's a really simple process. That's a great practice to help you become more available for this moment.

Another practice might be noticing what you're feeling in the moment. And feel it as a physical sensation. Where is it as a physical sensation in the body? And just be with that sensation. Breathe in the movement around it until it starts to create some sort of a shift in the sensation.

So those are three simple practices that you can do right away. They don't take very long at all. But multiple times a day you can just check in and say "Where am I?" "Am I above or below the line?" Take four breaths. Four seconds in, four seconds out. And ask yourself the third one which is, "Am I noticing a feeling right now? And where does it live as a sensation in my body?" and "Can I be with it?" Be with it just as it is and breathe with it.