"So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas. A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I'm a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking. So, I'm on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one - big hitter, the Lama - long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Lama says? 'Gunga galunga... gunga, gunga-galunga.' So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, 'Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know.' And he says, 'Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness.' So I got that goin' for me, which is nice." -- Carl Spackler (Bill Murray), in "Caddyshack."

Thanks to the plethora of awareness campaigns and programs, most of us won't have to wait for our deathbed to have total consciousness.

We're conscious that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Red Ribbon Week, Bus Safety Week, Fire Safety Week, and a whole bunch of other ribbon-wearing events.

Now, I'm not criticizing these campaigns. So much good has come from the money raised for breast cancer research and from the programs in schools for Red Ribbon Week.

But it seems like the public is expected to contribute and support cause upon cause, especially during the month of October.

So I'm declaring October "Total Consciousness Month."

That way, instead of just supporting the well-known causes and campaigns, everyone can support the lesser-known awareness programs too!

A good example of a smaller, but not necessarily less-valid, campaign is National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

Organizations, like Child-Adult Resource Services, Inc. (CARS), that promote the independence and well being of disabled persons deserve to be recognized.

But I know that I'm not the only one who hasn't heard of Disability Employment Awareness Month.

A new campaign this year is National Teen Driver Safety Week, which brings another level to the word "awareness."

The first annual Teen Driver Safety Week will happen this year during the third week of October.

State Farm Insurance and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia worked with Congress to pass the resolution.

Congress has also passed a resolution commending Brett Favre for breaking the NFL career touchdown record, but that's another blog.

Wikipedia, that wonderful online wealth of information, has an entry that lists all the causes associated with the different colored ribbons people wear.

We all know that pink is the color for breast cancer, and that yellow is to show support for the troops overseas.

But did you know that a blue ribbon shows support for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and a periwinkle ribbon supports Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness.

Think about that the next time you put on your favorite periwinkle shirt.

Students all over the country wore black or maroon and orange ribbons to show support for Virginia Tech during their tragedy this spring.

Most of the college girls I know would never combine maroon and orange, but they sure did wear the ribbons when it was important.

So, in honor of Total Consciousness Month, I'm not going to wear ribbons or protest at the capital or sign any declarations.

I'm going to count my blessings for what I have, appreciate that I live in a country where we are free to be conscious of whatever we want, and pray for those who need the support of the various campaigns that are out there.

So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

Awareness Ribbons- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awa...