In the truth seeking community, the metaphor of ‘waking up’ is widely used to describe people who are becoming clued up, wiser, better informed, or in some way more aware. It is often used in connection with the idea that there is some kind of mass awakening going on, and implicitly, everything will be OK. But is it really a helpful metaphor? And if not, why not?

“Woke” is a related term used to denote social awareness (LGBT and Black Live Matter etc). It’s a mainstream and  ultimately meaningless term referring to those jumping aboard the latest alleged social awareness band wagon in the mainstream narrative. There is also the idea of spiritual awakening that is also implying an increase in awareness

The metaphor of “Waking Up”

When we use this metaphor it implies that someone has become (or is becoming) more aware. But what are the deeper implications of likening an increase in conscious awareness to the literal action of waking up?

The metaphor illustrates the transition from a state of complete unawareness to a state of awareness, comparing it to leaving the dream world and emerging into reality. It’s often used with an implication is that everything will be OK. Because people are waking up so the nightmare will end! We will be free, etc. etc.

It means that someone has achieved a significant increase in awareness or knowledge of reality, as indeed  they do when moving from unconscious to conscious emerging from sleep. What is really going on is that they have gained some new insight(s) that has been integrated into the sum of their existing knowledge and given them a new, more complete mental map of reality. There is always the possibility, of course, of a pretense or claim to knowledge that is really only jumping aboard an alternative band wagon, or that the information they have assimilated is not true.

But we must be careful likening the simple action of moving out of the sleep state, with the complex deliberate ongoing process of thought required for gaining the conceptual knowledge that distinguishes the new condition of increased awareness from the previous condition of less awareness.

The point I want to make is that this metaphor of waking up, particularly when extended to some kind of “mass awakening”, is unhelpful at best, and I would say counterproductive. And here’s why.

Counter productive

* It fosters an incorrect understanding of what is really happening when someone is becoming more aware.

* It undermines and dis-values the huge effort required and the considerable achievement of gaining knowledge and engaging in the process of learning.

* It’s a dead end that goes nowhere. The metaphor stops you in your tracks. Yes, there is a massive increase in awareness in moving from the sleep state to wakefulness. But it doesn’t go anywhere from there. It reaches the starting gate and goes nowhere. The process of gaining knowledge on the other hand is endlessly informing appropriate action.

* Call to inaction. By effectively over-congratulating the simple achievement of consciousness in wakefulness the metaphor implicitly turns the mere staring point of gaining knowledge (being awake) into an end game. Result! I’ve done it, I’m awake. Hence, the ‘waking up’ metaphor carries with it an implicit call to inaction.

Remember this call to inaction is implicit, unspoken, taken as read, an idea slipped into your mind without you noticing. But it makes it into your subconscious all the same. You may not know why, or be able to express your indifference to taking action, but it will be there, programmed into your mental operating system.

Can you explain your conclusions?

With any claim, the proof that it is genuine knowledge is in the logical explanation. If someone can’t explain why their claim is true then it is only a belief and cannot be cons...