When we wake up from our sleep we then realize that what we assumed was real was just a dream.

In the dream state every event that happened seemed real and true. Notably, due to this assumption, we experienced various emotions. We may be feeling miserable in a dream and simply by being awake and aware we see that all our misery ended. What if the dream was a beautiful one? Likewise, as we wake up we realize that was also not true.

This is the biggest gift of Wakefulness – a realization that we are responsible for creating our own realities, everyday.

However,most of us choose to lead a very mechanical life. We blindly follow the crowd, the trends and the ideals set by the society. We unconsciously tend to follow the rat race and create false beliefs, ideas and goals in life, assuming that this will lead to happiness in life.

There is a huge knowing and doing gap among us. Knowing brings clarity and creates possibilities to understand yourself better. And better knowing leads to better doing. Wakefulness can bridge this gap between knowing and doing and thereby not only create a more wakeful individual but a more wakeful society. 

It is only when a truly awaken master comes and jolts us from within that we realize that we are just awake, though not truly wakeful. As Osho says "" Wakefulness is the only saintliness there is,and sleepiness ,unconsciousness ,is the only sin there is;all other sins are born out of it.Cut the root, cut the very root! Don't go on pruning the leaves."

Benefits of Wakefulness -

Awakening leadership consciousness-

Leaders have led their organization to exponential growth, but that has always been preceded by their own exponential growth. A famous business tycoon of India got academically qualified from one of the best business schools of the World and started the business with zeal ,vigor and focus in 1982. His business suffered a lot of crisis till 2002 and he had run out of money. In 2002 this leader  transformed himself and first focused on meditation and wakefulness practices and the miracle happened thereafter.

In 2008 when the financial crisis was worst worldwide his business really started going great guns. In 2012 they redefined their credo and that changed the entire focus of business in the  eyes of people across the world and in terms of global business.Despite all challenges people wanted to be with the company.Then he chose the leaders who were half transformed and worked on them and together they set a great example of awakening leadership consciousness and impact it can bring to any organization.

When the leader of the organization is more wakeful, he starts seeing things more deeply and hence starts living life moment to moment, with no clinging to the past or unnecessary worries for the future.

This leads to deeper understanding of self, better focus and increased business wisdom. The quality and efficiency of work increases and one is able to take quick and correct decisions which leads to increased productivity in the organization. Awakening leadership consciousness is an outcome of an awakened leader who is more mindful and wakeful. Consequently, the colleagues, peers, and employees are in a state of better sync with a deeper harmony at the workplace.

Diagnosing the problems and finding solutions:

Business which was started by the father from  nothing.He grew the business but was backstabbed by his own people.Then the son took over and he started to practice wakefulness  as a  problem solving technique. Every morning ,he would sit in his room for an hour and deal with the most important problem he was facing a day before .He tried to resolve that problem by being on his own for an hour and thereafter he had his head and mind clear and he was ready to go.Due to his inner resilience he saved the company and the family from absolute disaster, such is the power of mindfulness and awake fulness.

Our mind usually tends to create fixed patterns and habits. This leads to limited thinking due to which we can't think beyond our comfort zone. When leaders are more wakeful, they connect to their inner self. A self which is the source of infinite possibilities and unlimited thinking. During this wakeful state, they are able to pinpoint the exact problem areas,question why it's happening and are able to find the solutions .

Out of the box creativity:

When leaders work on their inner self and listen to their inner voice , they start thinking originally, individually and creatively with a fresh and new perspective. When they are not prejudiced and conditioned according to the way of thinking of the masses, they come up with more original, creative and out of the box ideas and visions. This makes the leaders and the organization unique and stand out of the crowd.

Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and the Beatles, these are few famous personalities who travelled to different parts of the world and found their vision and new possibilities. They were ready to break the boundaries and create something beautiful .Coming to remote parts of India and spending time alone  in meditation and wakefulness ,they found clarity and answers as they got connected deeply with themselves.

And suddenly the whole creativity unleashed which brought about the Out of the Box thinking which was unparalleled in different zones like music and different contexts and different parts of business ideas.They created possibilities and created history

Health benefits with Scientific evidence:

According to neuroscience research,there were various findings in the people who practiced mindfulness and wakefulness.The amygdala , the fight or flight part of the brain which is important for anxiety, fear and stress in general. That area got smaller in the group that went through the mindfulness-based stress reduction program.As a result, their emotions were regulated and they released more Happy hormones which has anti-Ageing effects.Meditation is associated with a greater impact on telomere biology and may increase telomere length.Wakefulness helps in boosting our immunity,making us less vulnerable to catch infections and enabling us to deal with it.It helps in improving our overall health by improving our heart health,controlling Blood pressure,chronic diseases,Insomnia,behavioural and psychosomatic disorders,etcThe stress, anxiety and depression levels are reduced significantly.

Tools and techniques to practice wakefulness:

Wakefulness Scan

Sit or lie down with eyes closed and observe the inhalation and exhalation of breath.

Start scanning your body from toes to the shins up to the knees and further moving up through each joint and all parts of the body till the top of the head. During this process,focus on your breath and observe your thoughts being fully aware yet detached.

PRB technique

This is a very quick and effective technique which can be practiced even at the workplace. 

P-Pause

R-Reflect

B-Breath

When our mind is overburdened, we drain energy out and the work efficiency reduces tremendously.

This technique is a quick and easy way to charge yourself up. First take a pause,sit in a calm posture and reflect on the given situation and ask yourself questions regarding what are you doing, what are the problem areas, how it can be solved,etc and listen to your inner voice. And finally breathe out all your stress, worries and anxieties releasing all the negative emotions and toxins.As we relax and alter our breathing pattern,our mind and body will automatically calm down, which will be a rejuvenating experience.

Acceptance is the key

Any situation which has created pain, hurt,grief or stress in our life,is to accept it first. Till the time we try to run away or escape our negative situations or emotions, we will just be suffering endlessly. Wakefulness helps us in accepting and acknowledging a given situation, to understand it more deeply and clearly .Once we experience it mindfully ,new ways open up to deal with it and we can understand what can be done to make the situation better and finding effective and right solutions.

 Wakefulness works at all levels- spiritual, emotional ,mental and physical. Once we are wakeful of our thoughts and emotions, we are  wakeful of our action. This leads to our overall self growth and well-being. When we transform ourselves as an individual, we resonate positive vibrations and pass on positivity in our surroundings as well as society.

 Meditation and other Mindfulness and Wakefulness techniques when passed kn to us by am awakened Master is when the possibility of transforming by being awake increases multifold

It is indeed a journey and one that alone has the power to move us from inner confusion to clarity to abundance and success in what we do. This is the Midas' touch.