Excerpt from "What Wags the World: Tales of Conscious Awakening"

As a reviewer of books and films in the body-mind-spirit genre, I have noticed that topics seem to come in waves – the Law of Attraction, animal communication, near death experiences, after-life communication, spiritual awakening – each wave leaving ripples on the surface of global consciousness. Sometimes a book or film will have such an impact that it changes the public’s perceptions in its wake. Think of “The Power of Now” or “What the BLEEP do We Know” or “The Secret” or “Proof of Heaven”; with each of them there was a palpable advance in conscious awakening.

You can see it reflected in everything from the demand for organic food and clean air, to alternative health and spiritual choices, to political and social activism. The most important feature of conscious awakening is the dramatic expansion of our perception of who we are. When viewed through the telescope of eternity, our ethnic, social or religious identities become merely the backdrop for experiencing life in a rich variety of ways. When we observe those around us from the cosmic level, we see only fellow human beings inhabiting this big blue marble in space.

For our book, “ What Wags the World,” we interviewed credible people from all walks of life, including doctors, engineers, military officers, scientists and stockbrokers, about their stories of personal awakening. Some of their experiences were gradual, others traumatic, but they all support the notion that we are the physical manifestation and creative expression of an unlimited consciousness; that we are all connected to, and part of the eternal source of creation, or what many people would call God. We are all part of the human family, and when seen in this context, the importance of our dramas and our differences shrink dramatically.

The many different ways that all these people came to the same conclusions are fascinating as the implications of accepting their experiences as valid. If our essence, our soul continues beyond death and we do have a life review each time we pass, what would we feel about this lifetime? Have we grown? Did we leave a positive legacy? The stories suggest that there is only loving acceptance on the other side, but that we would be our own harshest critic.

If you had absolute certainty that there is life beyond this life, would that change your life? If you understood that you manifest your reality through your choices and intention, and that there are no preset limits, would that inspire you to heights you were afraid to imagine? Would you stop choosing to be a victim? Would you be prepared to accept all the goodness of the universe and act as if it is already yours?

The universe speaks to us every day in a myriad of ways. It can come as a whisper in your ear or in your dreams; it can reveal itself through the synchronicities you pass off as coincidences. It may take a cosmic 2x4 hitting you on the head to get your attention, like a life-threatening disease or accident, or a dark night of the soul. Often times we reject these experiences, and ignore the messages the universe may be trying to communicate because we don't want to be thought of as crazy or ridiculed. But sometimes these experiences are so amazing and so real that they can no longer be denied. That was the case with the people interviewed for What Wags the World, and we know without a shadow of doubt that they are the very small tip of a very large iceberg.

The consensus of these tales is that we are always supported by the universe, even if our creations cause pain, because we have free will and eventually we will learn from our experiences. As individual expressions of the creator, our essence is love and our purpose is to create and experience. As such, the field of infinite potential is our playground, and our only limits are those that we impose on ourselves through fear and lack of imagination. How exciting is that?

If you have had your own awakening experience, we invite you to share them with us and the W3 community on our website, www.whatwagstheworld.com.

Miriam Knight is the founder of New Consciousness Review and the New Consciousness Media Network, and co-founder of Luminary Voices Speakers and Performers Bureau. Connect with Miriam through www.ncreview.com.

What Wags the World: Tales of Conscious Awakening is being published by O Books, 26^th September 2014. Contributers include Bernie Siegel, Gregg Braden, and Larry Dossey and 34 others. Each contributor describes life-changing experiences that resulted in extraordinary transformation within their own life, and realizations of an interconnected and multidimensional universe. Their understanding of the world and how it works has been so profoundly changed that they feel compelled to share their story and pass on the gifts of wisdom, insight, and compassion they have gained.

ISBN: 978-1-78279-605-3 (Paperback) £8.99 $14.95

EISBN: 978-1-78279-606-0 (eBook) £6.99 $9.99