Brave New Kitty

Learn to pay attention to those moments when you feel most alive. This can be easier said than done because the moments you feel most alive tend to be the moments when you’re so immersed in something–be it an activity, an emotion, a song, or something else–that you don’t notice the tingling energy pulsating through your body. Not until the moment has passed and the physical rush has subsided can you even begin to realize that something of great import has occurred. Sometimes not even then, particularly if you’re not in the habit of circumspection (which can be a difficult habit to cultivate in this culture that rewards constant sensory bombardment and instant gratification).

Many of life’s great moments occur when you transcend your ego, shed your identity, and get lost in something bigger than yourself. This might seem ironic–forgetting yourself to feel most alive–but it isn’t. Our ego, the part of ourselves which we identify as “me,” is only a small part of who we are. It is the part that makes us feel separate and isolated, and while a strong ego is essential to a sense of well being (I discuss this here), the ability to transcend the ego is equally essential. Doing so makes us feel connected to the Universe, and that is our most real and most basic identity.

Getting out of yourself doesn’t necessarily mean helping others, although that is one simple way to have this experience. Getting “lost” in something bigger than yourself can also mean looking at beautiful art or listening to beautiful music or having an orgasm or riding a motorcycle on a mountain pass or reveling in natural beauty. Being “lost” in your own work and creativity is also a form of feeling most alive. At its very best, personal achievement is a channel of that Thing that is bigger than your own ego. Many great artists have described their creative drive in this way.

The point is to pay attention to the activities that evoke this feeling in you, and to cultivate those activities in your life. It’s really about awareness; about becoming, in a very real sense, an objective observer of your own self. The more attuned you are to what’s going on and why and how it came about, the better choices you can make for yourself. And this is an infinite process we can always engage in, improve upon, and enjoy.

As you become better at noticing when you feel most alive, a few other interesting things begin to happen. One is that you also get better at observing other thoughts and emotions, and in observing them, they can gain or lose power as you wish: you develop a greater sense of control over what you’ve previously felt was beyond control. And the other, even more interesting thing is that when you begin studying and examining when you feel most alive, you learn to experience that sense in all your activities. From washing dishes to driving to getting dressed, every action and activity takes on the potential to remind you Who and What you really are, thus reminding you of the great wonder of consciousness and the Great Awe of which we are all manifestations.