Increasing awareness

Most of the time our minds are in a somnambulant state, probably because active thinking requires an enormous amount of energy. The human brain is heavily tilted toward doing and thinking the same repetitive patterns, apparently from the natural selective mechanism that if we are still alive, we must be doing something right, while changing the behavioral pattern could be hazardous. This is apparently why we have such a strong tendency to choose what is familiar, even if what is familiar is foolish and inimical to flourishing and well-being.