Awareness I'm Awake! I'm Awake! So now what? I have to pay attention. Yes, pay. But it's not a very high price. In fact, it eventually seems like a freebie, after you develop the habit. Later, a bonus, because it aids learning considerably. Chances are, you have already been practicing awareness or you wouldn't be doing this investigation. By fortune, I was learning awareness along with growing up. Most people don't. My own awareness is now as automatic and comfortable as breathing. Yes, my attentiveness may be shallow at times. It may be coarse and labored, but I keep doing it. If breath is life, then awareness is enriched life. Enough with the platitudes. The sentiment is still there though. Make sure you're not confusing awareness with awakening. One is simply to be cognizant of what's going on around you so you can digest and use that information. The other is your soul's recognition that there is much more going on around you than you thought possible or could have ever contemplated before. In a way, awakening is your soul's awareness of self and your participation in the grandest scheme of things, the cosmos. There are indeed people who are aware but not yet awake. That's how I got into the stream. So, what am I aware OF? Everything. Every. Thing. Um... well... of course, that's not exactly true. I mean, I'm not trying to be everywhere all at once, so I can't really notice everything. Not yet. However, even before my own awakening, I was still very aware of most everything and everyone around me. I just look at it all a bit differently now. So maybe you're thinking that if you just keep a handle on yourself and a few important people in your life, well then, you're covered. Extend yourself. Go beyond blood ties and your immediate surroundings. Be aware of as much as possible, even the seemingly insignificant. Trust me, to learn what you seek to know, you will need this skill. Okay, fine. So if you didn't grow up with awareness training, how do you get it? Start with the little things. Start with the good things, the things that are pleasant to notice. I call them blessings. They're sometimes very tiny blessings but they add up. A day's worth of tiny blessings can be a whole bless-ed day! If you're balking at the word 'blessings' well then get over it or call them gifts, miracles, freebies, or whatever. Same difference. Notice good things, even very small ones. After a while, they jump up to be noticed. Even later, they reach in and slap a smile ON your face. Sounds a bit Pollyanna? Ok, maybe. If you want to be miserable, go back to sleep. The world is full of people who think that life is supposed to be lousy or they're blissfully ignorant or... they just don't care. Of course, there are awakened spirits who thrill to notice bad things. They actually feel 'blessed' by such occurences. They like the chaos and harm and get a charge out of what most would call 'evil.' I wouldn't spend a lot of time with those people. They have much soul work to do and it could be dangerous just to be around them while they're learning. I would not refuse help, but I'd be wary. I was very fortunate to have been raised by loving parents and grandparents who knew the true value of every cloud's silver lining. I was taught from earliest childhood memory to look for even the smallest iota of good in a bad situation. Again, if you learn to look, it's there. It's always there. Nothing is as bad as it appears on the surface. Everything gets better. Granted, some things are like a bruise, they may get worse before getting better but they will eventually clear up. Still doubtful? Okay, here's a thought. Nothing in your life lasts forever, right? Good stuff certainly doesn't last forever. Well, it stands to reason that bad cannot last forever either. Truthfully, in the long run, it's all balanced. There is an equal amount of good and bad, in the grand scheme of things and over the long haul (ie, forever) but Good and Bad aren't exactly how we think of them, not in the context of the universe. It's more like positive and negative charges or energies. However, in my life, for my soul's experience, the overall odds for good happening and bad happening start out at 50-50. You think not? Bottom line is, a thing will happen or it won't. That's a 50-50 chance for everything, including things I will like and things I won't. But I must tell you, if you use your awareness to see the silver linings, it feels like the odds are stacked in your favor. Remember Perception? Pssst! Here's a secret... We're all working ultimately toward the Oneness, believe it or not. The Universe is infinitely generous and cooperative. Even if you don't believe it, there's still a lot of common sense in taking advantage of what's available, right? Well, in order to do that, you have to see it and recognize it. Be aware. Call it opportunism if you want but it's the same activity. If you're looking for something, you're much more likely to find it. So, look for stuff to be miserable about, if you want. I'd prefer to look for things to enjoy. Awareness is more than scanning your own life too. Look around you. Pay attention to others. Be aware of your impact and influence in the world at large. You have some and they may influence you as well. You are connected to more people than you know. No matter what sort of loner you are, you touch other lives. Even if you were in solitary confinement in the most isolated prison on the planet, you'd touch someone else's life. There would be guards. Someone would have to bring food to you. Someone has to prepare that food, etc. There are others to consider in our cosmic community as well. Ask some former POWs about the 'company' which kept them alive and as sane as possible during their captivity. It wasn't always people. Sometimes it was a friendly spider or crunchy cockroach. Be aware. There's more in Nature. Besides all the creatures, be aware of the cycle of the seasons, the dominant will of water, the secret whispers of the wind, the tremors within the earth, the sunlight's persistence and moonlight's caress. Be. Aware. Your vision is bound to be better with your eyes open. It will be easier to hear your soul if you're listening. This is my experience. I'm always trying to hone my awareness. (Awareness)

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