Once we are awakened, we can clearly distinguish between our container (identity) and see our being’s content (natural self).
Most traditions promise meditation as a path to spiritual awakening and inner peace. However, many of us don’t know what spiritual awakening really is. For many, it is merely reaching a state of happiness and the absence of negative emotions. We spend our lives searching for this state in the hopes of becoming free from suffering. But true spiritual awakening is much more than finding happiness. It is about consciously going into the depths of our being until we reach the peak of our “HUMAN” experience. A process that will enable us to relax back into our true nature.
It is a process of becoming aware of the unconscious layers of our identity, our false personalities, and discover our natural personalities. Once we are awakened, we can clearly distinguish our container (identity) and see our being’s content (natural self). Without a solid container, we can never become aware of the content of our being. Just like space that cannot be defined without the walls around it or a reference point, we need our identity in order to know ourselves.
However, we are so attached to the walls of our identity and its promises, that we miss looking at the content of our being. The fear of facing the unknown leads us to become even more attached to our identity. We hang on to what is left of our identity and cling to it… This causes a lot of suffering. A spiritual awakening happens when we are able to transcend the walls of our identity.
Awakening is returning to the body and knowing the true source of our being and it is a natural process. Some are awakened to their bodies. Some are awakened to their emotions and some to their mind and intellect. When one is awakened to all three, the psychological dependence on our identities will fade away and for the first time, the witnessing consciousness is awakened to itself. There will be a witness watching the witnessing self at all three levels.
To awaken to our body, emotions, and intellect requires psychological freedom from the past. Awakening is not a blissful process. It is a painful process because so many known and familiar structures fall apart such as relationships, jobs, and ways of being. Awakening is a process in which all our false hopes and beliefs are transcended.
To live truly, we must understand the nature of reality as it is. Reality is the creation of our perception and unless we can understand its nature, we will never be awakened to the truth. It’s hard to tear down the very nature of reality. We have been attached to it for years. We have been prisoners of our mind and programming since childhood. We are so used to being part of the crowd, that we find safety and comfort in that crowd. With spiritual awakening, we see the light of our individuality for the first time.
It takes great courage to walk this path. There must be so much willingness to find the true self and it is not a straight path. However, if we allow it to unfold with compassion and self-love, all of our limitations and boundaries will fall apart, and we will experience our connected and non-dual self. There, we will notice the separation and unity simultaneously. We will still maintain our identity, but we know the very nature of our existence. We are no longer slaves; prisoners of our identity and our goal to find happiness. Awakening is not positive thinking. It is not a goal to achieve. It is a process- an organic movement into our true nature and freedom from any limitations of identity. It is the process of becoming the masters of our own lives.