What Does Being Aware Mean To You?

This is the TribeSteemUp BiWeekly Question put forward by @enjoyinglife and for me it is a huge question, one that had me wondering where and how I could even begin to answer it.

Being part Of @tribesteemup, is a great example of being involved in a community that is based on awareness. The community/tribe was created by @kennyskitchen. The idea behind the tribe was to create an Community Abundance Generator which supports authors who write articles that look at ways in which we can become more empowered and create a more peaceful and free world.The authors within the tribe are all writing content of high quality, which are based on the following topics:

| Anarchy | Non-Violence | Philosophy | Veganism | Mindfulness |
| Community Empowerment | Love | Original Music | Esotericism |
| Healthy Recipes | Psychedelics | Truth | Permaculture |

@kennyskitchen created 8 Pillars for TribeSteemUp which are the fundamental principles guiding our conduct toward ourselves, toward one another, toward others, and toward the Earth. These 8 pillars really are all about living in awareness.

So what does being aware mean to me?

I feel like I need to condense all of my posts/articles here on Steemit into one, in order to answer this question. My goal coming on here was to help share My awareness with others. When I talk about my awareness I really mean my truth. That which I know to be true for me and how I live. It is my path in my life and I am not here to tell anybody else what to do, I am here to share and to learn alongside others.

It would be very hard for me to voice awareness for anybody else, unless we are talking about how globally we are living in a time where there is a dominant worldview over nature. That is something that I am hugely aware of and which has a huge affect on everyone. This attitude where some believe that everything in nature is there for their use. That they can log forests, destroy the soil, hunt and murder wildlife, poison and destroy our natural environment and not think twice about it. I am aware that very little fertile land is left on the planet, that very little fresh water is left on the plane, that very little forest is left and that everyday we are losing more and more of our wilderness. I am aware that this is due to human activity. But in saying that Being Aware means taking responsibility for your actions on this earth, it means looking at how you live and making changes that need to happen so that you tread more lightly. Being aware is acting positively.

I am aware that the earth is my home, that it is not just the truck that I reside in. I am aware that I have a responsibility to protect my home, that is not mine to own or misuse. I do not claim ownership over any living being or place. The only thing I rightfully own is myself. Through my awareness about my home I choose to live a minimalist life, low in possessions but rich in experience.

As a mother I am aware of the fact that birth is now a huge money making industry, that obstetrics is the highest paid health profession in the world. That women the world over are losing their right to choose when it comes to birth, that so many women do not even know they have a choice, in the first place. I chose to birth my children naturally. I am aware that the way we humans enter this world has a huge affect on our well being. This is why natural birth or birth with the least amount of interventions is so important if we are to heal ourselves and our relationship with the earth. Through my awareness I have become a Doula.

As a parent being aware means taking responsibility for my decisions when it comes to raising my children. It means educating myself on what they are being exposed to and what is being forced on them. My children are not vaccinated and are not going to school. Their immune systems are supported naturally and they learn at home and in their community.

As a parent being aware means educating myself on what I am putting into mine and my children bodies. We eat mostly organic foods and we do not eat sugar. We do not use any products on out skin that are not natural or that have been tested on animals. Being aware, is knowing what we are exposing ourselves to. We are what we eat, it is as simple as that. If you wish to live naturally then you eat natural food.

As a person I am aware that what we are being told and force fed by the media and most institutions is total bull. That we are being groomed from an early age to conform and fit into certain standards that keep the current power houses in power.

I am aware of the power of the trees, I am aware of the power of walking barefoot, of the importance of the bees. I am aware of the importance of celebrating the seasons, of celebrating ourselves and our families. Because of my awareness I chose to create earth based ceremonies.

I am aware that it is the natural world that nurtures and sustains me. That when I am in flow and in sync with nature then my life is greatly enriched.

I am aware that I am part of nature, that mainstream life is not natural for Me. I am aware that in order for me to be happy I need to take control of my own life, my own health and my own well being, That I need to be the one creating my reality.

I am aware that I must thread lightly on this earth, that I must listen to myself, to my inner wisdom. That I must trust in my body to heal itself. I am aware that it is my choices that determine how I live.

Being aware is knowing, it is listening to and hearing my intuitive self. It is seeing and understanding what is happening
in the world around me and making the right choices for me, my family and the earth.

Being aware is knowing and respecting that this is my view on awareness and that it is not necessarily the same as anybodies else's and as a result I am remaining open to any change and any learning that needs to take place so that I can strive to leave this amazing planet better than how I have found it.

Awareness can mean different things to different people, but for me it is all about my connection with my family and with nature, it is all about maintaining and protecting that connection. It is being pro active in finding solutions, it is connecting with like minded people and creating change, it is finding my tribe!

Image Source:http://www.map028.com/gallery/the-trees-of-iddil.html

A big thank you to @hungryhustle for creating this amazing infographic of the 8 Pillars Of TribeSteemUp.

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Big Big Thank You To @byn for designing my logo.

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