Answer: You don't! And here's why: "you" are not the one who is actually waking up! Awakening is a completely spontaneous process through which the ideas about ourselves fall away. When we experience reality, there tends to be a lot of thinking involved. We take what we see, analyze and interpret it, and then call our interpretation of what we see the truth. Essentially, what each of us calls reality is a collection of ideas that we tell ourselves about reality. We have made most of it up. We have drawn a bunch of conclusions about what we think the world is like based on our life's experience of it, and hold these conclusions to be true. However, when we hold these ideas to be true, they serve as filters that distort our perception of reality. Instead of seeing things as they truly are, we see things according to our interpretation.
One of the most influential of these ideas that we tell ourselves is the idea of a personal "me". This is the ego - the collection of stories that answer the question "Who am I?". We think of ourselves as being separate, individual beings that navigate the world, yet any true awakening experience shows that this isn't true. In moments of enlightenment, when reality is seen for what it really is, there is always an absence of self. The personal "me" and all the ideas associated with it are removed, taking the filters that distort our perception with it, and reality is perceived as being what it really is: One. There is no separation between subject and object; both the perceiver and what is being perceived are recognized as being connected in such a way so that they are actually the same thing. There is only one being. From this way of perception, one can see that reality is this One Being experiencing itself. There may be an infinite number of viewpoints from within this One Being, and your experience is one of these viewpoints, but it is still One. This does not mean that there is one being that is surrounded by nothingness, or one being that is separate from everything else. In fact, nothingness and the One are the same thing.
This is why "you" cannot actually do anything to awaken, because "you" are not actually there. In moments of awakening, "you" do not exist. The ego has no part in awakening, because the ego is what is awoken from. The egoic state of consciousness - full of thoughts and ideas and beliefs and identities - is completely shed, and what is left is the recognition of Oneness. This One Being (a.k.a. God/Spirit/Love/Source/Dao/Self/Buddhamind/enlightenment/awakeness/consciousness/Reality) realizes that everything actually is One, and the previously experienced sense of separation is only an illusion.
We cannot ego our way into Enlightenment because as long as we are trying to manipulate our experience, we are saying "I need this set of conditions to be Enlightened", forgetting that enlightenment is the natural state of things; everything is already One, whether you are experiencing things that way or not. When you are directing experience in order to meet a condition, you can be sure that in some way you are turning to thought as a source of truth. You have an idea about what circumstances must be necessary for enlightenment, and are then trying to make those circumstances manifest. But this is just more thought, more ego! Thoughts can never actually be true; Truth lies in the things the thoughts represent. Even these words are not true in of themselves. No word, concept, or thought can ever bring a person to enlightenment, as Who You Are is outside the realm of the mind. This is why awakening must entail a dropping of beliefs, because beliefs reside in the mind, which is the source of our sense of separation.
Although awakening is a spontaneous event and you cannot truly make yourself wake up, you can bring about the conditions that favor awakening. The most common and probably most effective tool that can be used for awakening, spiritual development, and life in general is meditation. Meditation is a practice that has the by-product of stilling and settling the mind, allowing the constant stream of thoughts to slow down. When this happens, we are able to rest in the gaps of silence between thoughts. These gaps create the space for awakening to occur. This is why many people have insights during meditation; with a still mind, they are able to see through all the false beliefs that were distorting their perception of a situation, and are now able to see it with a clearer mind. Meditation alone, however, does not guarantee Enlightenment. Even if a person reaches a meditative state in which their is no thought, if there is still a separation between the meditator and what he or she is experiencing, there is still ego. In order for this ego to further dissolve, one must practice another importance to awakening: acceptance.
True acceptance entails not resisting whatever one is experiencing. Whenever we are resisting the present moment and attempting to manipulate our situation, we are acting from ego. Resistance implies a belief that the current situation isn't good enough, so there is a need to change the experience to something that is "better". Again - all of these ideas lie in the mind. This is why it can be very beneficial to remember the Daoist phrase "Go with the flow." When we go with the flow, we accept the circumstances we are given and harmonize with it, instead of resisting it and trying to change it. The more we go with the flow, the less we are acting from our ego-based identity, and Who You Are is able to manifest itself more easily.
Other general tips for improving the conditions for an awakening experience include practicing love, compassion, and forgiveness; attempting to see things from other people's points of view; engaging in activities that require that one be immersed in the moment, such as competitive sports, playing a musical instrument - any activity, really, as pretty much all activities can be performed in a mindful, conscientious way.
But really. Meditate.
Namaste,
Justin
beautiful! :]
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