When will we Learn to remain Awake?

 

When will we Learn to remain Awake?

Many of us have been practicing spirituality in some form or the other for several years. Some of us are born spiritual, some work at it and become spiritual and some have spirituality thrust upon them. Whichever category you fall into, the question is after becoming soul conscious do you remain in that state continuously or do you vacillate between period of body consciousness and soul consciousness?

We all live in society, go to work, attend parties, and so on where we come in contact with a variety of people – some good some not so good. Because we practice spirituality either through meditation, mindfulness practice, yoga or whichever method – we have a tendency to pull in negative vibrations from others. When we do that, we get disturbed and we are not aware about what has disturbed our balance. We try and analyse what went wrong and invariably cannot pin it down! The trick is to remain balanced and aware in spite of living in society with all its facets. I will try and tell you what works for me – remember it is something we have to first learn to do consciously and then with practice it becomes a part of you.

Start noticing things consciously – why do I get angry so often? Why am I comparing myself to others? Why can’t I get up when the alarm goes off? Why do I attract so much drama? The first step is always being aware of the present moment followed by an impulse to change something. Next, is feeling a sense of connection which comes from shared humanity. This connection could be with your friends, family, community and so on. You develop a heightened awareness of other creatures and their right to live on this planet. You consciously stop littering and so on which establishes your love for earth. You then start letting go of your attachments – each attachment drops away like another piece of clothing. Once this process starts you start feeling inner peace and quiet.

You slowly develop a sense of empathy to others’ problems giving rise to compassion which is inspired by the empathy. As you progress and learn to remain awake you will begin to feel a sense of being in tune with existence, once you start feeling that you will begin to lose the fear of death, once you lose the fear of death, you will no longer be afraid of anything – you have reached a stage of soul consciousness where you are always in a state of wakefulness.

To remain consistently in a state of wakeful awareness one should practice meditation, spend time in nature, laugh and spread joy, dance in abandon, do community work, volunteer for social causes, practice gratitude and consciously slow down in today’s fast paced world. As Eckhart Tolle said, “You find peace not by rearranging the circumstances of your life, but by realising who you are at the deepest level.” Focus on becoming yourself – that will be time well spent!