In this hustle and bustle world, we are losing an important connection. No, I'm not talking about the internet; we are all plugged and tuned out from the world around us. We seldom recognize the people around us let alone acknowledge them. If your goal is to be a submissive that serves every wish of your Dominant, sometimes before they know they need or want something you have to unplug and relearn a vital personal trait. You have to become more aware of what's around you.

In Erotic Slavehood: A Miss Abernathy Omnibus one of her lessons teaches this.  I'm going to describe her lesson as well as a couple others that may help you reconnect with the world around you and bring awareness into your submission.

Lesson 1: Awareness of Self

In this lesson, you will become more aware with how you carry yourself, what you say and how you come across to others nearby.  The general idea is to become more graceful, less sloppy and conscientious of how you appear to others.

For this lesson you will need a watch with a timer or some other alarm that doesn't have to be turned off; it just beeps and continues. That way it won't interrupt what you are doing when it goes off.  If you are on your computer a lot the free desktop application called TimeLeft is a good option.

For the next 3 days, set the timer for one hour. This will be an hourly check for you. Each time the timer beeps make aware of how you are sitting/standing. Correct it if need be. You don't want to be slouching or fidgeting. Sit up straight, put both feet on the floor, stop twitching and calm your breathing. After the first few checks, you may begin automatically correcting yourself as soon as you catch yourself slipping into poor posture or mannerisms. The goal is to not need the timer any longer and be aware of your body and mannerisms on a more active basis.

Lesson 2: Awareness of Surroundings

Using the same timer or watch from the previous lesson you will be using the one-hour timer to perform another lesson. In this lesson, you will start to become more aware of your surroundings. Hopefully, you will tune things out less and perhaps notice more than you would have missed previously.

At the signal of each hour take a moment and close your eyes. Try to name 3 things that are in front of you, behind you and to each side. Pay special attention to details. Don't just say newspaper; what is the name of the newspaper? Don't just say a cup, is it an empty cup? Does it have liquid in it? What is in the cup? How full is it? As you practice this one your mind will automatically remember and pay attention to these things so that you will spend less and less time trying to think about the 3 things in each direction. Your goal is overall awareness.

Lesson 3: Awareness of Others

This is the lesson I remember from

Erotic Slavehood

. The objective of this lesson is to be more aware of people around you and appreciate them more. We interact with customer service personnel on a daily basis. But how often do you really listen to them when they speak, look at them when they talk to you, use their name if they give it, thank them? I'm betting it's far less than you realize. In this lesson, we will afford them with some interaction.

The next time you are somewhere, use your awareness skills and notice the person's name tag or if they give their name and use it. Most people will feel a little off about hearing their name, so use it in casual conversation. For example, if you need more to drink and they approach, try saying, "Could I have more water please Sarah?" This is less startling and even welcoming. Always thank them. Even if it's in the drive thru for coffee. Saying thank you can go a long way.

If you work in customer service, start using your customer's names if you see them. In this situation, the appropriate etiquette is still to use Mr., Mrs. and Ms. Bordon instead of first names. This affords them more courtesy and respect than familiar names. When in doubt Sir or Ma'am will do.

What do you think will happen as you start to become more aware of the people around you? Does the world around you change? I bet it shifts to a more happy world.

Lesson 4: Building Awareness

The last lesson I have for you is of your own design. Using the skills you've picked up in the previous lessons think of something you want to be able to do for your Dominant. For me, it is refilling his drinks, or at least asking if he'd like a refill before he asks for them. To do this I needed to develop my awareness of surroundings and pay more attention to his behavior with his drinks. This will teach me to watch the level of the glass or mug, how quickly he drinks it, how long he waits before requesting a refill and then I can begin to learn to do this myself.  For me, I have learned he really appreciates that I watch his drink and refill it without being asked to. It's a small start into the type of service I wish to provide him.

No matter what you choose to do, these lessons will help you go through this world with a bit more consciousness. If you do any of these lessons I'd love it if you stopped back here and let me know how they worked out for you.