On Awakening Samantha: What does it mean to "awaken?" Ibiru: Awakening is the process of re-integration - going from a state of narrow focus, where only a small percentage of your whole self is active and recognized, to a state of broad focus, where more of who you really are is available to you. Beyond a certain point this means that your life would, consciously, no longer be just physical/emotional/mental, as you think of those things. In fact, you already exist in all dimensions and forms. To the extent that you are not aware of them you are asleep. Samantha: So…how does one go about waking up? Ibiru: You have to first be able to imagine a broader context for your life and pay close attention to all of the signals around you. As you change your beliefs about who you are from the narrow definitions you have to broader and more inclusive and imaginative ones, you will notice that the signals in the noise will change. You will begin to notice more patterns, more complexity, more dance. What presently seems like so much noise to you will resolve into recognizable patterns. It only seems like noise because you are too narrowly focused to hear and see it properly. The place to start is within yourself. How much of what you perceive appears to be pattern? How much appears as noise? Wherever, within or without you, you perceive noise it means that your focus is too narrow and that you are not asking the right questions. There is pattern underlying everything…. Even Chaos itself is pattern, although you are not used to thinking of it that way. Samantha: I understand this, but I am looking for practical applications…things I can actually do to further this process. Ibiru: When you are in the midst of intense emotion, stop. Do not stop the emotion, but do not act on it for a moment. Take that moment to observe the emotion(s) that you are feeling and try to discern the patterns in them. You will find that some of the emotions are little more than habit. You are SUPPOSED to feel this or that way about a thing, therefore you do. Write these experiences down and over time examine the cycles and see if you can find the larger patterns that are defining your life. When you have a moment of quiet, engage in a deliberately constructed imagination exercise, where you imagine a life very different from the one you are living…down to some of the details of your personality. Follow this imaginary person through an hour, a day, a week of her/his life. Be focused and deliberate in this. This will give you some experimental practice in expanding your focus. Note how you feel about this life and pay attention to the patterns that develop over time. How is this life defined? What can you bring into your own life from the imaginary one that will help you to expand your definitions of yourself? Choose a subject that you would like to learn about, but have avoided as being too difficult or time-consuming. Learn it. Stay with it. Pay attention to the emotions that arise while you are trying to learn this. Watch the patterns of your responses to doing this. Are they patterns that constrict or liberate you? Imagine yourself as a six-dimensional being. To do this you will have to learn more about physics and mathematics. Do not stop being a four-dimensional being while you are being six-dimensional, though. Remember, you are adding to your awareness of totality, not subtracting from it. Samantha: Ibiru, many gurus and spiritual teachers talk about the dangers of madness if you explore other dimensions of being without having a guide to see you safely through. What about that? Ibiru: In fact, Samantha, people go on these journeys every day, with and without teachers to guide them. All of creation is a teacher. That is why you need to learn to see the patterns in the noise. Recognizing these will anchor you to your reality in ways that gurus will not. But you must be willing to learn from all areas of life, not just the ones that immediately interest you or support your ideas. Samantha: And what has this to do with God? Ibiru: This has nothing whatsoever to do with "god", as humanity presently tends to think of it. If you are looking for an external "god" you will not find one. And your efforts will be very frustrating. It has everything to do with the god that really exists, which you can touch and see and hear in every life form, every rock, every breathe of air that exists. The greatest illusion is the one that says that god is "out there" and sits apart from "his" creation. Creation IS the way that god expresses itself. And you are part of that, both as creator and created. Awakening means coming to realize this and KNOW it in every cell of your being, consciously. And when you do the Game will REALLY begin! Samantha: Thanks. This does not sound easy, but it does feel real. Ibiru: You are welcome. And it is, at least from my perspective. See you tomorrow. Samantha: Bye