Waking Up

Waking Up Ultimately, all spirituality leads to one thing: Waking Up and discovering truth. For some people, waking up is spontaneous but for most it is a gradual happening. Waking up is a metaphor for “Returning to Our Selves and Seeing Clearly ”. Our minds are entrapped in a sleep like ignorance of our true nature and what is happening around us. This was beautifully portrayed in the movie “the Matrix”, though the waking up in that movie was far from the relief that is experienced in authentic awakening. The initial stage of waking up is to notice the false promises of the mind, which are also mirrored in our everyday life: The mind, with its non-stop thinking and dissatisfaction is always getting caught up in something: hopes, dreams, worries, catastrophizing. It imagines by doing so that it can achieve lasting happiness and avoid the pitfalls of life. What actually happens though is that the mind gets lost in a kind of dream. It never stops spinning and the same dynamic is repeated day in day out. Because the mind essentially lives in its own imagination, it is very susceptible to influence from outside promises. Consequently, we now live in a consumer world which promises so much but can never deliver. Adverts tap into this: The young sexy woman looking orgasmic as she eats yoghurt (really!); the powerful fast SUV that is going to make you into a rugged real man; the chocolate bar that is going to bring all of your cravings to an end. The promises are of course totally abused by government, the media and big business. People live in the illusion that the people running their lives (the government, the media, big business) actually have their best interests at heart (right!). It can be quite a shock to discover that these people are not actually on your side: they are of course after your money or maintaining their power base, and interested in keeping you imprisoned in false hope. Of course, they too are living in darkness. Until these illusions are seen, spirituality will be little more than another “consumer trip” with more false promises. Waking up will always begin by stepping back from ourselves and our lives and watching the unfolding of ourselves and our lives through the clear eyes of awareness instead of automated thought. And this means to discover intrinsic awareness and presence.