It is my belief that our collective universal purpose in life is to raise consciousness to ever higher levels. Expanding consciousness has been a concern of mystics, philosophers, and shamans for millennia. But today more “common” people are being called to this task.

There is a fairly clear distinction between people that live their lives consciously and awake and those that are “sleepwalkers.” In my own consulting practice, I have uncovered some signs that help myself and others continually seek more presence. Here are some signs that will help you gauge where you are on the Sleepwalker Scale:

#1 – Ability to Observe & Reflect

I believe that the ability to stop and observe ourselves is a major tipping point to increasing consciousness. Sleepwalkers react to situations without missing a beat. When encountering a situation, they immediately slip into well-grooved emotional patterns without giving it a thought.

Those that are awake are able to pull back and look at a relationship or situation without attachment and emotion. They can see the bigger picture in how events unfold and the interactions that got them to this place. They can see the dynamics at play. As was in the book the Celestine Prophecy, they can see the power (energy) struggle between people and once they “see” that they are in a position to think, act, and behave differently.

#2 – Taking Responsibility

Sleepwalkers experience their life as a victim. It’s because of x, y and z that they are not loved, not successful, not happy, etc. They do not see how they manifested the life they are in.

People that are awake realize they have all the control yet none of the control at the same time. They realize that they have complete control of their inner world. They take responsibility for what they do – their thoughts, actions and behavior. They also realize that external forces are completely out of their control so they don’t expend their energy trying to control others or situations. They focus their energy on how they can create contribute to the most positive outcome.

#3 – Being Present

Sleepwalkers tend to be prisoners of their past or worriers over the future. They react to situations as they always have without being fully present in the here and now. They make decisions based on fear of what will come. People that are awake consider the details of the current situation and are not encumbered by past or future experience.

#4 – Having an Open Mind

Sleepwalkers are closed-minded. They are skeptical of new ideas and follow the masses. People that are awake consider new ideas and are not afraid to appear different. They have the courage and conviction to stand by their ideas.

#5 – Being Compassionate

As a major component of all world religions, compassion is critical in reaching higher levels of consciousness. “Compassion is the response to the suffering of others that motivates a desire to help.”² Most people experience a level of compassion in their lives, but some experience it more frequently and often act on it.

#6 – Looking for Signs

Sleepwalkers experience the physical reality as the only reality. They are not aware that there is an underlying web of connection embracing everything in the universe. Awakened people recognize that web of connection and see that everything that occurs can be viewed as a sign from the universe to help guide them. Daily life has a richness that sleepwalkers do not experience.

#7 – Being Lighthearted

Sleepwalkers are entrenched in drama most of their day. Drama over minor concerns to mega concerns, they have little time to feel joy in their lives. People that are awake in their lives find joy around every corner. They laugh hard and often. (Think: Dalai Lama).

#8 – Tending Toward the Positive

Sleepwalkers are often pessimists, have low, dense vibrations and therefore they attract negative, low energy into their lives. Those awake have an optimistic 'setpoint'. It doesn’t mean your life is perfect, but it’s your general perspective on life. And this leads me to…

#9 – Viewing Challenges as Opportunities to Grow

When bad things happen to sleepwalkers they complain and blame. When bad things happen to those awake, they tend to view these challenges as opportunities to grow.

Given all this, I want to be sure that you understand that I do not mean that “awakened” people never slip back to lower-energy ways. Our consciousness is dynamic, not static. We move throughout levels during the course of every day.

We all dip into anger, frustration, and fear. We all have times of guilt, apathy, and shame. However, these episodes are temporary for those that are awake. They are more resilient and bounce back after a period of time to their current “set point.”

This is not an exhaustive list of values associated with higher consciousness. And many of these signs overlap and are contingent upon each other. This list comes from my experience and I hope that it is helpful to you.

Want more? Here is a good blog post I found on “sleepwalking” that was my inspiration: personalexcellence.co/blog/sleepwalking/