Apologies that I missed a newsletter in May. I was busy working on my new book The Leap and also
had a mountain of marking to do at my university. I still haven’t finished The Leap but am hoping to do so over the next couple of weeks. Sometimes my life gets too busy for my liking. With three young kids - and now two old parents - who need taking care of, I have to be careful that I don’t load myself with too much creative activity. Doing nothing is one of the things I enjoy doing most - I find it essential to remain connected to my real self, and to feel balanced and at ease.
So I always try to balance out intense activity with intentional idleness. Since we are human beings, it’s important to spend time being. Otherwise we’re just human doings and human havings.
Peace Pilgrim and Natural Wakefulness
In
The Leap I suggest that there are three different ways in which wakefulness can occur. First of all, it may occur naturally. A person may simply be naturally awake, as their normal condition. Secondly, wakefulness can develop gradually, over a long period of time, usually as a result of regular spiritual practice, or following a particular spiritual path. (For example, a Buddhist or Christian monk may gradually awaken as a result of following a lifestyle of self-discipline, meditation,
silence and solitude. While a person who doesn’t follow a particular spiritual path but regularly practices meditation and yoga - perhaps twice a day - may also gradually awaken.) And thirdly, wakefulness may occur suddenly and dramatically, usually in response to intense psychological turmoil.
It’s significant that only one of these ways involves spiritual traditions or paths. This emphasises
that spiritual awakening most commonly occurs outside the context of spiritual traditions, and often to people who don’t know anything about spiritual traditions. This is what I’ve been trying to do in my research as a transpersonal psychologist - to take awakening outside these traditions, and treat it as a normal and natural state rather than an esoteric or supernatural one.
Many naturally wakeful
people don’t become known in a spiritual context. They usually don’t establish themselves as spiritual teachers. They may investigate different teachings as a way of making sense of their own experiences, and later, once they have understood their own wakefulness, they may feel a particular kinship with different teachings and traditions which resonate most deeply with their own experiences. However, they usually don’t follow specific spiritual paths, or affiliate themselves with particular
traditions. Some of them may not even be aware of spiritual traditions at all, at least initially.
Here I’d like to introduce you to Peace Pilgrim, who is an excellent example of a naturally awakened person. I’m not sure how well known she is the US, but in the UK she’s not very well known at all. I just wrote an article about her for my Psychology Today blog.
