What to Remember When Waking: The Disciplines of an Everyday Life

by David Whyte

Essential Skills for a Full and Courageous Life

When you think about personal transformation, do you have a picture of who you want to become? Many of us unconsciously create an idealized image of our “awakened” selves―and in doing so, reveals David Whyte, we undermine both the work and reward of genuine transformation.

On What to Remember When Waking , this celebrated poet and teacher offers wisdom for building the essential disciplines that will see us through the difficulties of our human journey―skills of trust, vulnerability, momentum, and courage in the face of the unknown.

Engage in the Great Conversation That Defines Your Life

Our lives are defined by what David Whyte calls the “great conversation”―a give- and-take relationship between our vision of ourselves and the unfolding mystery of reality. Yet there are many conscious and unconscious ways that we often avoid living at this ever-moving frontier. Do you diminish life by attempting to assign names to everything instead of living more robustly with the unknown? Are you turning a blind eye to the invisible help that is all around you? With penetrating insight and gentle guidance, Whyte illuminates the core competencies that you must build in order to fully engage in the richness that life offers―and to express your true work in the world.

What You Can Plan Is Too Small for You to Live

“We do not always move forward because of the plans we make or the effort we expend,” teaches David Whyte. “The conversation itself more often does the true work of transformation.” Make sure the conversation is alive and everything takes its place. Combining a teacher’s ability to provide practical guidance with a poet’s insight into the depths of the human soul, he presents a powerful resource for anyone seeking growth and fulfillment on life’s journey with What to Remember When Waking .



Start where you are―ways of recognizing the first necessary steps to find your path
• The gift of vulnerability―why lowering our defenses can enhance our perception, dedication, and joyfulness
• Disciplines for cultivating the “fierce interior focus” that helps you maintain momentum in your life’s work
• How embracing the feeling that you are out of place in the world can deepen your empathy and compassion for others
• The art of knowing when to let your dreams mature in their own time
• Beyond the "pursuit of happiness"―opening yourself to the deeper fulfillment available in the high and low points of life
• Becoming an "apprentice to life"―how to approach new challenges with a sense of humility and wonder
• Learning to delight in the unknown instead of trying to control it through labels and beliefs
• Building a mature and welcoming relationship with death by embracing the richness that fragility brings to life
• Over 5 1/2 hours of David Whyte's insights, poetry, and essential lessons for fully expressing your gifts in the world

Genres: Poetry, Audiobook, Spirituality, Self Help, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Psychology

1 pages, Audio CD

First published April 28, 2010

About the author

Poet David Whyte grew up with a strong, imaginative influence from his Irish mother among the hills and valleys of his father’s Yorkshire. He now makes his home in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.

The author of seven books of poetry and three books of prose, David Whyte holds a degree in Marine Zoology and has traveled extensively, including living and working as a naturalist guide in the Galapagos Islands and leading anthropological and natural history expeditions in the Andes, Amazon and Himalaya. He brings this wealth of experience to his poetry, lectures and workshops.

His life as a poet has created a readership and listenership in three normally mutually exclusive areas: the literate world of readings that most poets inhabit, the psychological and theological worlds of philosophical enquiry and the world of vocation, work and organizational leadership.

An Associate Fellow at Said Business School at the University of Oxford, he is one of the few poets to take his perspectives on creativity into the field of organizational development, where he works with many European, American and international companies. In spring of 2008 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Neumann College, Pennsylvania.

In organizational settings, using poetry and thoughtful commentary, he illustrates how we can foster qualities of courage and engagement; qualities needed if we are to respond to today’s call for increased creativity and adaptability in the workplace. He brings a unique and important contribution to our understanding of the nature of individual and organizational change, particularly through his unique perspectives on Conversational Leadership.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my okay I just found David well a friend recommended him. Wow and should I say it 3 times? So much wisdom set forth.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

I"ve listened to these 6 off-the-cuff lectures at least 10 times, and still learn something new each time I lissten again

[Mariah Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy this guy. He’s like an Irish Annie Dillard? Does that work? It’s storytelling. It’s poetry. He has a lot of things he says that you will want to commonplace.

[Emma Sedlak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finishing this audiobook in tears, from circumstance, and illness, and gratitude, and memories of travel. David Whyte is a truth-teller with a sage's presence.

[Sarah Poe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has probably been the most important book I've read for my emotional and spiritual self. "Immortal Diamond" by Richard Rohr is second. Whyte uses poetry, the language of the heart, to explain and guide and encourage the intellect. I feel truly better - improved - after reading this book. It is one I am sure to reread many times.

[Margot Minnium]

Excellent.... Thought provoking and inspirational . He gets me.

[Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

My desert island sacred text

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suspect this may have been a five-star brew poured into a 3-star already brimming cup through a 2-star strainer. That is, the performance was probably much better than my experience of it at this time. There were moments I wanted to capture and reflect upon, but there were more moments of confusion and irritation, mostly with the frequent repetition during poetry recitations, and hours of realizing I wasn't really listening at all, feeling that all this was directed at someone more ambitious than me. I might have fared better with text in front of me, but I could find none.

I would recommend it for poets and philosophers seeking to find their way in the world, or contemplating their final exit. I might try it again sometime to see if a second cup goes down better.

[Mark Valentine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whyte provides a grounding. His poetry circles around philosophy like a matador his bull. I admire his insights, his mellifluous tone, his wisdom. There is overlap in this with his other works just as there is the incessant repetition of his poems (why it only a 4-star rating). But still recommended.

[Vicky Pjecha · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a few months since I finished this one, and I miss listening to David Whyte read me poems on my commute. **highly recommend**

[Christine LeBoeuf · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first book of the year and it was EXACTLY what I needed. ❤️

[Joan F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved listening to this book so much.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Pamela · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this audio book. I couldn't even really get started. So I can't mark it as read in my list of books. It was just too dry and did not resonate with me. And how many words can he use that I need to look up in the dictionary before I just say uncle???? Duh, I'm done with this. I loved the title and thought I'd love the book, so I wanted to write a review mostly for myself so I don't pick this up in later years. I was listening to the audio version of the book, read by the author and was soooo uninspired. Sigh.

[Laia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I finished it and I am listening to it again. It’s full of kind, inclusive wisdom and beauty. It talks about dialogue and conversation with yourself and life, about vulnerability, about change, courage and death. If it was a written book instead of audible it would be all highlighted for me.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Straight wisdom dawg

[Janna Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit conflicted about this. I didn't realize it was more of a philosophical lecture/musing than an audiobook when I started it, which I ultimately didn't mind. Whyte has a verbal mannerism in which he repeats phrases or words for emphasis or clarity several times over that initially made me think either there was something wrong with the audio or I was having a stroke. It was incredibly grating at times but, on the other hand, helped a lot when my ADHD brain would wander and I'd miss snippets. He has another tendency to use flowery language that I guess comes with the territory of being a poet and philosopher... but that was mildly annoying at times. I can imagine it being more grating to some. Despite all of this I really enjoyed the poems he read and a lot of the wisdom he presented. Some brought me to tears, including his poems, "The House of Belonging" and "Everything is Waiting for You". He included poems and exerpts from other authors and artists that I loved, including Shakespeare's Sonnet 29, which I had never heard before:

"When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
Desiring this man’s art and that man’s scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
(Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven’s gate;
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings."

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

4* is kind of a placeholder rating, really. Could very well be 5 on a second reading, which I think it deserves. I listened to the audiobook (or is this only an audio thing?). Whyte reads this himself, which is certainly part of the charm. He has a way of reading where he will repeat lines, which is particularly effective in aural form. That said, this is a deep book, diving right into the hear of the human condition, which is why I need another encounter with this book (at least).

I should say a word or two about what this book is. Whyte is a poet, and this book is part exploration of the human condition, part poetry reading, and ends up feeling like a great college English lecture, the sort that makes you feel like going to a really good liberal arts school was absolutely there right choice (I remember at matriculation, our college president defined a liberal arts education as a beginning to thinking about the question of what it means to live a good life). This book is like that.

[Kjersten · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me thrice as long to read than it should've, but not due to a lack of intrigue! "What to Remember When Waking" was such a delight for the mind and the senses that so often I found myself pausing to savor and cradle each word or even more often rewinding to listen to a thought once more. Ever since I discovered David Whyte a few years ago, I've noticed a pattern with his books. When nearing the end, I tend to prolong finishing the book for as long as I can (because I never want them to end) and in this case I had thirty minutes left on this book that I stretched out for weeks. If I had one thing to complain about (which I don't want to, but) it would be that I wish this book was in printed form as well, so I may leaf through the pages and scribble along, as is my custom. But to be honest, I think hearing this book in David's voice is all for the best. But this is all just to say, thank you David for blessing the universe with your gentle wisdom and beautiful soul once more!

[Lisa Lazarus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book inspirational. I have only recently discovered David Whyte. He has a beautiful voice and accent which makes his words and poetry even more lyrical to the ear (despite some of his Americanisms which he has acquired since living in the US); he has clarity and distils meaning to poetry that I battled with as a student. Like Gerard Manley Hopkins who always sounded wonderful to me but who I never really understood. He talks a lot about "conversations" and "apprenticeships" which are much used words these days but which he applies with real texture and purpose when he uses them. The disciplines of everyday life he offers are nothing new, but are a beautiful reminder to live with presence in the now, to leave alone and let be those aspects of life that have continually plagued and troubled you and to make peace with the uncertainty but certainty of death.

His poem about his mother's death and his grief, called The Shell is particularly moving.

[Artemisia Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through the beautiful language of his own poetry and the verses of other famous poets, David Whyte takes us on a journey of self discovery that is all about making this quest a conversation with ourselves and all that we experience around us. There are no rules here other than a willingness to go deeply into our own vulnerabilities and strengths and let go of all our surface notions of who we are and why we are here. This audio presentation combines poetry readings with spiritual wisdom in a lovely blend of inspiring and courageous words and teachings. Whyte brilliantly shows us how the language of poetry can be a perfect vehicle to engage with all of the mystery and paradox that is part of human life……as well as its incomparable beauty. This is a unique and richly nuanced offering from an amazing poet and wise teacher.

[mmmm · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s a lot of wisdom packed into these, and in book form I would give four or five stars. However, I found the poetry reading portions somewhere between distracting and distressing, because he would just randomly repeat words, phrases, or lines! Aaah! I just want to know what the poem is. By all means, read it through once, then do a second pass with your own repetitions. As it was all I know is what words he finds most important, and not what the poet had in mind (especially when reading the work of others). However, other reviewers seem to like it, so maybe it’s just me.

[Ilse O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read about David Whyte on Brain Pickings, and then heard Krista Tippett talk with him on her podcast On Being. That led me to this audiobook, which in some ways is more like a podcast/presentation. Whyte is a poet and philosopher, and his thoughts and reflection on being human in the world are well worth listening to.

[Justin Banger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This audio course is magnificent. The poem that shares the course’s title is glorious and worth the price of the course. It’s easy to experience life as a burden to face, this course lightens the load: Whyte says, “stop seeing yourself as a discrete piece of ammunition which you fire at life, and the life is a target that you are going to hit.”

[Suzan · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Whyte is a name I was not aware of before this pandemic. So this is one of those gems that have come out of this horrible time. David reads this book and I love his voice as much as his writing. I found this book to be helpful to me during this difficult time. I will be looking for more by this amazing writer.

[David Reeves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only available on cd’s, it came highly recommended to me by a chaplain I greatly respect.
I read it slowly, often repeating cd’s over and over. Poetry as a means for spiritual growth is now my reality.
Whyte is probably agnostic or atheistic, but his poetry touched this Christian soul.

[Samantha Ready · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of poems that I look forward to savoring over and over again. I love hearing poetry read by the author, and to have it also be explained felt like a gift. Each chapter is rich with revelation and insight, and they sang to my soul as I listened and walked in the morning.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful! Explores the beautiful tensions of home and exile, togetherness and otherness. Gives permission for all of the human experiences. Weaves poetry into the narrative effortlessly, making it feel accessible. Very enjoyable. Worth a re-read and some thoughtful reflection.

[Audrey Marcusen McMacken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most Decembers I read a few sappy book version of Hallmark movie romances. This year I started one and just wasn't in the mood. Just not the season for light fiction.

This book however, perfection. Wisdom and poetry.

[Rob Melich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audible book read brilliantly by the author. Thoughtful and at times very funny. Self instruction with a touch of Shakespeare and numerous Irish poets.