What is Spiritual Awakening?

Spiritual awakening is the realization that this life that we believe is so real and so unchanging is but a dream.  It is the realization that one is not one's body, nor mind, nor circumstances.  It is the realization of what has always been here, and what has never left.  It is a great mystery, beyond description...there is no proof for it, no sign or pathway to it....it is found only right here, right now. 
I may stick out my finger and say there it is, but I will fail....
You may have an experience and say here it is, but you'll lose it....
Spiritual awakening is a moment to moment recognition of the impermanence of all things, the transitory nature of oneself, and the ever present aliveness in the Heart of all beings.

Spiritual awakening is a great paradox, because it happens--and yet it is Here all along.  It must be fought for, strived for....but it is already naturally one's own nature.
Waking up is not about living as any other human being has lived, not Buddha, not Christ.  It is about living as you, just ordinary, simple you.
It is the discovery of the untouched, incorruptible nature of your Self, and the death of everything that you have believed you were.  It is the death of a past and death of a future. 
It is you, It is Here, Now.
What else could you want?

Meditation

Meditation is the discovery of Self.  We sit down to meditate and what we first come in contact with is the huge momentum of everything that we think we are.  This means everything from thoughts and feeling that we had as children up to who we think we are in the present.  But, these thoughts and feelings are always shifting, changing and dying.  Our image of ourselves, and all that we imagine when we say "me" is what immediately arises when we sit down, close our eyes and do this thing called meditate.
Meditation has nothing to do with quieting the mind or stopping thinking, this is the misconception that many people have.  Meditation is about discovery what is presnt regardless of thought.  It is about finding what those thoughts and feelings occur within...what is it that experiences "my" experiences?
To become aware of thought can be very useful, just as becoming aware of emotion can be useful, but if we never stop to find out WHO these thoughts and emotions belong to then we never really get to the core of the matter.
To get to the core of the matter we must begin to be interested in finding out "what is my self"  what am I referring to when I say "I".  Is it just this bag of bones?  Is it my thoughts? Is it how I feel?
These are the questions that our meditation can be an alive investigation into.
Meditation is about discovering that there is no separate self, and to see that all the thoughts and feeling have pointed to an imagination... and in discovering your life imagining, one can find out who one truly is.
We can't talk about what you find there.
That discovery is meditation Itself.

True Support

We can really be a true support for one another when we've given up feeding each other's stories.  When we are supporting the wholeness of one another, and not the division-the division of separate me's and you's with our own life dramas. I cannot support you and at the same time try to change you.
If anything, we support each other to see our own wholeness and that of all beings.  I cannot advise you, or teach you your own wholeness but I can encourage you to discover it for yourself. In that sense we cannot help one another, because we are That which needs no help.  We are the answer before any question arises. 
So I have a very deep trust that not only is the answer within you, but that you can experience even the deepest pains, failures, and grief and remain completely unscathed.  So I will encourage you to fail, to experience your pain directly so that you can see that you are untouched by it all.
You are the indestructible Oneness of all things, what could harm you?
It is only after we have been willing to plunge into the heart of despair that we can discover the true nature of one's Self.  That is our true support to one another, the deep trust and invitation to that realization.  Forever, we expand Self into Self, all separation being seen as illusory.  True support is recognizing the wholeness of each other, not settling for the illusion.

Pleasure and Spaciousness

So many of the people I talk with really believe that they want spiritual awakening, and with a little looking find out that what they're really after is pleasure. We think we want Truth, but what we usually want is to feel better. Which is perfectly normal. However, what I often see is that as soon as one feels better, the desire for Truth (or awakening) suddenly seems unimportant.
It is important that we strive to feel better, but mistaking the desire for spiritual awakening for pleasure is like mistaking a band aid for total health.
Pleasure is great, I encourage it...but to believe that pleasure, or feeling good, will last in the long run is to invite yourself over and over into suffering.
The happiness or fulfillment of awakening is much more like spaciousness. In open space there is a sense of clarity, openness, freedom, and of non-changing.
So let's be very very clear about what it is that we're after...
Do we just want one more good feeling?
One more experience?
Real spaciousness and what is discovered in authentic spiritual awakening is really the end of all that. It is the end of seeking one more good anything. It is the end of the drive to find more, better, or different experiences. This is what the Buddha was talking about when he mentioned Nirvana. Nirvana means 'Extinction' not 'Heavenly Candy Store'.
When we get clear on that, then we can finally shift our focus away from 'me', and what will 'make me feel better' onto real spiritual awakening and real insight. This is the wilingness to bear pain, to bear hardship, to bear suffering without running for a dose of pleasure.
Then, one's life can be used...
And with that comes no greater satisfaction.