We live in a time where our appearance is responsible for how people view our authenticity, how we view ourselves,  and how we function within society.

Where spending more time and focus on your appearance, at the expense of other aspects of self and personality; is a normal occurrence.  Where our value is based on the likes we receive on the internet, where adolescence are failing to engage in the classroom due to fearing attention for how they look.

It is the norm to experience the objectification of women and even men as we have become conditioned by the way we view our self vs. how we actually look.

Credit: Zazzle.com

By Wes Annac, The Culture of Awareness

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how the choices we make can affect our lives for better or worse.

There’s a force on this planet that wants us to make choices that keep us unhealthy and unaware of the spiritual realities that exist just beyond our conscious perception, and the last thing this force wants is for us to become conscious.

Awareness is the last thing the ‘powers that be’ want for humanity, and they want us to be lazy consumers who don’t know enough not to sit on our couches, watch TV and eat bad food all day long (when we aren’t slaving away at a dead end job that benefits them).

By Simon Vorster

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

An incredible time of our collective evolution is about to come to into culmination. The after-effects of the 7th Pluto Uranus Square planetary alignment will bring to humanity a state of awareness that will create a shift in perspective of a magnitude that has never been experienced in our recorded history. In this article I would like to share with you some personal insight into this alignment, its history, and where I believe we all, as a collective consciousness, will be heading.

The first of the seven Pluto Square Uranus alignments took place in 2012 and since then have progressively reflected to us the lifting veils of our perception of reality – the ongoing shifting of our collective consciousness. Now, as the 7th and final Pluto Uranus Square takes place for us on the 16th of March 2015, these two planets will be making their final tension angle with each other at 15’17” of Capricorn/Aries. To gain some perspective into this very powerful and important alignment I would like to start sharing with you the point of origin and what it meant for us.

Alex Pietrowski, Staff Writer
Waking Times

The human mind easily adapts and conforms to ideas, behaviors and the environment around it, often as a means of fitting in and surviving. Most people are content to follow along with what others are doing, even if it transforms them to the point that they do not recognize themselves. Over time, one’s convictions morph to what is widely acceptable in society, destructive acts are deemed constructive and necessary, succumbing to authority is considered necessary, and blurring the lines of morality becomes the norm.

Once the mind is programmed, it often runs on autopilot...

Living in a working world where we are constantly distracted by stimulus and technology,  we have become vastly disconnected from our roots.  A deep connection with nature can have profound effects mentally, spiritually and physically— most of which we are missing out on.  Here are 6 things you can do to develop a deeper connection with nature:

1)  Sleep Outside

How often do we breath the fresh air and hear the sound of the wind whispering through the trees as we drift off to sleep?  Not often.  The norm for us today is to sleep in a room full of dust, stale air, wires and electronics.  We are so accustomed to sleeping in what is essentially a toxic box that we have forgotten what it would be like to sleep outside in the crisp, fresh air of the outdoors— surrounded by life.

By John Holland

Your body has a way of sending you signals using its own intuitive language. Whether it’s a gut response, a physical sensation, an emotion, or even a dream – your body is talking to you!

We generally don’t pay enough attention to it or heed the signals until something goes wrong. If you hear a ping, rattle, or whine in your car, hopefully you’ll be straight down to the nearest garage without hesitation, so all I am saying is to treat your body with the same respect. During the process of spiritual development, don’t push those physical sensations or your feelings away. Embrace them and listen to them. Often through meditation, you’ll be able to find the answer to what your body is trying to say – so just ask. You may not get anything at first, but it’s worth persevering, as it really does get easier with practice.