1. Is my piece inspiring, informative, and/or educational?
Posts featured on Awakening Times are positive and informative. If your piece is snarky, or sarcastic, or not about living spiritualy, it’s probably not for us.
2. Has this already been covered on Awakening Times?
We feature a wide range of topics on our website. How can your piece add to what’s already there? Perhaps your submission can elaborate on one aspect that didn’t get a lot of attention!
3. What’s a great title?
Remember: our readers are busy. A good title has the potential to grab their attention and make them want to read your piece. If you’re stuck trying to create one, ask yourself: What problem does my article solve? How will reading this article make someone’s life better? How would I explain this to a friend?
4. Is my first paragraph succinct?
You only get one chance to make a first impression! Does your introductory sentence make the reader want to continue? Does your first paragraph tell the reader very clearly and succinctly what the article will be about?
5. Am I offering actionable tips?
A great piece will provide tips that they can implement easily. Here’s an example of a tip that’s actionable: Inhale, count to ten, then exhale as you count to ten again. Notice how clear and precise that is? The reader knows exactly what to do. Here’s an example of a murkier tip: Let go. Okay, sure. But how? (See the difference?)
Here are few pointers to keep in mind when writing for Awakening Times.
1. Write in your own voice.
A great post will sound like a real person wrote it, and it will have a distinctive voice. If you’re not sure what “voice” means in this context, think about it this way: how would you explain your idea to a good friend? Use that conversational tone when you write!
2. Keep it short.
These don’t need to be long posts! Just 700 words is great! If you’re going to offer tips, include a short introductory paragraph at the top of your post explaining why you’re offering this advice. Are you an expert on the topic? Did you struggle to understand the issue and want to share your knowledge?
3. Delete needless words.
Sometimes people use several words when just one will do the trick. We recommend taking one look at your piece to make sure you’re only including words that are absolutely necessary.
4. Use an authoritative voice.
It’s understood that Awakening Times posts are the opinion of the author. As the writer, you’re the expert on your own opinion! For this reason, you don’t need to use phrases like, “in my opinion,” or “I believe,” which detract from the idea you’re trying to convey.
5. Stick to plain English!
Many people who visit Awakening Times are new to yoga and wellness, so we prefer to use plain English when describing wellness terms. For example, if you’re writing about yoga, we like to explain poses this way: Downward Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana). This is also helpful to keep in mind if you’re writing about ancient forms of medicine (such as traditional Chinese medicine or Ayurveda) or using other terms that might be new to those embarking on a wellness journey.
6. Show us your sources. (We can’t emphasize this enough!)
If you mention a statistic or a study in your piece, please include a link to that source. If you’re claiming that a certain food is healthy, tell us how you know. Ideally you’d link to peer-reviewed scientific papers, academic journals, and/or credible news outlets. This way, readers can follow your line of thinking and investigate further if they want to know more.
We love personal stories, and we’re always on the lookout for great ones. Really great essays share these qualities:
1. They stay focused.
Keep the spotlight on one time in your life. If you’re writing about falling in love, don’t mention all your relationships in this essay; stick to one important time in one relationship. And keep it on the shorter side. Awakening Times essays are about 800 words long.
2. Include a perspective shift.
Great essays illuminate how you’ve changed in one area of your life. Usually this requires some growth in how you view the world, so let us see that transformation! If you begin at Point A, your essay should wind up at Point B.
3. Don’t leave us wondering about your motivations.
Your choices are what make you interesting, so let us into your thought process.
4. Be really specific.
It’s ironic, but the more specific you are about your life, the more your story will resonate with others. For example, it’s stronger to say “the first yoga class of my life, taught by Elena Brower” than “a class.”
5. Be, well … personal.
The more honest and vulnerable you can be about your struggles and victories, the more readers will be inspired by and empathetic to your story!
Please send all of the above to info@awakeningtimes.com
The Awakening Times is an independent spiritual magazine and website that explores the universal and timeless quest for life purpose, meaning and fulfillment.
From contributions by leading writers and spiritual leaders, to coverage of esoteric and spiritual history, philosophy and metaphysics, as well as regular columns on holistic health and lifestyle, this publication is the perfect companion on the journey to spiritual awakening.
Awakening Times aims to bring together sincere spiritual seekers from around the world to exchange, grow and contribute in unity. We aim to explore and present the subtleties of existence through the experiences of numerous spiritual explorers, masters and experiential spiritualists. In line with this aim, The Awakening Times team carefully selects content that provides meaningful guidance to all those who seek the highest truth in the here and now.
We go beyond religious frames and concepts, beyond all man-made barriers. Our aim is to share the wisdom that transcends the barriers of any kind and thus guide our readers to personal freedom and total liberation through one’s direct experience. Providing such meaningful guidance for the highest good – spiritual liberation – was the bar set high by Mohanji, inspiration behind The Awakening Times. Different Spiritual Masters, religious and spiritual groups have their own publications aimed at promoting their teachings. However, in reality, we are all One and we deserve the right to learn from all those who communicate divine knowledge with clarity and purest intention.
In the words of Sathya Sai Baba,
Divinity can be summed up in two words: purity and unity. This unity can be born only out of purity. Where there is no unity, it means there is no purity. No doubt about it, take it from me: where there’s purity, there’s unity! Unity is Divinity. This must be remembered.
We are reaching out to the world from the heart of Serbia and welcome you to be part of our community of sincere experiential spiritualists. Let us uplift society, raise awareness and contribute to positive change in the world by spreading the word and vibration of Awakening!
1. We May Discontinue or Suspend Our Site or Terminate Your Use:
We reserve the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, Our Website (or any part thereof) with or without notice. You agree that We shall not be liable to you or any third party for any such modification, suspension or discontinuance of Our Website. In addition, we reserve the right to terminate your access to Our Website for any reason, and to take any other actions that We, in our sole discretion, believes to be in the interest of our company and of our users as a whole.
2. You Grant Us Certain Rights When You Submit Content to Us:
By posting or submitting content on or to Our Website (regardless of the form or medium with respect to such content, whether text, videos, photographs, audio or otherwise), you are giving us, and our affiliates, agents and third party contractors the right to display or publish such content on Our Website and its affiliated publications (either in the form submitted or in the form of a derivative or adapted work), to store such content, and to distribute such content and use such content for promotional and marketing purposes. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, with respect to any video submissions to us made by you from time to time, you understand and agree that (unless you and we agree otherwise) we may, or may permit users to, based solely on functionality provided and enabled by our website, compile, re-edit, adapt or modify your video submission, or create derivative works therefrom, either on a stand-alone basis or in combination with other video submissions, and (unless you and we agree otherwise) you shall have no rights with respect thereto and we or our licensees shall be free to display and publish the same (as so compiled, re-edited, adapted, modified or derived) for any period.
You represent and warrant to us that (a) you are legally capable to enter into contracts, (b) you are providing us at all times true, accurate and up to date information about yourself, (c) you will comply at all times with the Site Terms and applicable law, and (d) your use of Our Website and any transactions that you make with us will not violate the rights of any third party. In addition, you agree that you shall be solely responsible for your own submissions and the consequences of posting or publishing them. This includes, for example, any personal information, such as your home address, the home address of others, or your current location. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR SHARING OR POSTING ANY PERSONAL OR OTHER INFORMATION ON OUR WEBSITE. You may not post content intended to provide professional advice, including the provision of medical advice, or advertising of any kind. In connection with each of your submissions, you affirm, represent, and/or warrant that: (I) you own or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, and permissions to use and authorize us to use all patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights in and to any and all such submissions to enable inclusion and use of such submissions in the manner contemplated by us and these Site Terms; and (II) you have the written consent, release, and/or permission of each and every identifiable individual person in such submissions to use the name or likeness of each and every such identifiable individual person to enable inclusion and use of such submissions in the manner contemplated by us and these Site Terms. In furtherance of the foregoing, you agree that you will not: (I) submit material that is copyrighted, protected by trade secret or otherwise subject to third party proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights, unless you are the owner of such rights or have permission from their rightful owner to post the material and to grant us all of the rights granted herein; (II) publish falsehoods or misrepresentations that could damage us or any third party; (III) submit material that is unlawful, obscene, defamatory, libelous, threatening, pornographic, harassing, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, or encourages conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, violate any law, or is otherwise inappropriate; or (IV) post advertisements or solicitations of business. We reserve the right to remove or not publish submissions without prior notice. You understand that when you submit content in any form to Awakening Times or Our Website we may authorize such content to be distributed or syndicated to or published on other Awakening Times-branded environments. We may remove content posted by you for any reason.
3. You Have Rights if You Believe Your Copyright is Being Infringed:
If you are a copyright owner or agent thereof and believe that any of our content infringes upon your copyright, please contact us at info@awakeningtimes.com
4. We are Not Responsible For and Do Not Necessarily Hold the Opinions Expressed by Our Content Contributors:
Opinions and other statements expressed by users and third parties (e.g., bloggers) are theirs alone, not opinions of Awakening Times. Content created by third parties is the sole responsibility of the third parties and its accuracy and completeness are not endorsed or guaranteed. You acknowledge that by providing you with the ability to view and distribute content through Our Website and/or Online Magazine, Awakening Times is not undertaking any obligation or liability relating to the content. Awakening Times and its affiliates, successors, assigns, employees, agents, directors, officers and shareholders do not undertake or assume any duty to monitor Our Website for inappropriate or unlawful content. Awakening Times and its affiliates, successors, assigns, employees, agents, directors, officers and shareholders assume no responsibility or liability which may arise from the content thereof, including, but not limited to, claims for defamation, libel, slander, infringement, invasion of privacy and publicity rights, obscenity, pornography, profanity, fraud, or misrepresentation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Awakening Times reserves the right to block or remove communications, postings or materials at any time in our sole discretion.
5. You Will Be Responsible for Any Harm We Suffer as a Result of Your Violation of These Site Terms or Any Breach by You of Your Representations and Warranties:
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Awakening Times and its affiliates, and their respective members, directors, officers, managers, employees, shareholders, agents, and licensors, from and against all losses, expenses, damages and costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, resulting from any violation by you of these Site Terms or any breach by you of your representations and warranties hereunder. We reserve the right to take over the exclusive defense of any claim for which we are entitled to indemnification under this Section 6. In such event, you shall provide us with such cooperation as is reasonably requested by us.
6. Your Use of Our Website is Subject to Certain Disclaimers:
OUR WEBSITE IS AVAILABLE “AS IS.” WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT OUR SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. THERE MAY BE DELAYS, OMISSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS AND INACCURACIES IN THE NEWS, INFORMATION OR OTHER MATERIALS AVAILABLE THROUGH OUR SITE. WE DO NOT MAKE ANY WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO OUR SITE OR ANY INFORMATION OR GOODS THAT ARE AVAILABLE OR ADVERTISED OR SOLD THROUGH OUR SITE. WE DO NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS, NOR DO WE ENDORSE THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, TIMELINESS OR RELIABILITY OF ANY ADVICE, OPINION, STATEMENT OR OTHER MATERIAL OR DATABASE DISPLAYED, UPLOADED OR DISTRIBUTED ON THIS SITE OR AVAILABLE THROUGH LINKS ON OUR SITE. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CORRECT ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS ON OUR SITE. ALTHOUGH WE INTEND TO TAKE REASONABLE STEPS TO PREVENT THE INTRODUCTION OF VIRUSES, WORMS, “TROJAN HORSES” OR OTHER DESTRUCTIVE MATERIALS TO OUR SITE, WE DO NOT GUARANTEE OR WARRANT THAT OUR SITE OR MATERIALS THAT MAY BE DOWNLOADED FROM OUR SITE DO NOT CONTAIN SUCH DESTRUCTIVE FEATURES. WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OR HARM ATTRIBUTABLE TO SUCH FEATURES. IF YOU RELY ON OUR SITE AND ANY MATERIALS AVAILABLE THROUGH OUR SITE, YOU DO SO SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.
OUR SITE MAY CONTAIN VARIOUS COMBINATIONS OF TEXT, IMAGES, AUDIOVISUAL PRODUCTIONS, OPINIONS, STATEMENTS, FACTS, ARTICLES OR OTHER INFORMATION CREATED BY US OR BY THIRD-PARTIES. DUE TO THE NUMBER OF SOURCES FROM WHICH CONTENT ON OUR SITE IS OBTAINED, AND THE INHERENT HAZARDS OF ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTION, THERE MAY BE DELAYS, OMISSIONS OR INACCURACIES IN SUCH CONTENT. ACCORDINGLY, SUCH CONTENT IS FOR YOUR REFERENCE ONLY AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON BY YOU FOR ANY PURPOSE. INFORMATION CREATED BY THIRD PARTIES THAT YOU MAY ACCESS ON OUR SITE OR THROUGH LINKS IS NOT ADOPTED OR ENDORSED BY US AND REMAINS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SUCH THIRD PARTIES. WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS THAT OUR WEBSITE OR ONLINE COURSES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, OR THE RESULTS THAT YOU MAY GAIN FROM YOUR USE OF OUR WEBSITE AND/OR THE ONLINE COURSES.
7. We are Not Responsible for Linked Sites:
We are not responsible for the availability or content of other services that may be linked to from Our Website. Because We have no control over such services, you acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible for the availability of such external services, and that we do not endorse and are not responsible or liable for any content, accuracy, quality, advertising, products or other materials on or available from such services. You further acknowledge and agree that we shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services available on or through such services.
8. We May be Legally Compelled to Disclose Certain Information:
You agree that in the event we receive a subpoena issued by a court or from a law enforcement or government agency, we shall comply with such subpoenas without your consent or prior notice to you and may disclose your IP address, username, name, IP location or other information in response thereto.
9. Our Liability to You is Limited:
Awakening Times and its affiliates, and their respective members, directors, officers, managers, employees, shareholders, agents and licensors are not liable for incidental, indirect, consequential, special, punitive, or exemplary damages of any kind, including, without limitation, lost revenues or profits, loss of business or loss of data, in any way related to Our Website, or for any claim, loss or injury based on errors, omissions, interruptions or other inaccuracies in Our Website (including, without limitation, as a result of breach of any warranty or other term of these Site Terms). Any claim against us shall be limited to the amount you paid, if any, for use of Our Website. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability of consequential or incidental damages, so the above exclusions may not apply to all users; in such states liability is limited to the fullest extent permitted by law.
10. You Will Transact with Us Electronically:
You agree to transact with us electronically. This means that if you wish to transact or communicate with Us, you agree to do so by electronic means. You authorize us to send you important notices about Our Website and any pending transactions to an email address you provide to us, if you have purchased access to an Online Magazine or otherwise provided your email address to Us or, in the alternative, by posting a notice on Our Website. It is your duty to keep your email address up to date and to maintain a valid email address and to ensure that emails we send you are not filtered or stopped by spam filters or other types of email blocking functionalities. If you no longer desire to transact electronically with us, you may no longer use Our Website.
11. You Are Responsible for Your Own Access.
You are responsible for obtaining at your own expense all equipment and services needed to access and use Our Website and the Online Magazine, including all devices, Internet browsers and Internet access. If you access Our Website, a Website application or an Online Magazine through a mobile or wireless device, you are responsible for all fees that your carrier may charge you for data, text messaging and other wireless access or communications services.
12. You May Not Share Your Username and Password.
In the event you are provided with a user name and password to access any part of Our Website, including without limitation, the Online Magazine to which you have purchased access, agree not share, give or sell your password or username to any other person or company. When purchasing access to an Online Magazine, you agree to take all actions possible to protect your username and password from fraudulent use.
13. We Do Not Target Children Under Age 13.
Due to the nature of the Internet, we cannot prohibit minors from visiting Our Website. Our Website is not directed toward children under the age of 13 and we do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 13 through Our Website. If you believe that a child has provided information to us through Our Website, please contact us by email at info@awakeningtimes.com. We will use our best efforts to remove all of the information provided by the child from our system.
14. You Need to Bring any Action Against Us Within One Year.
You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to Our Website, your use of Our Website, or these Terms of Use must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.
15. You Must Abide by Applicable International Laws.
Due to the global nature of the Internet, you agree to comply with all local rules regarding online conduct and acceptable content. Specifically, you agree to comply with all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the country in which you reside.
BY CONTINUING TO USE OUR SITE, YOU AGREE TO ABIDE BY THESE SITE TERMS.
The caption to each Section of these Site Terms are for convenience of reference only and shall be ignored in the construction or interpretation hereof.
Recent Comments