About This Lesson

Bill and Jane are so absorbed in their own thought processes that they do not acknowledge Milton. He is not being heard when he mentions his speech. This problem is reinforced by his parents constantly being ‘plugged in’ to their smart phones. Unconscious Living happens when all of your consciousness, all of your awareness is absorbed by your thought processes. When you are completely identified with your thought processes, you are living unconsciously.

1When you walk through your day, do you find that there are times when you are only partially paying attention to what is going on around you?

2Are you distracted by the thoughts you are having instead of being fully present in the moment?

3How much time are you spending on your device each day?

Gather as a family and take a few moments to reflect on your day. Begin with the breathing activity from Chapter 1.

Then invite each family member to choose one experience they had during the day to share with the group. (Devices should be put away for this activity)

While each person is sharing, encourage the other members of the family to really pay attention to the speaker and practice “whole body listening”. This means turning your whole body to face the speaker, putting your eyes on their face, and maybe even leaning in a bit. When they are done speaking, if you are curious about some aspect of the story they told, feel free to ask about it.

When each person has shared, open a discussion around what you heard and any connections you made with the experience they shared.

As a family, commit to really stopping and empathically listening to each other without distractions as much as possible throughout the day.