Positive Energy Guide

How do you get ready for Awakening?

Paying attention makes a good start.

PAYING attention is an interesting phrase. Paying attention costs us something. What does it cost? What inner experiences are hiding out when we resist paying attention? 

Some of us act as if paying attention will cost us a chunk of our lives–the chunk of time we spend on focusing. It might cost us something the ego identifies with, like an opinion, misconception, belief, habit, or attitude.

Resistance flourishes in inattention. Resistance is the opposite of accepting life as it is. Habitual resistance is passive denial. It takes up the space and time we would otherwise use to create something of value.

Paying attention costs us the risk of releasing resistance.

To pay attention we engage with intention. This is a more Awake state. Practicing full engagement may initially seem like a restriction. What we get is well worth the price of practicing focus. During the time we spend paying attention, we get MORE for our investment of time. Life is vastly richer when we are fully present to experience it.

We may think we feel freer spacing out–if we notice feeling at all in that disjointed place. We are just less Present. We may feel freer of our issues because we’re not there to feel them.

Not being Present is stuckness.

Self-awareness is what Awakens us. We do become more aware of others and of our environment. The blocks to this awareness are inside, not outside.

To awaken safely we need to be deeply anchored in ourselves or we’ll go nuts instead of becoming connected with all of life in a healthy, balanced way.

On the road to Awakening we may go through painful and confusing periods. It can be rough when we begin to really see yet have little ability to control our limiting or destructive patterns.

Being aware is prerequisite to being able to change behavior. But before we can change it, we need to be able to observe it without condemning ourselves and shutting down again. This is one of the many reasons why heart-opening is an essential component of transformation.

Some of us challenge ourselves too much. We need more acceptance of life as it is. We may be addicted to stimulation, or even to stress. Remember the old French saying: “The more things change the more they stay the same.”

We can stay stuck by constantly trying to change instead of sinking in to the moment. Meditation supports natural and balanced growth.

Some of us are addicted to comfort. We may fear change and live in constrained boxes or by paint-by-number rules. Discovering the distress hidden beneath engrained habits can be freeing. Comfort habits are usually driven by buried anxiety. We benefit by honing inner longing; becoming thirsty for change.

If habitual fear keeps you stuck, try using fear differently. Sharpen your fear of staying the same. View the results of being stuck with the kind of discomfort with which you were viewing change. Contemplate how you can find comfort and relief in change.

These practices support Awakening:

• Pace personal growth so you are working compassionately in the current moment rather than driving toward some huge change you hope to see in the future.
• Enter more and more fully into the moment by gently becoming aware of everything you tend to avoid.
• Read the Inner Work Series under the Personal Development Tab above.
• Aim to accept or transform the issues and limitations that arise in your day-to-day life.
• Do whatever spiritual practice you are inspired to do without becoming extreme or forcing anything. Stay open to where it takes you and what it gives you instead of just trying to get something.
• Live the details of daily life with the attention you bring to spiritual practice.
• Spend time around people who have the type of energy you feel drawn to. Aim to resonate at the same pitch.
• Explore any feelings of discontent that arise within you.

Discontent is a handmaiden of Awakening. Discontent indicates that we need to be doing something else or something more. Use discontent as a guide.

Does YOUR concept of comfort support you or keep you stuck?

Is your comfort zone aligned with your most important values?

What would it take to welcome insight about yourself with kindness and compassion?