Awake

A state of alert consciousness with an infinite range of development. An awakened consciousness directly perceives (at its level) reality; that is, it is receptive to seeing what is there. It is not projecting dreams, fantasies, thoughts, or ideas. An awakened consciousness is here and now, seeing what is. With development and expansion, the awakened consciousness can see other dimensions, beyond the limits of the physical dimension.

"When the Buddha started to wander around India shortly after his enlightenment, he encountered several men who recognized him to be a very extraordinary being. They asked him: "Are you a god?" "No," he replied. "Are you a reincarnation of god?" "No," he replied."Are you a wizard, then?" "No." "Well, are you a man?" "No." "So what are you?" They asked, being very perplexed. Buddha simply replied: "I am awake."

"Indeed, to find in life an awakened, self-cognizant person is a great oddity, since people’s consciousness usually dreams when their physical body sleeps, and likewise it dreams when their physical body is awake. Yes, people drive cars with dreaming consciousness, they work with dreaming consciousness, walk in the streets with dreaming consciousness, live all the time with dreaming consciousness. This is why it is very natural for a professor to forget his umbrella, or to leave a book or wallet unnoticed in his car. All of this happens because the professor has his consciousness asleep; thus, he dreams... It is very difficult for people to recognize that they are asleep, since the entire world believes themselves to be awake. Nevertheless, if someone was to recognize that his consciousness is asleep, it is obvious that he would begin to awaken from that very moment. [...] In life, the consciousness of the human being is hardly awake; when this does awaken, it is only for a brief moment, i.e. in cases of infinite terror, the human being momentarily sees himself in an integral form. These moments are unforgettable. It is very difficult for a person who returns home after having traveled through an entire city to remember in detail all his thoughts, incidents, people, things, ideas, etc. On trying to remember, the person will find huge gaps in his memory; these gaps correspond precisely to the most profound sleepy states of his consciousness. Some students of psychology have set out to live from moment to moment with their consciousness in an alert state, nevertheless, suddenly their awareness falls asleep, perhaps on meeting a friend in the street, or when entering into a store in order to buy something, etc., thus, hours later, when they remember their decision to live from moment to moment with their consciousness in an alert and awake state, they realize that their awareness started to fall asleep when they entered into such and such a place, or when they met such and such a person. To become self-cognizant is something very difficult, however, one can reach this state by learning how to be alert and vigilant from moment to moment. If we want to attain self-cognizance, we need to know ourselves in an integral manner." - Samael Aun Weor, Fundamentals of Gnostic Education