Awakening

One Life Tutorial for September 2022
 
A personal experience of transcendence where a finite sense of self becomes a deeper or more profound sense of All That Is or One Life is referred to as awakening. Awakening is also a story you tell yourself. To awaken, you must first discover that you are asleep. To know that you are asleep, you must know something about being awake. There are many stories of awakening, with many variations. However awakening is experienced and expressed describes a change in your consciousness from one state to another.

Here is a well-known story of awakening: “One day, seated beneath the Bodhi tree (the tree of awakening) Siddhartha became deeply absorbed in meditation, and reflected on his experience of life, determined to penetrate its truth. After much meditation and contemplation, he achieved Enlightenment and became the Buddha.”

​The term “buddha” refers to an “awakened one” and the aim of many spiritual practices is to become “awake” and find ultimate freedom or liberation from suffering and an unsatisfactory life. Many masters, teachers, and those who have achieved some degree of understanding and liberation from the difficulties of human existence claim to be enlightened. They may also have a story of how they have awakened. Often, they share stories of their deep states of sorrow and hopelessness which are suddenly transformed when the power of awakening to the deeper understandings penetrate the darkness experienced in their lives. “Waking up from the dream” is an analogy that is often used to point to an experience where the world which once seemed “real” is found to be more like a dream or something illusory. What is truly interesting about this analogy, is the way that different disciplines describe the “before and after” awakening in terms of levels of consciousness and states of awareness. Many Eastern traditions suggest the farther you go from waking consciousness into deep states, the more Consciousness perceives All That Is. The Western perspective tends to look at the notion that the more awakened you are, the less unconscious you are. The process seems to be to find what is unconscious and give it to the wakened mind to interpret and understand. Either way, the result is essentially a story of perspective shifting.
 
Ultimately, awakening is a story you tell yourself based on your predilection towards a wakened self as knowing whatever lies deep within, or a deep self--aware of all that is awake. What story you tell will likely begin with the realization that human existence is not an “endarkened” slug through time and space, but a truly magnificent unfolding of opportunities and potential. There is nothing to do to achieve enlightenment, even if it seems like awakening to the illusory nature of existence would lead you directly into enlightenment. If you never come to this realization, that One Life is all there is—it is unlikely that you will awaken and enjoy liberation from the discomforts and sufferings of life.
 
While awakening is a very personal process, there are some experiences that seem to be common. Early on there is often inspiration from Masters, teachers, inner guides, authors, translators, even “people next door”. Sometimes a book is a Master for you. Sometimes mastery shows up in unexpected forms. There are many masters, and they all differ and will appeal to different people. You will find throughout your life that certain masters stimulate inspiration at certain times, and that other masters and teachers may inspire you at other times.
 
Once inspired, you will likely notice a need to feel that it is worthwhile to explore deeper realms, to jump into other liminal worlds, and to expand beyond whatever limitations have imprisoned you. Sometimes a sense of yearning for more arises. Beliefs that there is something you can do or explore that will open a door, get you over a hump, progress you towards some aspiration you hold may develop. When you sense you have this yearning for more it is wise to clarify that aspiration and to follow through with whatever is discovered in an unconditional or experimental way. Let your imagination guide you, be sincere, and take responsibility for your actions. Never subjugate your good sense to some outlandish scheme of enlightenment. Always trust your inner knowing and authority. The outcome will be a realization that there truly is nothing to yearn for, nothing that must be attained.
 
In some of your stories of awakening, early stages of One Life Awareness may have found you feeling disconnected or lost. Your old time worn ways of being and thoughts might come to be scrutinized. Ideas you had about “how it is” become ideas that no longer seem relevant. People and friendships shift and transform, while synchronicities and other phenomenal anomalies arise. You might notice that spirituality has become a more important part of your life, with meaning and fulfillment becoming important priorities, and you trust your intuition more fully and completely than ever before. You may feel like you want to be of service somehow, connecting with others in ways that promote the well-being of all. Often people feel more connected to the natural world. You come to the understanding that all beings and all things have value and are interconnected and co-dependent. Nothing exists without everything else, there is no separateness or independence. You may notice this taking the form of empathy and sensitivity with a view of the world that reflects that in deep and profound ways.
 
Many would say that awakening is the first step on the spiritual path, while others would find awakening to be the last step, the culmination of practice and a long journey on the spiritual path. Some believe that a “dark night of the soul” is required to initiate the awakening. Whatever your story might be, awakening is a recalibration of reality, that is often accompanied by a letting go of old beliefs and ideas. Awakening can lead to surrender and discovery. It can be creative or destructive. It can be anything and everything.
 
We suggest that you make space for awakening in all its forms and at all times have confidence in the loving kindness and compassion surrounding you. Always be who you are and let your story unfold. Love and be loved, and practice sincerity. Awakening is what it is, nothing more, nothing less than a story you tell yourself, a shift in your perspective, a change in your sense of reality, a rebalancing and a recalibration of the notion of self. 

---