Awakening

What is spiritual awakening?

Many of us who study and practice spirituality use the term “awakening.” When I first heard it, I assumed that people were talking about becoming enlightened, so I dismissed it as something that was not attainable for me. As I kept learning, I realized that there are different degrees of awakening, and each time we awaken further it has a profound impact on the quality of our life.

In college I had a Buddhism professor who often said that most people are “sleepwalking” through life. He pointed out that we spend a lot of our day operating on automatic without being present, aware of our surroundings, or connected to others. When we are in this state, it means that we are really lost in our minds.

One way to describe awakening is that it is accessing an awareness that can observe the mind, rather than becoming lost in it. From meditation we know that we can observe our thoughts and let them pass like moving clouds, rather than getting attached to them. It is also possible to do this in our daily life. In addition to being able to observe, when we are in this awareness we have abilities. We have the power to actually change our beliefs, make good decisions and create new realities.

The importance of awakening

The experience of awakening is not just an intellectual concept, and it is not unreachable or esoteric. It is a tangible, accessible experience that is very liberating and empowering. It is a palpable shift into a deeper state of being that enables us to be more connected and effective in our lives. Learning the skills to be more awake brings us to a new level of peace, joy and success. It does not have to be difficult, but it does require a commitment to a new level of responsibility. Once we embark on this journey, we find that we are able to live more and more in our natural state of presence, joy, and power.