There is a certain stage in this process, when you find yourself acutely aware of the Truth about yourself and everything around you, and you are stunned by the sheer magnitude of illusion you have been following all your life.

Even tough it seems to be the preeminent belief, awakening is not about feeling peaceful or being in a state of bliss all the time. Awakening is about seeing Truth and starting to live by it. There is a saying attributed to the Buddha: ” there are only two kind of mistakes you can make on the journey  to Truth – not starting – and not going all the way.

What he is pointing to are the many pitfalls of spiritual bypassing. And who can blame anyone – there is so little known about the transformation that sets in, once we have had a glimpse of Truth, or a real experience that makes us see the true nature of things.

It is not that spiritual bypassing can delay or prevent what is bound to happen anyway. From an energetic standpoint, the whole process of transformation involves a tuning up of all bodily systems to vibrate at a higher frequency ( if you want to look at it from an energetic standpoint, which I find the most easiest to relate to, explaining the many physical, mental, emotional changes that take place on all levels of our being,)

But reverting to spiritual bypassing, or holding on to the illusion of a spiritual reality that just exists in the mind, may be the cause of continued suffering for the person who stubbornly holds on to their illusions, fears and attempts to control the world of illusions. Granted, one needs to be ready to see things as they are, and when we are ready, it is being revealed to us accordingly. But from a human standpoint, and given the multiple global crises that we are facing, anyone who has been touched by a bit of grace and has taken an interest in the spiritual path, has only one responsibility now: to be committed to become fully conscious of what is true and stop dreaming.  To be very clear, the dream may not only be the nightmare of the human existence, but also the flying high spiritual concepts of states of bliss, peace, love, harmony and what not. Experiences of the formless are great, and they may be a reality at one time or the other, but this is not what it is all about.

We do not know how it feels to be the One, until we have this experienced it. It may happen, or maybe it doesn’t. If you ever felt it, you do buy into it. You understand how everything is connected and how the One is in the whole, and the whole is in the One. Then you know, you wont ever forget and thats all it takes. Feeling at peace, or “selfless” for some time can be a wonderful experience, to be enjoyed as long as it lasts, but if that experience goes away, awakening is not about seeking to repeat that state.

Awakening it is about looking and accepting  at what is – and that maybe a lot of unpleasant feelings, negativity and contraction. In  many ways, these are the sensations we all should look out for in ourselves and allow them to come to the surface. We are so addicted to feeling “good”, that we tend to negate and suppress anything that does not feel pleasant. Peace and joy – yes. But also fear, anger and dread.

So there is a stage in this process when we seem to be facing fears that all have to do with survival. It is coming up against deeply rooted conditioning. Firm beliefs we have built our whole existence on, and associated fears that protect these beliefs. These deep issues all point towards a fear of death and it’s important to pin-point the one, big thing in our lives, that we dread most – because it will make itself known.

I have many examples how things we refuse to accept or recognize,  will manifest on the outside. I have a patient, who complained about a lump in his throat over years – while he suffered in a job that was not right for him. Then he retired and half a year later he was diagnosed with throat cancer and had to undergo surgery and chemotherapy. The issue was that he just could not bear the emptiness and loneliness in his own life. It took a really serious disease and a very intense treatment, to open up to the idea, that letting go of the will to control the experience, opened his heart to enjoy life.

And this is the choice we have. We either look readily at what bugs us by following the relatively discreet signs of contraction  in oneself, or we get ready for the issue to appear on the outside. We do create our own world, and we also create the intensity of the experiences. It is my experience, that faith and openness to whatever arises, are a good way to keep those experiences relatively benign.

So even tough it doesn’t make much difference to Life itself, if I face resistance in the form of thought or emotion, or it later manifests as a disaster – it certainly does to my quality of life. This is how we can work with the experience and a serious commitment to sincerity seems to be the most important practice anyone can ever decide for.

It requires us to look at what is not true and then watch the foundation crumble. First on the inside, then on the outside. This is how we create the New Earth.

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• Have You Ever Had an Awakening Experience? (psychologytoday.com)