Awakening Yourself From Within
22nd August 2015 By Brett Jones
Wake Up World
In human history we have never been
richer, had more, created more or inspired greater technological
advances. And yet, we have never been so unhappy.
The World Happiness Report (2) shows
people in developed continents such as Europe, North America, Australia,
and New Zealand are less happy than they were in 2005. This is despite
increased economic benefit. The Happy Planet index 2014 (3) shows that
countries such as Indonesia are happier than any ‘developed’ nation.
It is all too obvious from these studies
that wealth and riches do not bring happiness or fulfillment. There
needs to be a change in how we perceive life and what we want from it.
If following our current path of ongoing economic development in a bid
to achieve personal and national happiness is not working, then what
would work? What path can we follow? And how do we find it?
Throughout human history, there have
been teachers of consciousness who have led many to a higher level of
happiness than most of us will ever experience, because most of what we
seek is transitory. It does not last.
Success in business is temporary and
disappears when we die. A triumph on the sporting field lasts just a
moment, the focus turning quickly to the next game or the next season. A
relationship can be wonderful one moment and disastrous the next.
Children grow and leave their childhood home. A beautiful sunset fades. A
blooming flower dies.
To find a higher level of consciousness
requires you to step away from what you think you know and allow
yourself to experience what is not available in the normal world of
consciousness.
On seeing Buddha, [Dona] went to him and said, “Master, are you a deva [a god]?”“No, brahman, I am not a deva.”“… a yakkha [a kind of protector god, or sometimes a trickster spirit]?”“No…”“… a human being?”“No, brahman, I am not a human being.”“Then what sort of being are you?”“Remember me, brahman, as awakened.” (1)
Yet, when you truly open your eyes, you
will find the majority of the world is asleep, their consciousness
running on auto-pilot.
Some people rise, have a shower, eat
breakfast, dress and fall out the door, into the car, or onto the bus
and go through the day with no thought of what they are doing or why. They are unaware and asleep. This is the sad reality.
This may seem strange to some but if you
are ready, the idea of rediscovering your spirit will ring true for
you. You will know you want to awaken. If you do not, you are
still under the influence of the one thing that creates the unhappiness
that you experience around you everyday.
You do not know this thing that
influences you because it casts a mirror that makes it appear as if it
is the external world that is at fault.
If only that job would be less busy, if
your son or daughter would obey you, if that beloved person would return
your love, if only problems would stop, if only money would start to
flow… then you would be happy.
The true cause of your unhappiness and
your suffering is within the part of you that makes the choices that
puts you in these situations to begin with. This part of you does not
want you to awaken or know the joy that every moment of life can bring.
Learning to discover, understand, and know this part of you is the first step to awaken.
So, to begin with, you must find and recognise your ego.
The ego
for most is associated with Sigmund Freud. This idea posits that in
order to be free and to live the life you were born to, to become
enlightened, you must know this part of yourself.
Your journey demands that you know your
ego, so you can recognise it and become free of it. Many of us do not
even know it exists and have never really experienced freedom from it.
Likewise attempting to describe your
true spirit to the unconscious is like describing a beautiful desert
island with sparkling turquoise waters and plentiful fish to a nomadic
desert dweller. It may sound wonderful but they have no concept of what
it is really like.
Awakening Can Be the Key to Unlocking That Awareness in You
Living without the ego is pure joy. No matter what happens, your life can be one that holds no stress or fear or anxiety.
This is not controlled by will, it simply does not arise.
Life becomes a dance, a dance of knowing yourself fully, of receiving what you deserve and a mystical journey that now calms the mind and heart.
Living from your true nature, you love
like you never have before. Life holds no fear anymore because you know
the truth. Life is seen for what it really is, an experience of no
suffering, as it is impossible to suffer when nothing unreal can
threaten you.
The old way of living is dying. The
world is growing sick from the abuse of the ego and people are aware
that unhappiness grows. There is also a growing awareness that what
people are doing is not working in their daily lives. Many are seeking
more. They are seeking to awaken.
We are all on a journey in life. That
journey can be along a road that takes you to the forest or it can be
climbing a mountain and standing on top to see the view.
When you take this journey is up to you. That you will is a certainty.
The 8000-year-old Tao Te Ching expresses it beautifully:
“When a superior man heard of Tao,He cultivates himself diligently.When an average man heard of Tao,He is doubtful, vague and would give up halfway.When an inferior man heard of Tao,He laughs and thinks of it as foolish.”
You are constantly called to this
purpose by the Divine. That you are loved beyond measure and that you
are always safe and cared for. The more you seek to know yourself and
the truth of who you are and conversely the influence of the one thing
that causes your suffering – the ego – the more you will awaken.
The Tao says:Article sources:“One who knows other people is wise.One who knows himself is enlightened.”
- http://www.buddhanet.net/present.htm Present Centred Awareness A Path to Psychological Freedom Malcolm Huxter
- http://unsdsn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/WorldHappinessReport2013_online.pdf
- http://www.happyplanetindex.org/data/
About the Author:
Brett
is a writer, mystic, a father of 6, an adventurer and lover of people.
After spending three years sailing around the globe with his beautiful
eternal partner Marie he penned Winds of Change. He has since written two more books; Forgotten Secrets of Lasting Forever for those who believe we are meant to be in a relationship forever and his latest book Awaken. Which is a deeply spiritual tome on connecting with the divine nature we all hold within and bringing it into our daily lives.
Brett Jones is the author of The Awaken Book. To keep up with his work you can follow his blog here or you can Email Brett directly.
