The path to awakening has four fundamental stages:
- Stabilise
- Realise
- Awaken
- Integrate
The path to awakening begins with establishing a stable mind. We use the meditation of breath, the body, sounds, etc to ground the mind into the present moment. We learn how to integrate mind and body through movement and awareness. We learn how to stay calm and maintain presence in the face of turmoil, internal and external.
From the ground of the stable mind, we investigate the nature of phenomena. What is thought? What is emotion? What are sensations? What are my identities?… Who Am I? This investigation brings Realization and change into our lives. Our relationship with the world and our mind changes.
The relationship with ourselves changes. The “I” increasingly becomes an object of investigation, rather than Me! And with this distance created between the Observer and the Observed… increasingly equanimity and peace enters our lives.
Realisation naturally gives rise to surrender.
Surrender occurs when there is a deep letting go at the depths of the psyche and our habitual energetic holding patterns begin to ease and eventually release. Surrender isn’t a superficial change in habit or talk track or image… surrender happens when there is a deep seeing through of the “I, Me and Mine” fallacy. And the Divine Will is given the freedom to rudder this ship.
When surrender meets grace, we have Awakening!
Grace is a difficult term to write about… I struggle. It is when something larger than us (Divine Love) begins to blossom within the being and makes itself known to be the Universal Intelligence at the core of everything, at the core of You! There is a very significant difference between intellectually knowing this to be true versus experientially witnessing its presence as our own Soul or Self (this isnt a metaphysical debate… call it what you want).
Life changes. It is Free. Blissful. Heartful. Kind and Loving (not superficially so). Everything is seen to be moving, dancing to a lovely rythm… and this divine essence rests at the core of this dance… seemingly the orchestrator but it does not orchestrate. It just IS!
(I like the phrase the hindus use… Satchitananda! Sat (truth/existence), Chit(consciousness) and Ananda (bliss) … this describes the state beautifully!)
The integration phase is about learning to walk with this newfound world. To bring this realisation and way of being into world of society… the world of body and mind. To all the gifts we have received to touch others… in small or large ways. That doesn’t matter. It depends upon ones personality and aptitude. But we touch the people around us. HOPE spreads!
This is the path we walk! ❤️🙏