Are you awake?

What Is Spiritual Enlightenment or Spiritual Awakening?

A definition of spiritual enlightenment or spiritual awakening is hard to pin down. This is, in part, because "spiritual enlightenment" and "spiritual awakening" have been used in so many ways to describe so many things, similar to the way in which "love" is used to describe everything from a preference for ice cream to a merging with everything. And it is also becausespiritual enlightenment and spiritual awakening are such rich and complex experiences that they are innately hard to define.

Some definitions are very specific and narrow. One such definition for spiritual enlightenment is the complete dissolution of one's identity as a separate self with no trace of the egoic mind remaining. This sets the bar very high and means that very few people qualify as enlightened.

The opposite approach is to say that everyone is enlightened, that there is only awake consciousness. In this view, it's only a question of whether this natural awakeness has been recognized or not. Of course, when a word describes everything or everyone, it loses some of its usefulness. If everyone is enlightened, then why even talk about it?

Combining perspectives on spiritual enlightenment

Perhaps there's a definition that includes both of these perspectives, which recognizes that consciousness is always awake and enlightened, but the amount of awakeness, or aware consciousness, that is present in any moment can vary. This definition acknowledges that there's a difference in the amount of awakeness, or enlightened consciousness, that different people experience or that one person experiences at different times but still suggests that the potential for full awareness or becoming enlightened is the same for everybody. If every apparent individual consciousness is infinite in its potential, then each can also be infinite both in its capacity to expand or awaken and in its capacity to contract or identify with a narrow or limited experience.

If all consciousness is made of the same essential awareness and light, and if everyone has an equal potential for enlightenment, then all expressions of consciousness are equally valid and valuable. Everyone truly is a Buddha or enlightened being, at least in potential. So defining enlightenment in many ways now makes sense, depending on what is being pointed to. One may use the word enlightenment to point to the state of self-realization beyond the ego or to point to the innate potential for this realization in all of us.

As for differentiating between the words enlightenment and awakening, "enlightenment" implies a more finished and constant state of realization, while "awakening" has more of the active quality of a verb and therefore suggests a movement or shift in consciousness. An awakening may be defined as a sudden increase in the overall amount of consciousness an individual is experiencing. There can be small awakenings and bigger awakenings. Not only does consciousness have unlimited potential for the amount of awakeness, but it also has an unlimited potential to shift in any way, at any moment. Consciousness can and sometimes does shift from contracted states of fear, anger, or hurt to expanded states of peace and joy in an instant. Unfortunately, it can also shift in the other direction. Consciousness has no fixed state.

What about the spiritual awakening happening now?

As it is being defined here, a spiritual awakening is a sudden expansion or shift in consciousness, especially a more dramatic one (we don't usually refer to a minor realization as a spiritual awakening). Enlightenment, on the other hand can be used to mark a particular level of realization or awakeness, even if the exact definition varies depending on who is using the word, as it does with every word.

What really matters is what your awareness is doing right now. How is your consciousness appearing or shifting in this moment? Are you realizing more of your experience and Essence right now? Or are you contracting and limiting your awareness with thoughts and identification? Is any shifting happening from reading these words?

Enlightenment or awakening is a profound mystery, and the best definition may be found in the actual experience of your own shifts in consciousness. Just as it's more nourishing to eat an apple than read about one, so it can be more rewarding to explore the movements of your own awareness than to try to understand these things mentally. While definitions of such things can be helpful, it can also be beneficial to not have too many concepts, which could interfere with your actual experience. It's a good thing that language isn't so fixed or defined when it comes to spiritual unfoldment. Maybe the best definition of enlightenment is no definition. Then there is only what is found in your own direct experience of awareness.

A question of Balance

After a conversation with a friend today I thought this was a good question, so I did some research.....

What does it mean to be out of balance with spirituality?

If you’re out of balance with spirituality, it means that you are giving the spiritual side of existence too much importance in your life. You may spend all your time focusing on activities such as psychic development and being immersed in that which is supernatural or otherworldly.

You may find it difficult to relate to the rest of the world (when it’s not about personal or spiritual development). And you may take your spirituality so seriously that you have forgotten to have fun in life too. If you are imbalanced in your spirituality, you may also find that you have neglected other, more earthly areas of your life such as making money and your social life.

Steps to balance yourself (without losing your spirituality)

If you recognize that you are out of balance, here are some lifestyle changes to help bring more balance back into your life. I’m sure you’ve heard recommendations to ground yourself such as ‘walk on the grass in bare feet’ etc. Those suggestions are good for people with a temporary imbalance but they are not good for people who are totally out of balance – such people will need to take bigger steps to redress the imbalance.

Note that one of the most effective ways to become more grounded is to get a healing session (such as a cord-cutting, chakra balancing or reiki) and at the beginning of the session, set the intention to bring about more balance between your lower and upper chakras. 

Apart from that, here are some lifestyle suggestions to help bring more balance into your life:

Symptom of Imbalance #1: You feel lightheaded and spacey in your body.

Suggestion: Check in with your eating habits.

Your eating habits can either help tether you to the earth plane or they can destabilize and unground you.

Both veganism and raw veganism I find to be ungrounding for me, personally. Often people ask during spirit guide coaching if a raw or high raw vegan diet is right for them at this time and the answer is usually something along the lines of ‘no, not unless you are willing to suffer some imbalance.’ Being on that kind of diet as a psychic or very spiritual person requires a very strong foundation and a good connection to reality. If you don’t have that, it will unbalance you.

I bring this issue up because many people do become drawn to a really pure and light diet when they begin to get interested in spirituality or psychic development. When you open your upper chakras, you might be drawn to giving up meat (the meat-eating students on my spirit guides coaching course often tell me that they notice an aversion to meat as the weeks go by). 

Then as people become even more sensitive, they may be drawn to giving up fish. Then some people take it one step further and give up animal products. Some then feel drawn to giving up cooked food and become raw vegans. This is a natural (but rather extreme) progression and one I went through about 18 months ago. First, I was vegetarian, then vegan for a while, then I tried raw veganism for 2-3 weeks, twice. Now I have come full circle and I’m eating fish and chicken again. Some people have arguments against eating meat but this is the most grounding diet for me personally.

Other ways to unground yourself with your diet include…

Not eating enough and not eating regularly. Eating three good meals daily and at regular intervals is more grounding than eating small snacks here and there because it sends your energy out of your head and into your digestive system on a regular basis. If you miss meals regularly or if you fast, it isn’t good for the lower chakras – or put in a non-jargon way, it’s bad for you as a human being who is trying to stay tethered to the Earth plane. Regular eating connects us to the earth.

Symptom of Imbalance #2: You neglect your body habitually and you don’t care about your personal appearance

Another Suggestion: Pay more attention to your body

A great way to take your focus away from your upper chakras and put it on your lower chakras is to pamper your body (on an ongoing basis) and really pay it some attention.

Ways to do this include: spending more time and money on grooming – getting a new haircut, painting your nails; getting a pedicure or manicure; updating your wardrobe (throwing out all your old clothes that you no longer wear and getting some new ones that you love wearing and which make you feel great). Investing money and energy on your appearance and the way you feel in your body (instead of investing it in psychic development, spiritual growth or some such thing) will help to move energy out of your upper chakras. If you’re very out of balance, it might be a good idea to set aside some of your budget each month especially to celebrate and take care of your physicality and beauty.

I know that this may seem not a very appealing task, especially if it’s the middle of winter and you have no money but those are the times when you really need to go shopping (even if it’s to the thrift/charity shop). I myself have been guilty of wearing jogging bottoms to work and brown and black all the time (especially in the winter and seeing as I work from home). But it’s great for your sacral chakra if you can dress up in something beautiful and colourful more often, and allow yourself to wear nice things even if you’re not leaving the house.

You have probably seen those TV shows where they take a drab, unhappy-looking person and turn them into someone who looks and feels ten times better because of their haircut and the way they dress. That’s the power of spending time and money on your appearance – it gives yourself and others the message ‘I honour, love and celebrate my physical aspect.’ And that’s important if you are out of balance with spirituality.

Another way to honour your physicality is to exercise regularly – walking is OK but something that raises your heart rate on a regular basis is even better. I walk a couple of miles per day but presently I don’t have activities such as cardio which raise my heart rate. I have done in the past, though and I have noticed the difference it makes to feeling physically present.

Symptom of Imbalance #3: you spend loads of time working on your beliefs, goals and plans but you rarely create real change in your life or accomplish anything

Suggestion: Get out of your head and just take the next obvious step in front of you.

When you have a lot of energy in your upper chakras, you may need to get something done, but you can be stuck in planning, visualizing, dreaming, theorizing, tying yourself up in knots and going nowhere fast with that. At those times, you will need to turn your brain and mind’s eye off and just ask yourself – what is the next step that I could take now to move towards what I want (even if it is really a baby step). And take it. That takes you straight out of the realm of ideas and into the realm of action.

Symptom of Imbalance #4: The world seems like a very harsh and tragic place all the time

Suggestion: Stop taking everything so seriously and go and have some fun (stimulates the sacral chakra)

Spiritual, empathic people can feel people’s plight and are often thinking about how to save the world. From there it’s not an easy transition to having fun and seeing the light side of life, yet you need that too as a human being. Remember that life is not just a school and your purpose isn’t to save the world from itself. Life is also a fun playground, so switch off from your spiritual mission and make sure you do something that really tickles you regularly. This isn’t about going for a walk on your own or something dull like that. I mean real fun. Go and see a stand-up comedy act, see a friend who makes you laugh really hard, go dancing, etc. Connect with the fun and playful you. Find something that you can do regularly in your week to fill this need for fun and playing.

Symptom of Imbalance #5: You are neglecting the practical side of your life

Suggestion: Focus attention on your finances and physical survival (stimulates the root chakra)

Checking your bank balance every day is good because it connects you to your financial reality. Making a budget is very grounding because it reins your energy in and makes you aware of your present limitations.

Cleaning, organizing and tidying is especially good for grounding, as is attending to errands and all those little jobs you have been meaning to do for a while. Preparing food, cooking and baking are all very grounding too. All those aspects of physical life are what you need to attend to, in order to stay grounded.

FINALLY…

All this talk of cooking, baking and budgeting is all helpful stuff to some degree, but let’s get to the heart of the issue.

If you are out of balance with your spirituality, you might be running away from something or someone. Imbalanced spirituality can become a form of escapism.

What are you trying to escape from?

It could be a past situation that is too difficult to address and process in a normal, human, emotional way, so you spiritualize it. It could be someone who hurt you.

Here’s a good way of knowing what you could be escaping from:

What is the thing you still cry about for seemingly no reason? (especially when you’re ill or feeling down)

What do you dislike about your life that you want to change?

At some point, we all have wounds that make us want to stay in bed and hide away from the world. There are very few people who reach a certain age and have no wounds at all. Find out what yours are and address them in an emotional way. We can resolve things on the level of spirit, but we must bring the healing down into the emotional and physical plane for anything to change. Sometimes action needs to be taken to put them to bed.

If you feel your spiritual addiction is connected to something traumatic that happened in the past (or to someone else), you might want to think about booking a cord cutting session. I am passionate about this technique because it is the one that has helped me most with becoming more grounded.

What about you? What keeps you from engaging fully with life?

Spiritual Resolution

New Year's resolutions are hard to maintain. We are very familiar with the routine where we feel Gung-ho about a change we want to make and a few weeks into the New Year, the resolution is already slipping away. 

Even having the desire to make a change is praiseworthy and deserves a pat on the back. Some change is better than no change. A little endeavour is better than no endeavour. If the resolution isn't made, then no action will follow. So, go ahead and make the resolution.

Here are some resolutions that will help us grow spiritually.

Good luck and a Happy New Year!

1. MEDITATE two to three times a week for 10 minutes by focusing on your breath.

2. Spend quality TIME with friends and family, in person or on the phone, at least once a week.

3. Consume COMPASSIONATELY, by eating only vegetarian food at least once a week.

4. Take time to write down and express GRATITUDE for the positive things happening in your life.

5. REFLECT on all the small and big ways in which people are helping you.

6. Feel JOY for another's success even if it is the same success you were hoping for.

7. Mend old RELATIONSHIPS by forgiving those who hurt you and by seeking forgiveness from those you hurt.

8. COMMUNICATE mindfully -- practice speaking in a way that is honest, helpful, yet doesn't offend or hurt others.

9. ANGER can lead to regretful behavior; so don't let anger get the best of you.

10. Don't become proud of your gifts. Instead, just BE grateful.

A Spiritual New Year

The end of the year can remind us to pause and reflect. It's an opportunity to recall any lessons learned from the past year, check off any goals we accomplished, and start preparing for a new year.

Spirituality encompasses an activity, ritual, habit, and/or way of thinking that brings your spirit alive and helps you connect with your essence; something that reminds you of your purpose and continues to inspire you to live from your centre.

If it’s been challenging to set time aside for this contemplation and rejuvenation, not to worry! Below are some ideas to help you incorporate spirituality into your New Year’s Eve plans.

1. Have a spiritual gathering.

Invite family and friends over and take turns having each person share a favorite inspirational quote, book excerpt, or poem. In the spirit of keeping things positive, each person could also share a personal experience from the past year that instilled in them a sense of hope and inspiration. Other ideas: meditate or sing/chant together. Having a meaningful gathering can be a good way to reconnect. You may be surprised by what you learn about each other!

2. Begin one of your goals.

Maybe you had set intentions in the beginning of the year, which you didn’t quite get to meeting. It’s not too late to start on them before the year ends! Sign up for that gym membership online, research that overseas destination you have been meaning to travel to, or order that inspirational book to help you create positive changes. You will end the previous year beginning at least one of the goals you had set for yourself, feeling more confident about completing your list, and creating new intentions.

3. Enjoy your own company.

This may not be the most popular way to ring in the new year, but it can be the most calming. Don't feel bad about spending this time on your own, rather embrace this opportunity to do something relaxing and uplifting. Dedicate this time to yourself, whether it’s to get organized or have a solo dance party. This one night should be all about taking care of your needs and wellbeing.

4. Meditate and time your meditation to go over midnight.

Going inward and re-centering can be the perfect way to end one year and begin a new one! If you would prefer meditating with others, Vipassana centers around the world have courses that run through New Year’s Eve. Other ideas: look into local meditation centers, meet-up groups, yoga studios, or get in touch with members of temples and churches, who may be organizing gatherings of their own. If you don't have access to any of these, consider #1, above.

5. Give back.

Choosing to help others on one of the most self-indulgent nights of the year can be a humbling experience. Giving back to our local and global communities helps remind us of our values and purpose, allowing us to a gain a larger perspective and greater self-awareness. Doing a quick Google search of "New Year’s Eve volunteer opportunities," you can find homeless shelters looking for folks to help cook and serve food, rideshare organizations seeking volunteers to provide safe rides to those who are intoxicated and can't drive, and nonprofits looking for people to help with local celebrations. If you aren't sure where or how to give back, write an email to an organization asking for more information or reach out to a friend who already works with an agency to find out to get involved.

However you choose to spend your time, have a safe and peaceful New Year’s Eve!

Growing Spiritually

Spiritual growth is a process of shedding our wrong and unreal concepts, thoughts, beliefs and ideas, and becoming more conscious and aware of our inner being. This process uncovers the inner spirit that is always present, but hidden beyond the ego-personality.

Spiritual growth is the process of inner awakening, and becoming conscious our inner being. It means the rising of the consciousness beyond the ordinary existence, and awakening to some Universal truths. It means going beyond the mind and the ego and realizing who you really are.

Spiritual growth is of great importance for everyone. Spiritual growth is the basis for a better and more harmonious life for everyone, a life free of tension, fear, and anxiety. It helps us learn not to let circumstances influence our inner being and state of mind. We manifest composure and detachment, and we develop inner power and strength, all of which are very useful and important tools.

Spiritual growth is not a means for escaping from responsibilities, behaving strangely and becoming an impractical person. It is a method of growing and becoming a stronger, happier and more responsible person.

A balanced life requires that we take care not only of the necessities of the body, feelings and mind, but also of the spirit, and this is the role of spiritual growth.

10 tips for spiritual growth

1. Read spiritual and uplifting books. Think about what you read, and find out how you can use the information in your life.

2. Meditate for at least 15 minutes every day. If you do not know how to meditate, it is easy to find books, websites or teachers who can teach you meditation.

3. Learn to make your mind quiet through concentration exercises and meditation.

4. Acknowledge the fact that you are a spirit with a physical body, not a physical body with a spirit. If you can really accept this idea, it will change your attitude towards many things in your life.

5. Look often into yourself and into your mind, and try to find out what is it that makes you feel conscious and alive.

6. Think positive. If you find yourself thinking negatively, immediately switch to thinking positively. Be in control of what enters your mind. Open the door for the positive and close it for the negative.

7. Develop the happiness habit, by always looking at the bright side of life and endeavoring to be happy. Happiness comes from within. Do not let your outer circumstances decide your happiness for you.

8. Exercise often your will power and decision making ability. This strengthens you and gives you control over your mind.

9. Thank the Universe for everything that you get.

10. Develop tolerance, patience, tact and consideration for others.

Spiritual growth is the birthright of everyone. It is the key to a life of happiness and peace of mind, and the manifesting the enormous power of the inner spirit.

This spirit is equally present within the most material person, and within the most spiritual person. The level of the manifestation of spirituality is dependent on how much the inner spirit is close to the surface, and on how much it is hidden by our thoughts, beliefs and negative habits.

Removing the Mask

In modern society, we have learned to hide ourselves behind social masks of what we consider to be correct behaviour. We constantly ignore what we are feeling or thinking in order to receive the approval of those around us.

We pretend all the time in order to be accepted by others, but the irony is that we all do exactly the same thing, everyone else is pretending too. We think we are doing a great job of convincing everyone that “I really like you, you’re great” while at the same time we are thinking, “I hate her so much! I never want to see her again!” In reality, we’re not fooling anyone, they can all see through our act because they play the same roles themselves

It takes courage to put down your masks, but surprisingly, when you finally do so, you will receive more approval than ever before, because you will be approving of yourself.

One of the pitfalls on the path of self-realization is the adoption of a “spiritual” mask that replaces the old masks we have learned from society. We get caught up in the intellectual idea of how a spiritual person is meant to look, and we create a spiritual ego. Then, because of our outer appearance, our eating habits, our long hours of practice, or our many followers, we consider ourselves to be in a place of enlightenment, when in fact we are not. We create a new box of ideas and rules about how we are supposed to behave, based on the very teachings that were designed to break our boxes!

Absolute completion, or enlightenment, doesn’t have a box. It is unlimited totality, it just keeps expanding and expanding, eternally.

Our masks make us feel safe and comfortable, but comfort is one of the greatest causes of our discontent. We think our masks and the comfort they bring make us happy, but in reality they cause us to stop growing as individuals, leaving us stifled and dissatisfied. Our masks make us rigid and static. They suck the spontaneity, flexibility, and growth out of life. The greatest aspect of the human experience is evolution, to become more, more excellence and ultimately more love. Until we cast off our masks, we cannot truly evolve.

Self Healing with Universal Energy

As many of you realise from reading my blog, my spiritual path has been somewhat disrupted. However, now it seems that the path is a little clearer and I am beginning to flow back into the flow.

Being a Usui and Tibetan Reiki Master for over 25 years, I have had the honour of attuning and guiding many people into the Universal Energy of Reiki. But in recent years I have not been so involved and I have neglected my own spiritual awareness and progression.

Having now undertaken a shift in many factors in my life, it seems the energies are also shifting with me and it is time for more self healing.

Giving yourself healing is a very important aspect of Reiki. And I always recommend to my students that they perform self healing regularly, preferably daily in the beginning. This is one aspect which I have neglected quite significantly.

As well as improving your health, Self healing will balance and centre your mind/ body/ spirit system, thereby allowing for a dramatically increased flow of Reiki energy during healing sessions. Most importantly, it will definitely increase your inner guidance, helping you to pilot everyday situations more successfully, and provide guidance for your growth when appropriate. 

Although you can give yourself a healing by simply relaxing with your hands in one position on your body, such as one on the Anahata (Heart) Chakra and the other on Svansihthana (Sacral) Chakra, many people use different hand positions. You can give yourself a self healing whilst in a chair or laying on a couch or bed.

So here are some basic self treatment hand positions:

1. Hands overlapping on the top of the head

2. One hand on the forehead, the other hand on the back of the head midway between the crown of the head and the base of the skull

3. Hands resting on the eyes

4. Hands resting on the ears

5. One hand on the upper chest and the other on the solar plexus (where the ribs come together)

6. Hands on the hip area

Relax in each position 2-5 minutes. Practice these positions until they are familiar and you have some confidence. Gradually let your hands be guided by your intuition. As you practice and have a little patience you will gain experience and begin to trust your inner guidance. You cannot really make a mistake. Your healing sessions are always watched over by the Divine to ensure that your efforts will always be rewarded.

Begin a self-treatment with the same respect and reverence you would when giving Reiki to someone else. Bring your hands into "Namaste" Position at the heart and bow gently. Silently ask for the Reiki to Flow into and through you. You may also ask for your Reiki Guides, and Reiki Angels to direct the Reiki treatment.

The spiritual power of a smile

Studies have found that smiling makes people happier. Normally of course we think of things working the other way around: being happy puts a smile on our face. But the reverse is true as well. Feelings of happiness are triggered even when we don’t realise we’re smiling, for example when we’re clenching a pencil with the teeth, which causes the face to use the same muscles that are used when we smile. So the emotional impact of smiling is obviously not just the power of association, and it seems that it’s the activation of our “smiling muscles” that triggers the happiness response. But maybe it doesn’t matter why it works, as long as it does.

So as you meditate, smile, and help joy to arise. You don’t have to have a grin on your face. A gentle, almost imperceptible smile can have a transformative effect on how you feel. Smiling is a short-cut to unleashing your repressed joy.

One of the things that smiling does is to give us a sense of reassurance. When we smile, we send ourselves a signal saying “It’s OK. We got this. We can handle this.” When we smile, even in the face of difficulties, we remind ourselves that there’s a grown-up present. There’s a part of us that can function as parent, as mentor, as wise friend. We become our own spiritual guide.

Smiling shouldn’t however become a way of avoiding our experience. We don’t smile in attempt to drive away or replace difficult experiences but in order to be a friendly presence for them. Smiling, and the confidence it can bring, should make it easier for us to be with our experience, and less likely to turn from it. 

A simple smile can help us to feel more playful. Playfulness, letting our effort be light, allowing our heart to be open, not taking things personally, and appreciating the positive, allows joy to arise. On the other hand, taking things too seriously is a sure-fire way to kill joy. When we try to force or control our experience, trying to do everything “right”, our experience becomes cold, tight, and joyless. Smiling helps us to lighten up.

When we smile, we’re more confident, and we can let go of our fear-driven need to police and control our experience. We’re less likely to judge, and can be more accepting. So we might, for example, notice that many thoughts are passing through the mind, and yet find ourselves at ease. We might notice an old habit kicking in once again, and rather than blame ourselves for messing up, feel a sense of kindly benevolence.

One potent illustration of the power of a smile is the image of the Buddha being assaulted by the hordes of Mara, the personification of spiritual doubt and defeat. In this allegory, which has been depicted many times, Mara’s armies, which consist of hideous demons that symbolize craving, discontent, laziness, and fear, surround the Buddha. At the center of a tempest of demonic fury, the enlightened one sits, smiling serenely. A radiant aura extends around him, and when the weapons of his foes touch it, they fall harmlessly as flowers.

In a sense the Buddha’s aura is the radiance of his smile, the protective effect of his determined yet playful confidence. Every time we smile in meditation, we create the conditions for joy and peace to arise. Every time we smile in meditation, we connect ourselves to the Buddha’s own awakening.