Culture of awakening.

I grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The culture of Green Bay revolves around the Packers. The front page of the Green Bay Press Gazette (which I diligently delivered as a teenager) always talks about the Packers. The community wears Packers gear, talks about the Packers, and responds to how the Packers are doing.

If you don't value the Packer culture, you also don't quite fit in. That doesn't make you bad. The community doesn't reject you, but at some point or another you just move along.

Culture has values. It shapes beliefs and actions. Culture can shift our posture, the way we sit and the way we greet each other. Without having to be spoken, culture says, "This is what we do around here."

Stephen Batchelor coined the phrase culture of awakening. I haven't read any of Stephen's work, but this notion that we do impacts and shapes others is powerful.

The Buddha taught that our intentions and actions shape the world. Our individual thoughts and actions impact our life. When we form communities with others who share our values, we create a culture. Others interact with that culture. They see what people value, how they interact, and what they do.

The culture becomes a contact point for change.

The change that a culture brings isn't always about making a quick impact. It is often more like a resonance or a vibration, something that can be felt minutely at first, but later can shape entire landscapes and tear down walls. 

A culture of awakening isn't about forcing you awake. It is like whispering in your ear, "It's time to get up."