Spirituality for dummies

Lets clear some common misunderstanding. Waking up is used frequently in spirituality, but what does it mean, exactly? 

I search the internet and I found a lot of sites that define the Spiritual Awakening as an awareness of higher consciousness. Some define it as personal transformation where one’s world-view shifts. For others, the spiritual awakening is the process of becoming fully conscious of our spirit, others say we find who we fundamentally are, what motivates us and why we truly desire the things we desire. But the most people take Spiritual Awakening as a realization that we are not our thoughts and emotions, by remaining in a position of "observer" only and only performing observation without any disturbance of single thought, they say, then we are spiritually awakened. 

What comes to your mind when you hear "spiritual awakening" or "enlightenment'? 

You probably picture a Buddhist monk with bold shaven head or an Indian guru with long beard and flowing robe. You might assume that the awakened state is very rare, only attainable after decades of meditation and harsh spiritual discipline, far away from the ordinary human world.

These different opinions are guessing mind-jobs, it is true, we actually do not know what "waking up" or "enlightenment" means. This is fine. Awakening is beyond mind and our reason cannot explain it. 

Attention, nothing else is truly yours

In this world you have just one single thing: attention! 

Attention is the concentration, your selection of relevant information. It is a process of filtering out irrelevant data from your environment. It is basically a process of forgetfulness of self, a focus of mental energy on a specific task, conversation, or perception, rather than being aware of self presence. Essentially, attention functions like a spotlight, making some experiences stand out and others fade into the background.

Moving your attention towards self sense, to the point of losing it in the presence, means Being and that is... the awaken state. 

What is the benefit of awakening in this world?

None whatsoever. The world you are living in and your awakening have no connecting points. The, New Age spiritual teaching states that awakening makes you feel hopeful about life and your future, is misconception.

The world goes by its own, meaningless, irrelevant, empty events flow in space forever, generating time. You have no influence over the events itself, you can only control your attitude, your mental and emotional tendencies of how you view something: a person, object, situation, issue, generally how you see an event in your particular way. Your attitudes are composed of beliefs, feelings, intentions and understanding.

Your interests, fears and desires, shape your attitudes and moves your attention creating the world for you. It is a place where you live identified with your name, identity card, your likes and dislikes. You live life as a person and that is a grievous mistake. Such life is bound to suffering. It is basically a dream, an imagination.

Deep inside you know that you, as a person, do not exist. All your attempts to prolong good health, look young and desirable are in vain. The truth is you are heading towards death and you are afraid. It is there where the awakening helps. Being, returns you to what you really are.

Enlightenment is a permanent state of Being, irrelevant of you having a physical body and mind or not. 

The awakening is much more common than you might think. It doesn't just happen to monks and mystics but also a seemingly ordinary people and even to those who don't know anything about spirituality.