PAUL LENDA: “How to Maintain Awareness Even While You Are Sleeping”

“Mindfulness doesn’t have to end when you go to sleep. You eventually reach a moment when you don’t seem to be sleeping at all. Your body will still rest and rejuvenate, but your mind will remain aware.”

~Paul Lenda


You probably know how helpful, and even crucial, mindfulness is to a balanced, calm, and fulfilling life.

Far beyond just something you do while sitting in lotus position with your eyes closed, mindfulness can also be done standing, walking, and lying down. You may not even get the inner calm and visionary insight you would expect from sitting in a traditional meditation posture.

It’s not practical to sit in meditation for more than a few hours a day. What do we do then, in order to stay in conscious awareness of our thoughts? You bring that mindfulness into everything you do during your waking state: mindful eating, mindful drinking, mindful driving, and any other action we experience in our daily lives.

Great! Now you have figured out that you can have continuous conscious awareness of your thoughts in the present moment during your waking life. What will happen when you go to sleep though? You will lose conscious awareness and your subconscious will take over. It seems like all hope is lost, right?


Mindfulness doesn’t have to end when you go to sleep. Once you train yourself to maintain conscious awareness during sleep, you will only have a short period when you are in deep sleep (around 15% of the sleep cycle). Once you have developed conscious awareness, the more you train yourself, the more awake your mind feels. You eventually reach a moment when you don’t seem to be sleeping at all. Your body will still rest and rejuvenate, but your mind will remain aware.

How to Stay Mindful During Sleep

To start practicing staying mindful while asleep, start by lying down in your bed.
Close your eyes and focus on the in and out breaths right up until the moment you fall asleep.
Perform a sweep with your awareness over your entire body until you’re asleep.
As soon as you wake up, continue your simple mindfulness practices of sweeping and breathing.
Once you master this, upon waking up you will be in a state of mindfulness. You will be attentive and watchful of your thoughts as they come and go and as you go in and out of the state of total calmness, samadhi. With your conscious breathing, you will ebb and flow with the Universe itself.

What’s more, you will stop having night terrors and talking in your sleep. You will sleep and wake up peacefully without anything bothering you.

Even though you lie down in bed and go to sleep, it will be as if your mind didn’t. You will maintain alertness and attention. This is why, once you start maintaining mindfulness during sleep, you will barely ever even dream. If you do have dreams, they are exceptionally lucid, surreal, and vivid ones that don’t feel like dreams at all. Instead, they feel like significant messages or true experiences.

While you watch over your mind with conscious awareness, there doesn’t seem to be any mental processing which needs to be done that is the usual fuel for dreams. You sustain a deep presence and mindfulness within your mind.

When you wake up while being in a state of mindfulness, your mind is bright, lucid, and well-rested. You will find that you are even less irritable and bothered by whatever life may throw at you.

Since your mind stays sharp and responsive, the continuous mindfulness will allow you to examine and explore with ease. You will find it pretty easy to deal with anything that would potentially arise moment to moment.

Cultivating the Mind for Conscious Awareness

You may have previously thought that it would be impossible to have a mind at total peace and serenity while asleep. After all, dreams sometimes seem like such a mishmash of abstract symbols that create intense scenes that makes us forget we are even in those dreams (unless we are lucid while dreaming, which is a fascinating way to play with the dream world).

Once you learn to cultivate mindfulness in both waking life and during sleep, people and situations won’t disturb your peace. You will maintain your clarity of insight into all situations, no matter what they are.

If you do still find that certain situations and circumstances disturb your inner calm, that’s alright. As long as you can become aware of how you are reacting, you can take conscious control over your reactions. You can bring your awareness back to the present moment and remind yourself that whatever is happening, is impermanent and will pass.

There is a sense of empowerment when you truly realize that you have conscious control over your awareness, even in sleep. Start practicing this method every day and night and begin to notice an increase in lucidity and inner peace.




SUE MAISANO: “How To Daydream and Achieve Your Goals”


~Albert Einstein





Everybody daydreams, it is human nature.

I had a daydream 15 years ago.












How to use daydreaming to reach your goals?



1. Find a quiet space.




2. Let go of logical thinking.





3. Let go of expectations.









MATEO SOL: “12 Signs You’ve Lost Your Authenticity and Are ‘Selling Out'”

Authenticity is a big buzzword these days.

“Be more authentic,” “honor your authenticity,” “find your authentic self” — we hear these phrases scattered all over the internet and spoken about everywhere.

But what does being authentic mean? And most importantly, how can we tell when we’re being inauthentic — also known as “selling out”?

What is Authenticity?

Authenticity is the state of simply being yourself, listening to who you really are, and making decisions that align with your beliefs and values. Authenticity at its core is about deeply accepting all that is ‘you’ and honoring it above ALL else.

What is Inauthenticity (i.e. Selling Out)?

Inauthenticity, on the other hand, is about placing external things above your genuine values, needs, dreams, and artistic vision. When we ‘sell ourselves out’ we are essentially placing all of the most important parts of ourselves up for auction. Instead of making decisions based on our genuine beliefs, values, and personal style, we make decisions based on how much money, attention, fame, or acceptance we will gain from other people.

Examples of Authenticity vs. Inauthenticity

Sometimes reading examples helps to flesh out abstract concepts like authenticity. Here are a few examples taken from real life:

An artist has been contacted by a large publishing agency. They would like to mass produce her art but on the one condition that she change the titles and descriptions. Deep down, the artist knows that the titles and descriptions of her art are intrinsic to her work. She refuses the publishing agencies offer. She has made an authentic choice.

A father sees how gifted at writing his teenage son is. But instead of encouraging his son to pursue a career in writing, the father pressures his son to study business and accounting because it is the “safe” choice. The son then dutifully studies business and accounting in university. Both father and son have made inauthentic decisions.

A life coach who specializes in online mentoring wants to grow her business. In order to get more clients, she focuses solely on what is trendy and popular and writes/talks about those topics. She begins to lose touch with her original vision. She has become inauthentic.

A company is pressured by investors and shareholders to change its philosophy in order to be more “hip,” appeal to the new generation and make more profit. The company refuses to compromise their philosophy. They have made an authentic decision.

12 Signs You’ve Lost Your Authenticity and Are Selling Out

We are not perfect people. Perfection is an illusion. Therefore, it is guaranteed that at some point in your life, you will make an inauthentic decision that compromises your values, vision, or beliefs. It’s just part of being human!

Although we can’t be perfect, we can strive to be more conscious. Self-awareness and honesty are the two key qualities we need to prevent ourselves from slipping into bad choices.

If you’re concerned that you might be “selling out,” read the signs below. They will help to either confirm or challenge your feelings:

  • Your top priority is making bucket loads of money

  • You’re obsessed with getting new followers, fans or subscribers (e.g. on social media)

  • You let others make decisions for you

  • You let others dictate who you are + who you ‘should’ be

  • You follow the crowd and do what everyone else is doing

  • You always follow trends even if they don’t make sense to you

  • You reveal only what makes you look good

  • You copy other people and their style/lifestyle

  • You ignore your gut feelings and intuition

  • You wear a mask around others
    You’re scared to be vulnerable and express your true feelings, thoughts, or values (which may be unpopular)

  • You make decisions based on how much attention, fame, money or acceptance you’ll receive rather than your genuine beliefs, values, or vision

Take a few thoughtful moments to make a serious assessment of the list above. Evaluate each point with an honest heart.

How many can you relate to?

How to Stop Selling Out



~B. Brown


I want to make a clear distinction here. There is a difference between selling yourself and selling out.

Selling yourself, in business and career fields, is about highlighting your genuine strengths and gifts, and offering those to the world. Selling out, on the other hand, is about compromising your personal integrity and letting external things drive you instead of internal qualities.

Also, not everyone has the liberty of making authentic decisions — but I want to emphasize that these situations are literally survival situations. For example, if a small business owner from an impoverished country was approached by a wealthy businessman who wanted to invest in and change his company, do you think it would be smart to decline? In certain environments and situations, making choices that go against our creative vision is essential in order to survive. But if you’re blessed to live in more fortunate circumstances where you’re not literally faced with starvation or anything else equally serious, then making authentic decisions is an intelligent way to live life.

Why is being authentic intelligent? Because you are listening to your heart and nurturing your soul. Money, fame, adoration, and approval from others will quench your ego’s need for safety and control — but that only lasts for so long. Soon, you will be left with a big, empty, gaping hole inside. The true joy, inner peace, and fulfillment come when you are living your truth and putting your essence out into the world.

So how do you let your essence — your passions, perspectives, and values — guide you? Here are some ideas; many of which I have discovered across my own authenticity journey:

1. Pay attention to how the decisions you make feel physically. Do you feel uncomfortable, heavy or dark sensations? Or does your body feel light and energized? Unlike the mind, the body cannot lie. Your body is the best lie detector out there. If you are about to make a decision that does not align with your values, your body will immediately feel and express that. Pay attention to warning signs such as heaviness in the heart area, tensed muscles, lightheadedness, cold shivers, and even physical cringing. Your physical warning signs will be unique to you (and can’t all be listed here), so search for them diligently.

2. Get your priorities straight. At the end of the day, what will TRULY fulfill you? Think about this question very carefully. Will you ultimately be happy with truckloads of followers, clients, money, or a lavish lifestyle, without feeling like you’ve stayed true to yourself? Money is important, don’t get me wrong. But how much money do you actually need in order to be happy and feel fulfilled? You might also like to explore what your main driving forces are: are you driven by power, success, fame, wealth or your individual and unique style, talents, passions, visions, and desires to make an impact? Focus on nailing down your main motivating force and ask yourself, “Is this healthy? Is this aligned with who I truly am?”

3. Explore inauthentic areas in your life. Intentionally carve out time and space to assess your life – that might even mean just sitting here as you’re reading this article and doing a bit of quiet reflecting. Think about areas in your life that you’re unhappy with. Have you lost your authentic voice in that area … or is the issue something else altogether? This process takes honesty. Write down every choice, commitment, and behavior that feels out of alignment with your deepest passions, perspectives, and values.

4. Make the hard choices. Once you’ve identified the inauthentic areas of your life, it’s time to act. You will need to carve out a plan — possibly multiple plans — to regain a sense of personal integrity. Ask yourself questions such as, “What must absolutely go and what can stay?” “What is true to me and what is false?” “What options do I have?” “What is the potential loss and gain in this situation?” “What is the best scenario and worst scenario?” “What is my plan A and plan B?” “What am I clinging to for dear life?” Use a tool like journaling to help you get out your thoughts, feelings, and plans in a coherent, organized, and structured way.

5. Integrate the experience with self-compassion. Once you have made the necessary change, it’s time for reflection. How did it feel to make such big (or small) changes? What parts of you felt threatened? What did you find it easy to let go of and difficult to surrender? How does it feel to walk your own genuine path? How can you avoid making inauthentic decisions in the future? These are all the kind of vital questions you’ll benefit from asking and exploring. Most importantly, integration is about accepting our humanness and all the frailty that comes along with it. Embrace your mistakes, forgive yourself, and let your hard-earned lessons make you stronger and wiser.

In this loud, confusing, and overwhelming world, it can be easy to slip into the role of selling out your integrity and authenticity to gain power, fame, or money. We are bombarded with messages from the media, social media, our colleagues, and even our friends and family members to be anything other than what we are. But in order to live fulfilled and soul-driven lives, we need to put a firm foot down. We need to learn when to say “no” and forcefully draw the line and protect our integrity.

I hope this article has inspired you to preserve your artistic vision, inner values, or deeply held passions. What makes life beautiful is how unique and varied it is. I hope you share your own unique flavor of authenticity with the world!

What is your experience with selling out? Do you have any tips to share surrounding integrity and authenticity?

Finally, I’ll leave you with a final quote. Tell me in the comments, do you agree or disagree with this statement below?


~Andre Gide





.   .   .








1. The right intentions.



2. A clear list of your dreams and intentions.




3. A vision board.





4. An accountability partner.





5. A visualization practice.




Remember, what you focus on, expands.



JAMES HALLAHAN: “Dream Manipulation”


























