Welcome


If you're interested in conscious living, then likely you're just as equally interested in Zen but simply not knowingly interested.

Usually Zen is associated with Japanese culture and religious or Buddhism practice, but true Zen (or at least the way this site uses the term) is emphasizing the value of conscious living.

Zen and conscious living come together and go hand-in-hand. Hence, conscious living without Zen is a huge oversight and vice-versa because these are not two.

"Conscious Flex: Zen & Conscious Living" is designed to offer a partnership of how these seemingly two are actually one movement.

Zen is the foundational spaciousness or presence from which conscious living derives. In the same manner that an artist, inventor or intuitive actions come from the stillness in the silence of non-movement.

In other words, Zen is a resting in the powerful space of not thinking about thought, not doing anything about doing, not trying to be the solver or understander, the knower collector but simply allowing the intelligence of life to flow through you and as you.

What is described can be thought of as meditation or accessing our intuition, but it's actually just natural living.

Often you will see kids in a natural resting space or presence and we tell them "snap out of it" because we think they are in "lala land" or "fantasy land" and not paying attention but actually they are simply being completely present with what is. It's natural to just rest and be, that's the flow from which insight and wisdom arises from.

Hence, conscious living is also the natural flow of how life organically expands upon itself. Consequently, conscious living is Zen living, when it's pure and without conceptual overlays.

Enjoy!
  • How to Be a Woman

    I am writing this article as a contribution to this post by Steve Pavlina. These than are the 10 ways of what it means to be a conscious woman today and how to live more consciously as a woman (from the perspective of a man).

    1. Give Yourself Power

    A consciously aware woman does not play herself to be a victim, she realizes that this only gives her power away. She only has the power to change something, if she takes responsibility for her life. She knows that responsibility gives her the power to change a situation because she is saying, "I created this, I can create something else.". She recognizes that in victim mode, she has to change the victimizer in order to change the situation (which rarely ever works). With responsibility, comes great power to change a negative to a positive.

    2. Communicate Your Values
    A woman recognizes that when she explains to others her position, they can accurately position themselves to match. She can see that nobody goes out of their way to dishonor her values, people just naturally flow with their own values. When values do not match, they get crossed. She realizes that if she does not communicate where her boundaries are, they will likely get crossed. People can not know if they offend her, if they do not know what offends her.

    3. Understand Emotions
    A woman comprehends her emotions. She is aware that emotions are natural and need to be naturally released. She allows herself and others to express emotions. She sees that healthy natural emotions can turn into hazardous unnatural emotions, if not allowed to flow-out:
    • To a woman envy is a natural emotion, it is designed to inspire her to reach a goal that someone else has already achieved. If she decides that another reaches a goal that she cannot reach, the consequence is jealous. Jealous is very unnatural to a woman.
    • Fear is a natural emotion, it is designed to keep you safe from potential harm. Every woman knows when you hold fear in, it grows to a phobia.
    • A woman realizes that anger is natural emotion. When she bottles anger in, it turns to rage.
    • A woman lets sadness be a part of her being, since sadness is a very healthy and natural emotion. When she does not allow herself to express sadness, it suppresses her into depression.
    • Love is the most natural emotion to a woman. When love is not showed, it lingers into being possessive. No aware woman lets her love shape into the unnatural emotion of being possessive.

    A woman always allows herself and others the opportunity to express emotions freely. She knows that without the expression of these healthy emotions, unnatural emotions form. She maintains healthy relationships through understanding the emotion aspects.

    4. Good Manners
    A woman always has excellent mannerisms. She is fully aware that mannerisms subconsciously let the people around her know that she respects them. She knows that when people feel respected (consciously or subconsciously), they feel more comfortable around her. Feeling more comfortable allows a person to be themselves. She can get to know people quicker, which helps her make successful choices in the types of relationships (romantic, business, etc) she follows through on and helps her to feel more connected.

    5. Everyone is Important
    A woman can see that we all focus our attention on different things, therefore all of us are good at something. When you focus on something, you learn about it. She accurately observes that focus is one of the keys to success and everyone focuses on something. She knows that everyone has something to offer. Even if what they have to offer, is as simple as what not to say or do in order to avoid drama, negativity, and conflict.

    6. Connect Through Inspiration
    A woman is an inspiration to all people. She sees that everyone is important and significant at making this world a better place. Yet, in order for them to help make the world a better place, they need to be inspired. She knows that even a smile can inspire someone to have a good day and having a good day can lead a person to see more opportunity. A woman realizes that usually if a person receives a genuine smile, they will genuinely smile to another throughout their day and it creates a ripple effect. A woman recognizes that she can be inspired by giving inspiration.

    7. Expect the Differences
    A woman accepts that everyone is different and she knows ahead of time that there will always be something she disagrees with. She learns to expect that nobody is the same. She realizes that once she expects it, she can give it permission to unfold and she can be perfectly happy with the process. Expecting something is about allowing what she cannot change, to be. She can expect it and therefore, not be let down by it. When a conversation is going perfectly and suddenly without notice it changes, because she disagrees (or someone disagrees with her), now she can relax, smile, and be happy for the fact that we all unique.

    8. Do Not Promise
    A woman knows that making promises is moment thing. In the moment she may be honest, genuine, and fixed on the idea that she can carry that promise out. Yet, this world is changing very fast. What she thought she could do 15 minutes ago, she can no longer do because of one thing or another.

    Especially since a woman is open to having more experiences, having more experiences changes her. Each experience she has gives her more knowledge and with more knowledge, her perspectives change. Changing her perspectives, also changes expectations, beliefs, and experience to life which will all guide her away from a promise she may have made. Simply put, making promises leads to a unconscious woman.

    9. Bouncing-Off Ideas
    A woman knows that having a like-minded group of people around, allows her to bounce off each others ideas. Bouncing off ideas leads her to more cleverness in achieving her goals. She talks to someone who is interested, passionate, inspired, connected, and motivated to the same-things. She sees that people who do not share the same insight, will only drag her down. They will give her all the excuses that they give themselves, as to why she should not achieve her successful goals.

    10. Be Aware of Human Needs
    A woman is always aware of humans needs:
    • A woman understands that she (and everyone else) needs to be certain. When she has certainty, she has peace of mind.
    • She comprehends that everyone needs to be uncertain. When she has uncertainty, she rids of boredom.
    • She also needs to feel important and significant, just like everyone else. When she feels unique, she gives herself purpose.
    • She needs to feel connected. When she feels a connection, she does not feel lonely.
    • She realizes that growth is of the essence. Without growth in a changing world, she will not succeed.

    She recognizes that everyone is always trying to fulfill their needs through different ways. When she is having a conversation, she looks for which need the other person is trying to fulfill and helps them fulfill it by confirming what they say. For example, when a person says, "I feel stressful, I am not sure what to do with myself.", then she can see they are looking for certainty and she can respond properly. She sees her needs too and responds to them in positive ways.