Depending upon who you’re speaking with or the book you’re reading you may get a different idea about what wakefulness is. It’s a type of homonym that looks and sounds the same, yet the word has many faces of meaning.
In the health profession wakefulness is thought of as the opposite of being asleep. That is, you’re in the circadian rhythm after your body awakens from deep sleep and the REM dream stage and then cycles back to consciously interact with the external world.
Society uses “woke” as a word variant to explain those who are progressively attuned to social justice issues. Politically speaking, you may be experiencing anxiety about current news. In this case some of us are questioning whether we are in a nightmarish loop sleepwalking into another reality.
Or perhaps you understand wakefulness as a spiritual attunement. Here, being awake is understood as a state of being that offers us increased energetic awareness and deeper inner knowing. Author Steve Taylor, PhD in his abstract on the subject explains, “In my psychological interpretation, wakefulness is an expansion and an intensification of normal human awareness.”1
What is being awake mean to you?
Just now I noticed the Copilot function on my laptop pop up. It’s prompting me to check the phrase “being awake” as if something is amiss. Okay, I think. I’ll look it up in case the syntax is wrong, or if I need to find a better way to describe my idea. Here’s what I found at the top of my online search …“Being awake refers to an inner knowing that there is more to life than what the traditional world sees, understands, or supports as reality. It implies being alert and alive to something beyond the ordinary.”
Interesting. This definition seems to jive with Taylor’s interpretation. What I understand from this, I can be awake going about my conscious daily business yet not be in a state of wakefulness. It sounds a bit like sleepwalking. If true then there’s a part of reality that I’m not noticing. Hidden in plain sight if you will. Something else is there which doesn’t always penetrate my psychic vision.
Sure, I can understand this happening. I remember times when I sensed that “there’s something else present” yet couldn’t quite put my finger on it. These moments generally slipped into background noise. Eventually though, I learned to stop long enough to acknowledge them as special.
What about you? Have you ever experienced a strange uneasiness that felt a bit like a premonition. Perhaps goosebumps, tingling or a chill alerted you to something that needed attention.
Well then, how can we use our gifts of sensitivity to expand a state of wakefulness?
Noticing when we’re awake
On morning walks with Tallulah (my faithful canine companion) I automatically scan the area for other dog walkers. My eyes don’t miss the woods, alert to what’s happening there. I hear squawking overhead. The bird calls help me notice the bare-limbed trees and the frozen waters of the creek. I wonder what they are seeing. Do these beings of nature have memories of this place from years ago? As I pass the fairy tree I never forget to say good morning. Decades ago, this uniquely shaped tree was given her name by the neighborhood. As a newcomer here I make sure to pay my respects.
It all sounds relatively peaceful, right? Who wouldn’t feel calm if given the opportunity to walk in nature every day.
To be honest, though, while roaming the wooded pathway, there’s another ever-present voice in my head. The mind chatter is busy thinking of what I need to do today. There may be concerns about all the what-ifs of the near or distant future. Sometimes the inner noise is occupied by the if-onlys of the past. It’s an annoying intrusion on my reverie but I’m grateful when I notice this is happening. Because it gives me the opportunity to refocus. To bring myself back to the present.
Taylor’s writes, “One of the significant changes which wakefulness brings is a dramatic reduction of the ‘inner noise’ of our thought-chatter.” He expands on this idea of chatter by saying, “It is one of the main sources of psychological suffering.”2
Switching back to wakefulness
So, how do we consciously make the switch from this over-thinking state of worry and stress to find our calm center? One important way to encourage wakefulness is practicing being in the “now” focusing (and refocusing as needed) on the present moment. Making a switch from one state to the other is easier said than done, I know.
Sometimes when I feel out of sorts I’m surprised. How did I get here I wonder. Am I feeling well, getting enough sleep? Am I drinking enough water? I check all the right boxes so why am I feeling badly about myself I ask. Okay, maybe I’m spending too much time listening to the news. I can fix that. But even more than that, I realize my over thinking mind has taken over. Without realizing, I’ve slipped into a bubble of incessant chatter that feels like a deafening bombardment of inner noise.
The remedy?
Revive regular meditation. By this I mean the kind of relaxing, meditative practice that you prefer. Some of us don’t like sitting still. We may find that jogging or gardening is our magic sauce.
Walks in nature. Try listening to how the wood speaks as you walk. Notice where the hawk is perched when it calls. Did you hear dried branches crack and look up to see the deer emerge. Are the trees making sounds as they stretch from the morning chill.
Spread out paints and color pencils and delve into some creative pursuit. There’s no requirement to be an artist. Focus on a feeling and give it a color and a shape. Put it into a mandala. Draw one of the images from the last dream you remember.
Sit on the floor (or a chair) and feel your muscles stretch into yogic positions. Allow your body to guide you. Pay attention to what it’s telling you. Respond by moving to its rhythm.
Or, a personal favorite, using poetic imagery or dream figures as prompts for writing. Lots of messages surprise me this way.
There are numerous opportunities to tap into our inner wisdom. Our chosen meditative practice helps us recognize our still point. When we quiet down we return to the present moment. I believe transitioning to our calm center activates clarity. We see what’s been hidden to us before.
When noticing your relentless mind chatter, how are you able to shift your awareness into the lucidity of wakefulness?
Notes:
1 Taylor, S (2021).The Characteristics of Wakefulness – What does it mean to be spiritually awakened? Abstract published on researchgate.net.
2 Taylor, S (2017). The Leap, The Psychology of Spiritual Awakening. California: New World Library.
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