Welcome to the May Edition of 'Your Monthly Wake Up Call'. Welcome to Issue 18 of Wake Up Calls. That's 18 Months of Waking Up the World, one sleeper at a time. In this issue: 1. 3 reasons why I'm so passionate about this 'wake up' thing. 2. This months practice: Holding Your Tongue 3. A tentative table of contents for my 'fourth'-coming book. 4. A view from the trenches: Is It Time For You To Get Serious? An Invitation To The Path of Understanding So with no further adieu, let's rock! 1. 3 Reasons why I'm so passionate about this 'wake up' thing. I am occasionally asked why I talk about Attention Training and Awakened Attention with such passion and provocation. After a little thought, I came up with 3 main reasons why. Reason 1: It is the single, simplest and most obvious skill that can make the most dramatic improvement in personal, interpersonal and professional functioning. Reason 2: My own persistent efforts in 'waking up' has lead to riches beyond money and joy beyond cause. I know this to be true and feel deeply compelled to share this vision. Reason 3: The world is a bloody mess and human beings are destroying everything like thoughtless children. It angers me, so rather than just moving into the forest and living apart from society, I will try to make a difference. 2. This months practice: Holding Your Tongue The practice of 'Holding Your Tongue' involves entering a situation with the intention to remain awake, alert and aware enough to NOT SPEAK, unless you absolutely have to. Holding Your Tongue means you are so awake that you will not impulsively talk or contribute your opinion with unawareness. This practice is VERY valuable for those situations where you may find yourself in an emotional discussion, and where those around you are possibly tossing out opinions randomly and automatically. It's also valuable for those heated discussions with your intimate partner. It saves allot of woe and regret that is often caused by uncontrolled loose lips. 3. A tentative table of contents for my 'fourth'-coming book. Here is the table of contents for my fourth book, entitled: The Age of Attention Training A Manual Outlining The Countless Benefits Of Unshakeable Attention. Part 1 What is Attention Training? The History of Attention Training Formal and Informal Practice The Preliminaries Three Basic Types of Attention Training A Spectrum of Benefits Part 2 One Pointedness and The Joy of Absorption Mindfulness and Skillful Functioning Insight and The Unfolding of Experience Open-Heartedness and Healing Our Patterns 4. A view from the trenches: Is It Time For You To Get Serious? An Invitation To The Path of Understanding I've now lived long enough, suffered enough, survived enough adventures, and helped enough other clueless people get a clue or, 'understand'... that I can safely say everyone has a handful of moments in their life that shape who they are and how their life will unfold. Most of my own life-changing moments involved some sort of crisis or problem. People raised with a silver spoon in their yap seldom develop that fire-in-the-gut, pain induced curiosity necessary to look closely at who they are and what life is. However, .... To read more go here. That's it for now. Take care and see you soon. Gratefully, Aaron McNaught A.K.A. The Wake Up Guy