Dharma Doodle: Wake Up

When spiritual traditions and teachers encourage us to Wake Up – what  are they suggesting?

They’re suggesting that you and I are asleep to our lives and to Life itself.
That walking, talking, tweeting, and eating – aren’t evidence of being awake. That zooming through your day, checking off to-dos on the to-do list, isn’t either.

That it’s possible to walk through a whole life in a state of spiritual somnambulance.
And here’s the rub – few people will notice. In fact, most people will applaud you for it. You’ll get plenty of support from other nappers.

But – if you’re fortunate – something will disturb your spiritual sleep.
You’ll get restless. And - at first -  may try to make the disturbance go away by exercising more, working harder, spending more time online.
But, once your soul catches fire – you can’t go back to sleep. You’ll get inkling that there’s more to life.

When your soul fires up inside of you – you can’t continue sleepwalking.
Your soul keeps breaking through the dream – and shaking you awake:

You look out the window in the middle of a conversation, and you see that your soul is sending up smoke signals. It’s calling you out of your patterns into a bigger, truer, more powerful life.

You hear the call:  wake up, wake up, wake up and embrace your life with open arms.

Here’s a method to help:

• When you emerge from sleep in the morning – before you get out of bed – say out loud, “I’m awake now!” Then, pause and notice the feeling of being awake. Let the feeling of being awake and aware touch you very deeply. Notice what it feels like.
• Several times throughout the day – pause and say out loud (or as loud as you can given the situation you’re in) “I’m awake now!” And again be attentive to what it feels like to be awake.
• Try it right now. Read this sentence out loud – with feeling – “I’m awake now!”
• Notice . . . feel it . . . hmmmm . . .. what’s it like?

Share your reflections in the comments here. 

Love & Shanti, 
E&D