I have decided to post my whole book on Substack. Chapter by chapter.
This way I can get it out there (while waiting for a publisher) and I can get your feedback. Plus, starting this Thursday I will be offering an in-person “Awakening Practice Circle” and the participants may want to read the book before coming.
WAKE THE F UP
CHAPTER 1. IT’S TIME TO WAKE UP
CONTENTS
1. Why I wrote this book
2. My ah ha moment
3. The bottom line
4. Are you ready to wake up?
5. Where to now?
6. Trust yourself!
7. Words alone can’t wake you up
8. How to read this book
“Your main purpose is to awaken. It is as simple as that. You share that purpose with every other person on this planet – because it is the purpose of humanity.” Eckhart Tolle
“Enlightenment is not some ideal goal, perfect state of mind, or spiritual realm on high, but a journey that takes place on this earth, it is a process of waking up to all of what we are and making a complete relationship with that.“ John Welwood
Let me get directly to the point: If you do not wake up - and liberate your mind - you will never be truly happy.
No matter what you do, how much money you make, how many friends you have, or how wonderful you think your life is, unless you shift your awareness and become conscious, you will probably never experience lasting bliss. Indeed, your life will likely be one of confusion, suffering and disfunction.
As consciousness researcher Loch Kelly says, as long as we humans are in our current egoic-state we will experience perpetual dissatisfaction,
“First, no ego-identity - no matter how strong - can live a fully intimate, happy human life. If we don’t wake up, we’ll experience perpetual dissatisfaction … Our choice today is to break down, shut down, act out or break through and wake up.“
I know that sounds harsh, but it is precisely what the mystics, including Jesus, Buddha and Mohammed have been saying for centuries.
And when you do wake up, you not only break free of the prison of your egoic-mind, but you experience life in a completely different way. You see the world from a fresh new perspective and you experience a level of peace and joy that you currently can’t imagine.
WHY I WROTE THIS BOOK
“We are in the midst of a momentous event in the evolution of human consciousness but they won’t be talking about it on the news tonight.” Eckhart Tolle
“To get back to the original unborn mind” means getting into the spontaneous flow with life, unblocked.” Alan Watts
I practiced law for twenty years and wrote eleven books before I woke up. Indeed, I had no idea what consciousness was until I fell into a deep depression several years ago. I did not know that I was falling into the dreaded, “dark night of the soul.”
One day I found myself in complete despair. I lost all joy for life and found no comfort in the many things I once loved. Although I had suffered existential pain and intermittent depression for most of my life, I could not shake the funk. I kept asking: What is the point? Even though I had friends, family, and an abundant life, for months I lived under a dark cloud.
I guess I should not have been surprised since I had spent most of my life searching. I kept thinking that if I obtained one more job, one more freind, or one more university degree then I would finally be happy. But as you may suspect, nothing external brought me lasting happiness.
During my dark night the only thing that brought me joy was reading the wisdom literature. I spent weeks at libraries and book stores. I read everything from Krishnamurti to Eckhart Tolle and Pema Chodron. I watched thousands of videos and read thousands of articles. From psychology and philosophy to spirituality and non-duality; I read everything I could get my hands on.
MY AH HA MOMENT
After over a year of reading, I realized something quite profound. Most of the mystics and sages over the centuries have been saying almost the exact same thing. They said this:
We can only end human suffering if we break through the illusion of separation.
In other words, we can only live in bliss if we see break though the limitations of our mind and the trappings our egoic-state of consciousness. We can only be truly free, whole and happy if we wake up.
Once I realized this, I decided to write a book on how to wake up. My aim was to save myself and others from unnecessary suffering by writing a handy guide that I could refer to every day. So after nearly ten years of reading and researching and testing hundreds of concepts and practices, I finally pulled my research together, merged it with my own experience, and wrote this book as a step-by-step guide book.
THE BOTTOM LINE
I now realize that my dark night and this writing journey, just like every other experience in my life, was a gift. It was the precise thing that I needed to help me realize who I am and not live a half-life. Although it was painful, it was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. Plus, I am now able to help others wake up.
My main message is this: Life is too short to stay asleep and live in fear and pain. Life is so very precious. It’s wrong to live small half-lives barely struggling to get by. My only hope is that this book will help you wake up to your divine self, your unique destiny and your full potential, as described here:
“Remember that your life is your divine destiny unfolding deliberately according to a sacred blueprint that in each moment invites you to show up and fulfill your highest potential. Your life experience is a beautiful gift revealed by your conscious unwrapping of it. Your point of freedom in it all is accessed by your attitude towards it. Choose to be aware. Choose to be present in each moment of it. Choose to walk in grace and gratitude through every experience.” Michael Brown
As you read this book I am sure that you will realize that we humans are beautiful, amazing powerful creators. We were born innocent and designed to live in peace, abundance and joy on this planet.
However, we have been conditioned to think that we are meaningless blips in the universe. We live in fear and scarcity not realizing that we have the power to wake up. At this point in time, we all have the power to escape the insanity, create heaven on earth and live blissful lives together. But to do this, we need to wake up.
ARE YOU READY TO WAKE UP?
“Until your knees finally hit the floor you’re just playing with life, and on some level, you’re scared because you know you are just playing.” Marianne Williamson
If my story resonates, then you are probably ripe for waking up. The only question is, what stage are you at? Here are the typical phases of awakening:
Phase 1. You are generally happy, but one day you look around and realize that all the things that brought you joy, like your job, your friends and your activities no longer do.
Phase 2. You think you are just burnt out and need something new in your life. You try new things. You go to the theatre. You meet new people. You go back to doing things you used to love. But this does not satisfy you. It seems like a lot of work and you feel even more unhappy.
Phase 3. You mention to a close friend that you are struggling and unable to find joy and meaning in life. She tells you to take a holiday or get a pill from your doctor. Most of all, do not over-think it! You still feel terribly alone.
Phase 4. You spend a lot of time on your own. You go for long walks and are emotional for no reason. You get frustrated with your friends. You start reading books on the meaning of life and start watching inspirational speakers. Although you feel buoyed by the fact that you are not alone, you still feel lost and confused.
Phase 5. You realize something much bigger is going on. You start reading poetry and philosophy and start following modern days sages such as Eckhart Tolle and Byron Katie. You realize you are waking up but have no idea what to do!
If you are here, then this book is for you.
But before you continue it’s important to realize that:
You are normal and experiencing a very natural expansion in consciousness;
You are breaking free of your egoic-mind that has kept you imprisoned your entire life;
This is your opportunity to wake up and live a life of happiness.
WHERE TO NOW?
Welcome to the club. You are one of millions of others who are waking up on the planet today.
Indeed, we are in the midst or a radical shift in humanity on this planet. And the only thing that will ensure our survival is a raising of our consciousness. We are moving from a time of darkness and ignorance, where we suffered for thousands of years, to a time of lightness, abundance, and freedom. We are waking up from a long sleep of egoic-based consciousness to unbounded consciousness. We are moving from slavery to freedom. As Tina Louise Spalding says, it’s time for us to rework our minds and break free of the prison,
“Now there is a revolution on your planet and the secret societies, secret activities, and hidden agendas are being exposed around the world. It is time for all of you to rework your minds. If you do not begin to change your minds, then the transformation your society is going through will be impossible for you because you will be lost in the past wishing you could go back to the way things were, when in fact the past was a prison, limiting and unfair, and it caused a lot of suffering.”
The aim of this book is to help you re-claim your mind and liberate it from the egoic-state filled with fearful programming and indoctrination. It is an invitation to return to the loving frequency that is your natural state, which is a divine aspect of infinite intelligence, naturally attuned to love.
TRUST YOURSELF
Let me be clear: I do not want to convince you of anything. I was fully indoctrinated as a child and was fed outrageous lies. I was criticized and threatened when I dared to ask questions. As a result, I will never, ever, tell anyone to believe anything. Doctrine and blind faith is what got us into trouble. Not trusting ourselves and our inner knowing is what got us into trouble. Giving our power away to others got us into trouble. You are the ONLY person who knows the truth. So please trust that. As Sri Nisargadatta says,
“Meet your own self. Be with your own self; listen to it, obey it, cherish it, keep it in mind ceaselessly. You need no other guide.“
As you read this book, please do not believe what I am saying. Just read the ideas and try them out. If they resonate, keep them. If not, let them go. Every single human being is on a unique path of awakening and these ideas might help, or not.
WORDS ALONE CAN’T WAKE YOU UP
The other truth is that words alone can’t wake you up. The only way to wake up is through direct experience. As you read this book, you will slowly peel back the mental suit of armour you have been living in and freedom will come you by grace. You will experience a deep knowing when the time is right. It will not likely be through thinking, but by many “ah ha” moments that emerge from inside of you. Over time you will just know intuitively in your entire body and mind that you are awakening. And this is the wonder of the journey.
“You seem to want instant insight, forgetting that instant insight is always preceded by a long preparation. The fruit falls suddenly, but the ripening take time.“ Sri Nisargadatta
Thank you for reading this book and thank you for embarking on this journey of a lifetime. After all, as the saying goes, we are all just walking each other home
HOW TO READ THIS BOOK
In this book I introduce a five-step process for waking up, namely:
Realize your life is a journey.
Notice and release your thoughts.
Transcend your egoic-mind.
Integrate your shadow/pain- body.
Go beyond your mind.
The book is written in easy language and in bite-sized chunks so you can read as much or as little as you like and go back and look at it often. I realize now that so much of the journey to awakening is PRACTICE and un-learning, de-programming and finally remembering. Thus is takes time, repetition and integration, as suggested here,
“Our nervous system and subtle circuitries of the body need time to build the strength and refinement necessary to carry higher energies. This is especially true now that we are evolving into ascension and taking our whole body into the light.” Joanna Cherry
I encourage you to follow each chapter in the order given and do the work required within each. This is because the ego is very tricky and your programming is deep. Your ego will convince you that you already know this information because it’s not willing to look at what is really going on (e.g. the ego is the problem)! Most of all, enjoy this journey of life and awakening!
Wake the F Up