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It was said to me twice, from different women, who knew more than me.. than on our paths', we will encounter people and situations, which can and will act as the catalyst to our next step toward awareness.

What might you recall off your early steps?

I mainly just started running into people I knew, yet didn't know.

i don't really remember, that is what stands out so much, I only remember certain things over the last 5 years most of it is a blur.

whilst mine where steps.. hence this thread.

How do you know that you are even "awakening"? Maybe one is misinterpreting things as an awakening but who's to say you're not still "sleeping"?

I know.. because I can ask the question.

I remember waking up one day a twinge in the back of my mind that something wasn't right, that something bit was missing from my life....then a few weeks later i started having dreams of a life long ago..then i went to a friend who is a psychic and she confirmed what i had belived i was.

This is going to sound cheesy, but in the Vampyre community they atually use the term sire. What a sire is is a mentor. Someone that helps you through, and teaches you about the community. I would suggest findinga good sire.

.. guess that's one 'first step.'
Though the awareness I speak of, is of the mind, of perception, of self-growth.. of 'The Craft.'

when i awoke it was something new and exciting.. i have always been a timid mouse and let every one walk all over me. When it came to my sisters now that was a different story. you mess with them , you mess with me.
You see when i was little. I was hurt really bad by my 2 male cousins and from that point on i hid my emotions way down inside of me.
It did not help that we had a father that had a split personality. If we fought with each other he would hit us with anything that was handy and i do mean anything. so when we fought he told us to hit each other as hard as we could, if we did not hit hard enough , he would hit us, and let me tell you those sticks he used were not little branches either.
I thought i saw the devil behind each male that said hello or good bye to me. i have found out that i can stick up for myself and no one will come after me with the imaginary stick, bull whip, fishing pole, leather strap ect.
I got my awakening when i found out i could say no and not find the monster behind me or waiting behind my imaginary door. I had a few years after growing up and being with men. one that i thank god everyday is no longer among the living. that i can have pride, self worth, and love me for me. that is the day i awakened and came to be fully me not just a waif of myself

.. well. that's a well-written piece, I'll grant you.

well cool ...

I believe My first step toward awakening was death itself. Now before you get all melodramatic on me let me explain.
When I was thirteen years of age I was playing on a dock at a lake just outside of Augsburg Germany and I fell in. My brother who couldn't swim either got help and I was pulled out. When the paramedics arrived they pronounced me dead but continued to try to revive me "thankfully" and brought me back. After that I was a changed person. I Knew there was something different about me and was reminded every day by the other children at school. I became a loner with the exception of the very few I chose to allow into my little world. And that was when the cravings began. I would go crazy whenever someone would cut themselves ore scrape their skin enough to draw blood..My heart would race and my mouth would go bone dry. I knew I wanted it but alas I didn't know why. I began convincing my friends that saliva would speed the healing process and make the pain ease as an excuse to taste but it was never enough and only succeeded in making me more of an outcast than I already was when people outside my tight little circle found out.

At that time there were no movies out about Vampires with the exception of Dracula (A movie I still cant stand to this day) Because i got nicknamed Vampire Girl.. I was always sick and the sun was something i would avoid like the plague. So that and the little blood "fetish" as the psychiatrist i was forced to see called it. It wasn't a far stretch to get stuck with that nickname... Lack of friends gave me a lot of time to myself. I used this time at the library looking up anything I could find on Vampires that wasn't fiction. (Which was very little) and Learning about Wicca. I embraced the craft with all my heart and gave my soul to the Goddess. She saved me from myself and to this day Wicca is a huge part of my life.

When I was 15 my step mother decided that she didn't want my weirdness around her or her son any more and sent me away to a foster home which i stayed at nearly a year. I so loved my foster parents. They taught me so much and I learned to appreciate Celtic music and Musicals. among other things such as art. I had often wished that I could have stayed with them forever but fate had other plans for me. Just before my sixteenth birthday I was shipped to the USA to live with my grandfather. A new town where nobody knew about my nick name or my weird ways. Was my way of making it ok in my mind. I tried hard to keep my thoughts to myself and be "normal" I tried to make friends and I would spend all my spare time at the Local skating Rink where I started working after school. This lasted about a year but the old me was always there right under the edge pleading and begging to come back out. The lust I had for blood was constantly making me crazy and it was all I could do not to think about it. I began once again my search for answers at the local Library with hopes of more success at this new library than the last and I stumbled Upon a story about a dutch es that lived in the fourteen hundreds that practiced bloodletting. She believed that she needed the Blood to keep her healthy and stave off sickness and only the blood of Virgins was acceptable. Silvia was her name and though I have searched for years i have yet to find any other articles about her but there was another by the name of Erzibet Bathory that was similar. As the years past I found crazy ways to take the edge off such as buying Liver and drinking the blood out of it ..{Yea I know its gross but it helped) Then when I was 18 I told a dear friend all my deepest darkest secrets and the Vampire girl nickname was out once again, but only between the two of us. One night while I was at her flat she cut herself on a dinner plate. she was bleeding pretty bad and she must have seen the look on my face. My heart raced so fast I thought it would leap out of my chest. my mouth felt like the sierra dessert. all I could do was stare as the blood run down her arm. I wanted to run away to avoid the thoughts that were going through my mind, but all I could do was stand there like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming truck. She walked over to me and held out her hand. "Blood for the Vampire Girl?" She asked tauntingly. I couldn't resist and took her hand and fed till it stopped bleeding. within moments I felt alive Like I had never known before. "Wow I didn't think you would actually take me up on the offer but I can literally see it did you some good."She had said. She and I became even closer than ever after that and she became a regular donor to me for years after till I moved. Then I would find boyfriends and lovers that would satiate my need. It was That night that I knew without a doubt what I was and what I needed to be healthy and alive and not just a shell of the person I really am. Blessed BE

I knew it was time for me to get over my leisure pursuits, because I met people who made me feel uncomfortable in my unrealized stagnation. Not that they showed me which way to go, they just made it ever so clear that I need to advance, and to regress before doing so.

Does not personal ascension imply unburdening oneself? removing attachments? When it mattered most to me, I noticed the benifits of being less sluggish with leisure pursuits, and now.. VITA EST IAM. because Here is Now

a good friend of mine and my sister have helped convince me to move forward on several levels, and i dont think i would have without them.

i refer to improving my position in life, as well as spiritual awakening.
~W~

well.. i woke up this morning... and have been awake ever since ^_^
i saw everything my eyes looked at, heard everything within range, and responded accordingly.
It was a good day, made me smile

maybe..just maybe...it is the day you begin to question if your life has actual meaning..mde a real differance or impact if you will in the lives of those around you

should be a warning on Cabrion comments..

**Laughs**

tho I'll concede.. it was a good one.. and aye, that last remark hit the spot, personally..

I was filled with a restlessness and energy I just had no direction. Then strangely enough my mother brought me a set of Tarot cards for a Christmas present. I had asked her why she brought me such an unusual gift from a Christian woman, and she just told me she was compelled to do it. She saw them, felt compelled to get them and before she knew it she was out of the store with the cards.

And those cards, opened up a whole new world to me, they helped give me direction and understanding. So my awakening began with a simple gift.

.. interesting, the Tarot was part of one of my steps.

I guess you can say my "awareness" or "awakenings" began from outside influences by certain spiritual encounters. It made me aware that there was lots more going on than what i knew about at the time and it's progressed from there , all throughout my life. I don't think i'm finished awakening though as strange as that may sound.

the path to awakening can mean many things but life gives us many opportunities to learn. For instance getting to know someone whom you have worked with many times and only thought you knew and realizing that no matter how we appear there is always more beneath the surface.

Ah thankya. Though I will say I find it interesting how sometimes in a persons growth they turn to others to see either how the rest of the world is doing or to see if they're doing itright

I can comfortably say, a year out from when mine started now, I went through two phases. The first was the "What the $#@! is going on with me?! Am I losing my mind!"

About six months later, the second phase began wherein my learning curve was damn near a 75 degree angle, I was meeting loads of people (including all you terrific folks) and that' when the fun started.

Like a couple of other people have suggested, a distinct shift in mind set and attitude occurred. It was a feeling of taking a deep breath and feeling muscle I didn't know I had flex.

Now I'm in the 'settling in' phase I guess. Still learning a lot but with much less trepidation.

The short story I've been writing and posting in my journal is a little bit autobiographical.

then, I have more reading to do Justin.

**Grins**

Increasing agitation, sleepless, muscles vexing...darkness pervading your thoughts, isolation extreme hatred of light(dark glasses at night)
Snaps of the future, sex and raw meat. It's either PTSD or your Vamping out.../\_^..^_/...Just ask yourself what have you been up to lately?

"Snaps of the future, sex and raw meat. "
You make me worried sometimes Annie, lol
(i hope you don't mind the pet name, if you find it disrespectful please let me know)

"Snaps of the future, sex and raw meat. "
sounds like some of my stories.. come to that.. **thinks**
my stories themselves have acted as steps toward learning, of me, my world and my understanding of it.

Most people in this thread said about their awakening as vampires. In my opinion, (of course I could be wrong) awakening is when the person understands that life has a meaning and they try to find answers to the greatest philosophical questions like "Why we exist?" , "Who made us?" , "Where do we come from?" , "What is the meaning of life? " etc etc. In my opinion those people go through an endless awakening as no one holds all the answers. While we grow older we might know more things but the awakening will never end until we know everything. From what I know nobody knows everything so we will never be done with our awakening. Personally I was always interested about the unknown. I knew that life is much more complicated than what it seems to be. When it comes to my awakening as a vampire, it started after a great shock I had (I won't get in details) and I slowly realized what I was.

When people stop dreaming, and face actuality.

Awakening is a case of meeting people that fill in pieces of the path you are missing. At the right time and in the right places you encounter the ones who awaken the right pieces of you at the right time.it doesn't even have to be people. It can be a thought or a website that triggers the awakening.

People who shake you, and yell hey! Your fantasizing, and all your fantasy won't help you make it a quarter of the way you need to get. Take the Pill, and wash it down Well!

.. Dabs, do forgive my lassitude.

Jenova was right, I feel. But, there's something else: as threads go someone got something wrong. Aye, it could be of vampires, but as I reiterrated, several times, I was talking of the self, particularly.

"Awakened at first," could be defined, perhaps, as "the awakening of possibility, of self, of actuality". Pass.

I know what I mean.. 'ish.

Hence askin the question.

I think that I was born different, but also i think I actually started to awaken at the age of 6 and then again at 11 and now i actually see myself spiritually going through more changes. I think it can be a life long process. Different things can bring an awakening on as well.

I understand as far as I not Awaking only comes from Vampyres those who signify themselves from Vampires. I noted this, and my post still applies to the gerenral non-vamp populous. It can also be called Analous Cranius, or those that still have their head up their ass, it is a phase yet some are longer in such phase then others.

so perhaps a good question as well could be, what keeps people asleep for so much longer then reasonable.

My awakening began when I started looking for spiritual alternatives. I started looking into more Eastern beliefs and began Mediation, found books that just seem to jump off the shelf for me to buy and read.

"What keeps people asleep for so much longer?"

thats a good question.. maybe with some they prefer not to actualy see the truth around them...or maybe it could be they just have not had or found that defining moment that opens your eyes wide that makes you question life..their own little world so to speak..that one moment that makes them come to the realization that life is so short and so precious it cant be must not be wasted trying to be someone thats not really true to themselves ..that going through the motions is like watching life pass you bye...that there should be a meaning to life not just being here

thanks dabbler jewlz

I agree that's an interesting twist on the question (re: what keeps others asleep). This isn't much of an answer but for some reason I think it applies.

I don't recall the source but I remember reading an author who first points out that starfish move so slowly that their movement is imperceptible. S/he then points out that the hummingbird moves so fast that the motion of their wings is imperceptible. So the author then asks, "Can the starfish even 'see' the hummingbird or is its frame of reference so different that the bird doesn't even exist?"

*gong*

interesting take Justin. Mine is simpler, most stay awake 'coz they're just not bothered... easy as.

i dont quite kno wat you mean exactly.... would you care to explain on this a lil bit more please?

the last remark was me being scathing 'bout those who choose/or avoid, seeing that they're able to do/be, more than they are..

when they realise this, they're awakening.

Sadly society has come to enable such individuals. Then as I mentioned before there are plenty of people who rely on sleeping people to buy their wares, and trinkets that promise to make their perma nap most cozy, and dream filled.

when by find one's self, that would not be needed Dabbler.

It is all about perception, I call it perspective material, a play on words, clear to some not to others.Full marks to Justins hummingbird, the starfish are soooooo boring!

Life moves pretty fast, why not make the time to look around sometime?~'Ferris Buellers day Off'...as true today as it was back then.

indeed sometimes all thats needed is to....stop...look...and listen...could very well be the beginings to an awakening for some..ah those less "hardheaded" that is

in my awakening i found i was drawn to people that could help me. In many instances the ones I were drawn too were the ones I knew ether in a past life or when i walked the astral plains they were a part of my life or my dream life..

I met someone that when I look into that person's eyes I see my past lives, the one I have with that person.

So far I saw 3 of them, also that person is teaching me to think of myself more and to do things for me, and to learn to live with myself.

Also that person is teaching me that time is only a conception and not something to try to run ahead, cause it will always be there, regardless and what is meant to be will be, just have to use patience and give time.

the hardheaded couldn't take a day off like Ferris, methinks Jewelz.

..

and.. yes, that's what I meant what I started this, I guess, people can act as stepping stones, toward our awakening.. leat, that's a part of it!

..

and.. yes, that's what I meant what I started this CM, I guess, people can act as stepping stones, toward our awakening.. at least, that's a part of it!

how i feel is the awakening is much like ones faith,only they know for a surety what and how it is,you can describe to someone but still it is not the same


years ago when i was awakened in such things how i felt was it was like taking one big breath of fresh air,it was like feeling alive.

Awakening, I believe, takes on many forms...but is a process in its entirety and changes accordingly to the level of awareness an idividual achieves during any given point in their life. These changes can vary and include experiences both enlightening and traumatic that invokes singular truth and realization of that momentary epiphany.

It changes our perspective and as individuals, perspective and personal truth varies, thus so does the awakening process of the self arrives within the conclusive evidences of one's life determined upon the presence of variables, including the influential life forces of others...hence our reference to "stepping stones."

What awareness is to be defined when you are an individual that realizes that your own life and perspective..your own awakening is in purpose to be a stepping stone to others? It is one way to think upon the awakening of the self, but what of those of us who realize our own ascension to higher awareness is dependent upon the awakening of others around us?

Thus I find myself in such a peculiar position...my whole life it would seem. Perhaps awakening is not so much the ideal of acceptance of the self and the inner desires but just as much as accepting how others we encounter in life percieve us as well? Just my plondering and random thoughts this morning...hope I've not lost you much on my winding rabbit trails Angelus...:)

not at all.. eloquently phrased.. 'truth and realization of that momentary epiphany', that rang a chord with me, as did the bit about altering one's perspective..

many thanks.

My first steps into this world were not long ago... believe it or not only a few weeks ago... it started with me being bored on a sunday morning so i decided to look up fantasy creatures and since vampires are my favorite i looked them up first.

I found this site saying vampries are real and thought, "This guy is crazy" and left without a second thought the next day i was even more bored so i decided to find the site again and listen to this guys rant.

It wasn't a rant at all but actually solid proof of vampires existing so i just went and read around a bit. I found a section that was called, "How to know if you are a vampire" and behold i had every single sign, after doing a few more days research i found out the truth and i was finally awake.

..steps, to acquired knowledge.

each small step can be part of a glorious journey.

this is what originally peaked my curiosity.

http://vampirewebsite.net/howknowifavampire.html

.. come tomorrow, I'll seek education.
{It's late Here, Now.}

**Smiles**

Angelus, I forgot an important part of my story as it relates specifically to your OP.

Part of what kicked my 'search/awakening' into high gear was talking to a couple of acquaintances whom I'd invited to my Halloween Party. They weren't able to make it - were late/got lost/etc. but said it was ok, they got to go to Ulteria that night anyway.

The proverbial antenna went up and I asked, "Ulteria.....what's that?"

The rest is history.

what strikes me is that we each find the steps that suit us ...

training under deities have given way to me waking up

The steps in my spiritual awakening wad the knowledge I started receiving from others that were acsending. I started becoming more introverted because the answers were not through anyone else but myself.

Recently two people have had a major impact. It was a conversation with my bf and my mom. We were running a concession stand for a fundraiser so we were stuck inside all day. Being in a small town there was lots of drinking going on anyway. So it being the first time those two met we had a heart to heart over drinks for about 5-7 hours. Basically my mom made me realize that even though I've had a bad relationship with my family for the past few years I can still mend it. Even if they never understand me or agree with my views and beliefs the ones that matter will still be there. The bf he has just helped me fix the train wreck and realize that I'm not alone. That even with all my crazy I can still be happy. To accept and embrace what makes me different instead of being what others expected of me. I know that's cliche and I've heard it a million times, but it finally hit home. When I stopped trying to lead the expected life and just live for the things that brought me contentment. I'm still working on that, but knowing that I'm on a path that will give me fullfillment just releaves so much pressure.

To accept and embrace what makes me different instead of being what others expected of me.

not cliche at all ~ eloquently phrased.

thank you. cool piece.

Native princess wolf posts, "training under deities have given way to me waking up"

Please elaborate.

I like the personal nature of each of these accounts and applaud all who have responded, thank you.

yes which deities in particular or do you mean the idea of a general spiritual consciousness?

for belief, one needs to take one step.. to learn, one takes more than that.

isn't that simplifying it just a bit? if by one step you mean: open yourself up to the possibility of X, that can be rather hard to do sometimes

hard, yes. but nothing worthwhile is easy, now is it?

It is so funny to see people led to believe that they are awake just because they accept a fringe belief, if anything subscribing to such beliefs often put people in deeper slumbers, and wedge their head further up their Arses.

It is not all beliefs perhaps, or all believers, but it tends to be those who cannot contain their beliefs in context, and practically.

i think it's funny. People dont believe things because there's a ton of reasons to believe it, they do it because they want to. You can convince an alcoholic that being an alcoholic is bad but you can't convince them that they ARE one if they dont want to think of themselves that way.
I feel like embracing a belief and walking towards it to iron out the faults is done to escape being something else, most of the time that thing is either ignorance or inadequacy. Unlock hidden powers! (Reads:"You didnt know you werent doing as well as you should be, that's why you're tired and pushed around")
Learn to astral project! ("So you dont have to live with your shitty life!")
____ Diety and why they're the right way! (Reads:"This is how the world REALLY works, dumbass")

succinct as ever fellows.. just a pity that some Need a Deity.. though, that said, occasionally.. I envy them.

that said, my disbelief is what led to being open-minded.

I don't have a long story, just a simple explanation of my personal awakening. I was 5 and still moving forward I am approaching 53.

arn't we all, who aspire more, still learning? I'm 51 and, still doing so...

Believing in Deity or God/dess, Creator, that higher power does not make one an idiot nor "puts someone's head up their arses." To learn under Deity guidance, I believe is to choose a path of learning that awakens the higher consciousness as one ponders the nature and aspects of Deity....whichever one you choose to stop and think about that...*Selah Deity often takes many forms, much like animal totems and their symbolism are meant to teach us spiritually on different levels...such as the Red-tailed Hawk means for me...symbolized as one of the messengers of Heaven, yet represents change for me and spiritual flight. The Hawk also represents the inner dwelling of my own nature...if I see it and want it...then go get it...the Hawk represents Action of the Conscious Soul in that respect...and in contemplating the aspects of any particular deity or totem, any individual can learn something...in observance of their enviroment and thus in realizing something they did not contrive of before, ascend to awakening in their knowledge and fortitude.

learning is a never ending process, it's what keeps life interesting!

I was accused, flat out, of being a psychic vampire and of "leeching" energy from people. I had never heard this term before and did some googling. It was meant as an insult but the more I read the more it dawned on me that it was a scarily accurate revelation. It was never anything I did intentionally, and had no idea until this woman verbally attacked me and threw the 'psi-vamp' accusations around.

At least yours was accidental...;) Of course, if anyone met my 80-year old grandmother, you would certainly see leeching vampirism at its best...:P Suck the life right outta ya..lolz..:P *just kiddin'...well..not about my grandmother...anywho's...onward!

Awakening takes many forms as outlined in this thread. Often though, we are as sleepwalkers, not aware of our natures until someone turns the light on...:) ...and rudely wakes our happy bootees up..^^

... I like that, 'sleepwalkers'. It defines so many.
To awaken some... would take an A-bomb.

Lol accidental yes, and shocking and offensive to me at the time.
Although I've spent the last 7 or so years fiercely denying it and substituting the need with something else that has just left me really unhealthy, weird things are happening to my body now that I'm actually accepting of it.

I too like the sleepwalkers title, that's really accurate.

I still feel as if my mind is an out of tune radio. Little bits and peices of stations coming through here and there. Every so often those snippets last longer or are more vivid.

.. awakening by stages, mayhap?

Sort of, it's a on going process that is going to last forever :)

.. all learning that's worth it, can take forever.

I often wonder what is meant when some people say they are Dark, I suspect they mean living in the dar, as in Eyes closed, and the shades drawn dark. Or even Head up their arse, eyes closed, and shades drawn dark. They won't explore the world without the thier pet fringe beliefs dictating their boundaries. All the while they fancy themselves as Wolves, or "Sinister individuals" they are sleeping Sheepals.

.. Dabs, that returns to an earlier thread friend: many people associate with the darker half of the human psyche.

.. and yes, a certain ammount of mythos gets involved no doubt, but I do feel that's a tad off topic.. as this was 'step to awakening', which I asumed that most would understand as of the self, not any particular mythos; hence explaining the point a few times in the course of this thread.

I can relate to darker nature I just see some that take it out of context, and such people are sleepers.

I guess my first step to awakening began at infancy. During my infancy, I developed a sickness called Celiac Disease. This is an autoimmune disease which attacks the small intestine and can cause a number of other diseases, such as anemia and diabetes. This disease caused me to develop incurable Iron Deficiency Anemia at age six. Anemia causes the blood to be thinner, increasing the chances of bleeding out.
When I was seven, a cat scratched my arm. The amount of blood was incredible. I had to be rushed to the hospital for a blood transfusion and went into cardiac arrest in the ambulence. They pumped a nameless, faceless donor's blood into me and also managed to restart my heart. I'm told I was clinically dead for three minutes. I guess one has to be asleep before they can wake up.
After I went home, everything went back to normal except I had to pop iron supplements to no avail. My iron levels never recovered but the pills have, at the very least, kept me alive these years.
Ever since then, something else was different in me as well. I was a darker person. Not to say I was unhappy, my thoughts just went to deeper recesses, my intelligence rose, I became more mature and vastly unable to tolerate th ignorance of my classmates. Furthermore, I developed a keen sense of smell, particularly for blood. If someone in the same room as me was bleedeing, I knew. It was horrible. Every time I smelled it, I got this insatiable thirst. Unable to bear it any longer, I started cutting myself at age eight and drinking my own blood, but it didn't satisfy the thirst. When I was ten, one of my friends, Jenny, was playing at my house when she fell and cut her hand on a sharp rock. The smell was overpowering. Unable to control myself, I licked up the blood on her palm. It was the most amazing experience of my life at the time. This was when I truly developed Renfield's Disease (a physical addiction to blood). This is why I am a vampire, truly. This is my awakening.

see Dabs, an awakening. yours was totally different, of that I'm aware.

you see, I relate to aspects, or facets of others and fellow, it could be said, that some, with a brain, will find 'the others'...

I do enjoy the company of people who are awake to those who doze. It is amazing how oblivious people can be, yet still get by with a bare minimum of alertness. I suspect society is to catering to those who are dozy.

Really look at the amount of warning labels.

**laughter**

you call em dozy. how about apathetic?
some just don't want to be more than they are... and, truly.. that saddens me.

Or they would project themselves to others as they are in their dreams.

The exchange above between Dabs and Angelus reminds me of an experiment done on rodents in which they connected a button/pedal to the pleasure center of the animals' brains.

The experimenters were, imagine this, shocked that the animals kept hitting the button over and over, forgetting to eat or drink.

I don't think it's much of a stretch to see the world/culture we live in seeks to do much the same to people. The sad part is they willingly allow it.

Thumbs up to Justin

Now awakening...

I think it's different things to different people.

Spiritual awakenings can happen to anyone.

My awakening did not occur until nearly 13 years after my event. It's difficult to discuss much more but yet I know things and see the demons that belong to the humans around us.

In the midst of this I struggle to fit it.

I would remember things from a previous life......I have remembered 3 different times in different lives. This is my 4th live that i can remember. As I put myself in certain situations, different things would come back to me. Different drinks of plasma also brought back different thing to my mind. I would have dreams and wake up in full body sweats. I remember things that when I explain them to people, they look at me weird.
It's crazy....

... surely the lesson for many, is "do you want to listen and learn, or not?"

As I define awakening, it's an ongoing spiritual process that doesn't ever end. The beginning is the moment you realize that the materialism, greed and hate of our modern world can and will consume you unless you deliberately refocus. The steps are the evolution and learning as you find the things that truly mean something in your life...

... 'evolution' and 'learning', the two key words, I feel.