[How to stay awake in a slumbering world.]

My father had the unpleasant job of waking me up every morning when I was a child. This early morning awakening would be gradual and would escalate in intensity. It would start with a whisper in my ear…”Good morning Miss Dove”. If that did not work a soft encouraging rubbing of my shoulder would occur next. That of course would be followed by turning on the overhead lights, ripping the covers off me and eventually dragging me physically out of bed. Even then I would sometimes grab my sheets off the bed and wrap them around me. I just preferred to be in my sleepy dreamland. I have continued this fight to wake up all my life. My father made his transition to be with God in 1997, and when I look back on it that was about the time I finally started to wake up! I began my personal path of Self-Realization, and awaken to the whole of what I am, which is the personality that I know and higher aspects of myself that I was longing to know. I was starting to wake up to knowing my Authentic Self. It was if my father was still whispering in my ear “Good Morning Miss Dove.”

Be Realistic!

Many of us have a desire to connect to this divine part of ourselves and often try, but don’t really know how and end up feeling disillusioned. Also, there is a common misconception that you can wake up one morning as an enlightened being…and stay that way. You cannot memorize your mantra, grab your Reiki charged crystals and expect your world to change forever. As Ram Dass once said, “How do you stay conscious when it hits the fan? Because it will and you can.” It’s called, “life” and for a newly awakening individual, it can slam you right back into naptime.

Become Aware!

The first step is to become aware of your Higher Self. You also must become aware of what blocks you from your Higher Self and begin to remove those blocks. Your newly awakened inner guidance may begin to give you direction on your path. Good resources never hurt either! Never before has it been easier to find information on awakening. All you have to do is visit your local mall or search on the Internet. For me after much investigation, my guidance brought me to Reiki and shortly after to A Course in Miracles. They gave me the tools I needed to “clear my weeded path” to my awakening.

Think…Feel…Experience!

As you become aware of your awakening you also must recognize that there is more to you than just a personality and a body. Who you are takes on a body when you come into form. Once you are born you soon forget who you are and begin to believe that you are a physical body. It is okay, as you are meant to forget who you are so that you can have a full experience of individual karma. In reality, you are made up of many bodies, and they all have separate functions. The function of the mental body for instance is to think. The function of the emotional body is to feel and the physical body is to experience. You need to align and integrate. You don’t have to do this alone, and can ask for assistance. Request that your Spiritual Master (whether it is Jesus, Buddha or Allah) enter and help guide your thoughts, your words and your deeds. You cannot help but to line up in your integrity in this way.

Here comes the ego!

Watch out! As you are waking up the ego is telling you…”You are tired…You deserve to rest awhile longer.” The ego wants you to keep focused on the outer world. You must learn to listen to your inner voice. It is that inner knowing that should guide you. This doesn’t mean that you should ignore the external world. It means that you should monitor your inner being first, then the external world. In the Middle East they say, “Trust in Allah, but tie your camel. Here in the USA you could say, “Trust in Jesus, but lock your Buick.”

Now what?

A Zen expression goes like this… “Before Enlightenment, there is chopping wood and carrying water. After Enlightenment, there is chopping wood and carrying water.” If you live an awakened life will still have all of the challenges and stresses as before. However your perception will change. You may see a challenge as an opportunity to show you what you are capable of achieving. This is your inner strength. You also may be able to see a problem as an opportunity for new learning or to remember solutions long forgotten. These are your lessons.

So each and everyday, become aware of your higher self and nurture it. Try to stay lined up in your integrity at all times and listen to your inner voice. Watch out for your ego and it’s negative influences. Try to shift your perception…even if only a little bit…during times of negativity, and see the miracle in all things to which you are entitled. If you can do this and stay in the “NOW moment” you may be able to raise your energetic frequency and begin to have more and more glimpses of your authentic awakened self.

Tracy is a R.N., Holistic Health Practitioner, Reiki Master, Writer, Educator and Workshop Facilitator. Student of ACIM. Founder of 3T Reiki. Check website for current schedule. St. Petersburg, FL www.holistics4me.com