Wake Up Now ...

At the beginning of the second chapter of Wake Up Now, Stephen Bodian explains that "the truth of your being is ordinary, simple, and ever-present." Our being is experiencing every moment with us whether we are aware of it not. Spiritual awakening doesn't have to take us to a place different than this moment. We just have to become aware of the presence that is always behind our thoughts–just as it is behind our thoughts now in this moment.

He explains that it may be beneficial to go through these experiences with the assistance of an experienced teacher, a meditation group, or some other progressive approach. However, he warns against allowing the ego to become powerful in this type of appealing path. It is often helpful to look outside of ourselves for guidance but we must look inside of ourselves to do the actual work.

When you're encouraged to shift your focus from awakening to the practice that will purportedly lead you to awakening, you may end up devoting years to perfecting the form and becoming an accomplished meditator or yoga practitioner without ever awakening to the truth that's so close at hand. [page 42]

These types of practices can be very helpful but they can also reinforce the idea that spiritual awaking is a long, arduous process that is like moving a mountain to uncover a gem. This makes sense to me. I believe that there are countless practitioners in this world that truly do want to help people toward enlightenment; but these practitioners also have rent to pay. It is helpful for them to create a day-to-day process that a student takes towards uncovering enlightenment rather than allowing the student to believe that the enlightenment is available now whether the process is completed or not. Granted I'm sure there are many students that would find the process fulfilling nonetheless.

Staying Present with the Right Attitude

Whatever practice we choose to follow, we need to complete it with the right attitude. Joy, aliveness, and compassion are important to make our every action worthwhile.

If you view your practice as a gradual means to some distant and lofty goal, you may lose your initial passion, enthusiasm, and curiosity and miss the open secret of your true nature in your dogged determination to accumulate spiritual experiences and become a more spiritual person. [page 45]

So many of the experiences that we encounter are exciting when they are new. However, the same experience day after day can eventually turn boring and even cumbersome. The spiritual practices that we incorporate into our lives are no different. They can become such a routine–possibly ritualistic–which can make them pointless as we have lost our presence in the process. Staying present with any practices (yoga, meditation, etc.) will make these practices worthwhile.

The Over-analytical Mind

Deep down, you believe that you're inherently flawed, especially when you compare yourself to the great exemplars of your tradition, and you keep efforting to live up to some image of how you think you're supposed to think, feel, and act. In Zen, this attitude is called putting another head on top of your own, rather than enjoying the perfectly good head you already have. [page 47]

I can see what Bodian is speaking of in myself. And you certainly may relate to this as well. As I learn new techniques toward my ultimate goal, I do find myself overly analyzing my every thought, feeling, and action. This can sometimes be quite overwhelming and antienlightening. When I realize what I'm doing it makes me stop and say, "can I just 'not think' for a while?" That's when I realize that my over-analytical self is actually keeping me from being present. It is such a relief to just take a deep breath and release that analytical part of myself.

The Shortcut to Enlightenment

Bodain explains that many teachers prefer to lead students down a path filled with techniques and exercises that will ultimately lead to enlightenment. He prefers teaching a "direct" approach that is essentially a shortcut past the common techniques used by others. While conceptually I understand what he is talking about, so far it is difficult for me to grasp exactly how to embody the shift in perception that the book attempts to allow me to foster within myself. Although I'm optimistic!

You've never been apart from [your true nature] even for an instant, so you can't possibly approach it, least of all by effort or progression. Just turn your attention back on itself and recognize your true faceless face once and for all. [page 48]

It is very easy for us to look outside of ourselves in order to attempt to find our true nature. In fact, that is what most of us do. And that is what I've been doing for most of my life. We try to find the perfect job, the perfect partner, and the perfect home as a way to attempt to better define ourselves. As I have spoken about before, this search is essentially fruitless because our ego is never satisfied with what is available to us in the moment. Nothing external can possibly solve the the fundamental problem that lurks within our minds.

Hearing, Meditating, and Pondering

According to the Upanishads (philosophical teachings from ancient India), the three paths to discover the true nature of ourselves are through hearing, meditating, and pondering.

Rather than effort or struggle, these three approaches require a quality of openness and receptivity, a willingness to put aside your preconceptions and experience reality directly, combined with a sincere dedication to discovering what's true once and for all. [page 51]

I think it's important to note that I believe that when Bodian says you must have a "willingness to put aside your preconceptions" he is meaning to put aside these preconceptions all the time–not just once. Preconceptions essentially hold us in the past rather than allowing us to experience what is actually happening in the present.

As an example, imagine how lovely all relationships in our lives would be if we always put aside our preconceptions about others before an interaction. Imagine forgetting about past struggles, putting aside grievances, and viewing each person as if you're meeting them for the first time. (This includes putting aside any preconceptions about the race, gender, religion, etc. of a person you are actually meeting for the first time.) The past should be just a small tool to help in the present moment–for example, you can use the past to remember a person's name–but imagine how rewarding it would be to not allow the past to define the present experiences with people. Bodian wants us to approach our spiritual practices with this type of freshness............From the blog Habitualharmony.com