Table of Contents
Foreword Eckhart Tolle ix
Introduction 1
1 Falling Asleep, Longing to Awaken 13
2 Wakefulness in Different Cultures 25
3 Natural Wakefulness: Awakened Artists 43
4 Natural Wakefulness: Confusion and Integration 61
5 Gradual Awakening in Spiritual Traditions 75
6 Gradual Awakening outside Spiritual Traditions 89
7 Sudden Awakening: Transformation through Turmoil 105
8 Sudden Awakening: Kundalini and Energetic Awakening 129
9 Other Types of Sudden Awakening: Is It Possible to Awaken through Psychedelics or Technology? 141
10 The Aftermath of Awakening: Spiritual Crisis 157
11 After the Storm: Lingering Traits and Questionable Teachers 175
12 What It Means to Be Awake: A New World and a New Self 183
13 What It Means to Be Awake: A New Mind and a New Life 199
14 The Natural Wakefulness of Children 219
15 Demythologizing Wakefulness 235
16 The Evolutionary Leap: A Collective Awakening 251
The Human Race Will Rise Again 269
Acknowledgments 271
Appendix: An Inventory of Spiritual/Secular Wakefulness 273
Notes 275
Bibliography 287
Resources 293
Index 295
About the Author 305