P. T. Mistlberger - Rude Awakening

Winchester, UK

Washington, USA

First published by O-Books, 2011

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Text copyright: P.T. Mistlberger 2010

ISBN: 978-1-84694-609-7

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publishers.

The rights of P.T. Mistlberger as author have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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The image on the cover is of the 5th century CE Buddhist monk Bodhidharma, traditionally held to be the founder of Zen in China. The rendering shown was made by the fierce 18th century Japanese Zen master and calligrapher Hakuin. Bodhidharmas eyes appear wide and wild because according to legend he became so fed up with his drowsiness in meditation that he tore off his eyelids to ensure that he would never fall asleep again. Bodhidharma is the ultimate symbol of the resolute determination to stay awake no matter what, even in the face of the most challenging onslaughts of the mind, the trickiest traps of the spiritual path, and the most difficult hardships of life.

Better not start on the spiritual path.

But if you start, you had better finish.

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Spiritual Awakening is Harder than You Thought (Which Only Makes It More Valuable)

Mark Antony: They say Im a coward. What say you?

Lucius Vorenus: Youre no coward. But you have a sickness in your soul.

Mark Antony: How do you know?

Lucius Vorenus: Because I have the same sickness.

From the HBO series Rome

The idea that the human race has a sickness of the soul, hard to dispute for anyone who studies history or looks at a daily newspaper, lies at the basis of all spiritual teachings (and their fossilized remnants, organized religion). There is a cure for this sickness what has traditionally been known in the worlds wisdom traditions as a path leading to self-realization or awakening or enlightenment but for some strange reason, it is almost never approached, let alone walked, and is still a barely known quantity in mainstream society.

The major theme of this book is that to the extent that the path of awakening is known, it is not well understood, and has been cheapened by endless side-paths, instant approaches, and half-baked alternatives that do not lead to any appreciable transformation. Further, even among those who find out about this cure to the sickness of the soul and set about trying to achieve it, they mostly fail. That is the hard truth for any who look closely and honestly into the matter. There are many, many reasons for this. The book you hold in your hands is dedicated to examining these reasons with a sharp, unflinching, and uncompromising light.

In the main this is not a polite, politically correct, or feel-good book. It is not intended for those looking for a light read, something with which to idle away time on an airplane or as a distraction or escape from life-issues. The book is intended for sincere or longtime spiritual seekers. It may be especially helpful for mature adults who have come to realize that the whole journey of life and in particular, the inner journey of awakening has turned out to be much tougher than they thought it might be. An alternative title for this book could be Falling Off the Wagon , because the hard truth is that most spiritual seekers sooner or later fall off the wagon that is, they return to negative habits and other pointless, useless, and self-destructive ways.

That said, this book can also be read with benefit by newcomers to the search for higher truth, regardless of age, because the sooner we become aware of the hard truths of the inner journey and face them, the better.

The basic premise herein is that authentic personal transformation or spiritual awakening, while possible, is in fact very rare. We live during a time when teachings concerned with personal growth or spiritual development are widely available so much so, that most have been diluted, watered down into a palatable form that is easier to digest. The general result of this more superficial, feel-good approach is, I argue, ineffectual inner work that, for the most part, does not result in significant or lasting changes for the one using it, either inwardly or outwardly. It has the effect of cheapening the whole idea of awakening or enlightenment, reducing it to the impact of a fad, trend, or the latest diet to try.

A second premise implicit here is that the majority of books dealing with the matter of spiritual realization are written in such a way that many problem areas are glossed over. Most teachings and writings on transformation are very polite and the focus tends to be on the positive Do this to get that rather than looking at the blocks that are in the way of genuine inner or outer change.

To cite but two examples: firstly, books on meditation generally provide basic 101-type instruction, along with mention of the benefits that arise from such practice, but rarely do they delve into (to any significant degree) the resistance typically thrown up by the mind as we encounter blocks to further and deeper practice; or more specifically, what to do when the unconscious part of the mind ejects difficult material, as sustained meditation practice will often cause it to do. And secondly, manifestation techniques teaching us how to bring our desires into tangible reality how to get more things have flooded the market in the past few decades. While many of these books present valid teachings, few of them take a hard, deep look at the reasons why these manifestation techniques often fail . For every success story cited in such books, many more failures are not.

Of course, the methods, whether of meditation or manifestation, are not the problem; the problem is the nature of our mind, and its remarkable ability to sabotage efforts of inner work whether these efforts are intended to manifest outer changes, or to break through into deep personal awakening.

This book takes a close look at the ways we sabotage our growth and awakening, and in particular, how we fall off the main road to enlightenment (or fail to understand what this road means), settling for more comfortable or consoling side routes. Many of the myths, fallacies, and fairy tales of the spiritual path are unapologetically uncovered and deconstructed. Although some who read this book may be heartened or even consoled, others may have their buttons pushed. The book is not meant to give one the warm fuzzies; it is intended rather to function as an alarm clock.

Some may also see an irony or underlying humor within these pages, and that would be correct. As we all know, seen from a certain perspective life can appear absurd and deeply funny, and the spiritual path all the more so. There is a reason why psycho-spiritual practices (of all types) are often fodder for comedians and make for easy parody. There is indeed something ridiculous about the very effort to change ourselves; and the fact that so many gurus and teachers (to say nothing of religious authorities or clergy or academic educators) have been humbled via endless scandals has only added to the doubt and cynicism with which much of the public views the matter of personal growth or enlightenment.