"Learning to live our daily lives with consciousness is an ongoing, ever-deepening, lifetime process. It requires that we contact our essential spiritual wisdom and integrate it into all over levels of our being-mental, emotional, and physical." - From the book

Many of us are on a journey towards consciousness, where awareness of patterns that no longer work are recognized, interrupted, and released so that we may become open to new ways of seeing, living and being in the world.

We face a myriad of challenges globally and individually, and these times require us to live more consciously. Einstein once said that you couldn't solve a problem at the level it was created, which is why awareness and personal responsibility are so important.

At the forefront of the consciousness movement for decades, author Shakti Gawain has compiled material gleaned from her lectures, books, and interviews, creating Awakening: A Daily Guide to Conscious Living. The author has organized this book around various topics and themes, and each daily entry has a heading, short message, and an affirmation or question. Designed to stimulate readers into greater awareness of their own sense of truth, some entries may challenge deeply held beliefs and provoke introspection, while others will inspire and encourage individuals on the path to greater consciousness.

Here are examples of the entries in Awakening: A Daily Guide to Conscious Living:

January 26

"Life is never trying to tell us there's something wrong with us

The universe is always trying to show us how we can be more of who we are. The painful lessons that we get inevitably show us that we are not trusting or loving ourselves, or that we are not expressing ourselves honestly or taking care of ourselves properly. In some way, we are not fully honoring our relationship with ourselves. The universe is trying to show us how we can express our power, truth, and creativity in our lives and how we can love and trust ourselves more.

I honor myself for who I am. Each day, I am becoming more and more myself."

February 29

"Waste time

For many of us, `wasting' time is the ultimate sin! If this is true for you, it can be very consciousness expanding to make yourself spend some time each week in completely meaningless activity. Choose something that is pleasurable but has no other redeeming value-read a trashy magazine, play a game, lie in bed, or whatever. Enjoy yourself and don't feel guilty.

Once in a while, I waste time in a frivolous diversion."

October 30

"Bring the light into the dark

What a lot of people do, especially people who are on any kind of spiritual path, is divide the world into light and dark. We want to live in the light, and we don't want to go into the dark. We're trying to get out of the dark and into the light. But in fact, living in the light means bringing the light into every aspect of life-including the unconscious places that have been dark.

I am bringing the light of consciousness into every aspect of myself and my life."

Awakening: A Daily Guide to Conscious Living is a fantastic resource for accessing divine wisdom and aligning with universal truths and principles. Promoting consciousness and spaciousness around self, others, and the world, Ms. Gawain shows us how to make peace with our inner critic, free the child within, cultivate awareness and trust our intuition-creating balance both within and without. I love reading the daily passages, and the gentle nudges for emerging into a more conscious life are great reminders along the way.

I came across my copy of this book while doing a cleanup. After not having looked at it for ten years I can't imagine what I ever saw in Shakti Gawain. The book is just a collection of puerile new age platitudes. If you want a book of daily readings, try 'A Deep Breath of Life' by Alan Cohen. After having attended seminars given by both people, I have a great deal of respect for Alan Cohen and would never attend another seminar given by Shakti Gawain.