My Path to Enlightenment

Hola, my fellow Spirit. Thank you for taking the time and visiting this space. It really means a lot to me, as time is the most precious thing we are given, while being alive in this realm. Today, I feel inspired to take you with me on my spiritual path for a brief moment, sharing with you how it all started, what has changed, what was left behind, and how it feels when you make it to the next level. Spoiler Alert, there is no finish line in sight, it just seems to continue into infinity. However, this is only my path, my experience, my truth. Yours may turn out to be completely different, as this is certainly not a one-fits-all process.

Every path is highly individual and sacred, leading us back to the source of our origin, to Universal Consciousness, or Spirit, itself. Very much like your fingerprints, you won't find another exact match anywhere else in existence. Everything about it is unique and special, your divine timeline, the challenges you face, the depth of your transformation, and the unfolding of the process itself, with all its different layers and steps to take. So, while reading about my path might help you figure out a thing or two, thereby taking off some pressure, it won't replace, reduce, or streamline your very own journey towards self-realization.

Let me be completely honest with you here, the path to reunite with your true self and discover your truth is messy. Better pack a pair of rubber boots, a hazmat suit, and two extra pairs of underwear and socks, maybe even a Snickers, before setting out on your journey. We don't want you to get "hangry." Just a compassionate heads-up in your direction.

It was a cold day in late autumn, and I still remember vividly that I was "down to my knees," pretty much done with life and it's ever-present challenges. I just wanted answers and was willing to risk everything. Who am I? Or, what am I? I am? Standing on the street, I looked upwards and pledged my full commitment. I was all-in, determined to find out, no matter the price. Having nothing to lose, I just hoped that somehow I would find my way. Which way exactly? No idea. The direction to go? No idea. Any idea on how to start? Nope.

Back then, my health was deteriorating. I couldn't find a new job. My relationship felt suffocating. The car broke down, and I had to take a loan. I was studying to finally get my career going, but didn't feel passionate about it. The list goes on and on, but let me spare you the details. At some point, something just had to give - me. I felt completely "burned out," in total "surrender mode," basically. There was not even a morsel of resistance left. Somehow, I felt inspired to just start reading, again. As a child, I loved to read. As an adult, it was mainly study and job related. No fun. No passion. No inspiration. I also started practicing yoga, something I still love doing and probably always will.

That was the starting point for my quest to find the truth, my truth. Everybody has their own, unique truth. As I've wrote before, every "game of life" is different, and only your soul knows all the details, as it programmed your "game" in the first place. When I started my journey, I believed that the process is always somewhat similar. You read certain books, do certain practices, twitch and tweak here and there a little bit, and then - one day you "wake up" and remember. If everything were that easy.

The spiritual path isn't so beautiful and easy peasy to pursue, as you might think it is. It's disturbing. It's confusing. It dismantles everything you believe to be true. It shows you which roles you play, which roles others play. It shows you the hidden agenda so many of us have, when interacting with each other, when "playing our game." It breaks you, again and again. It leaves no stone untouched, no belief left behind. It cracks you wide open. It destroys your identity. It makes you question everything and everyone, mostly yourself. It drives you crazy. This process is not done overnight or during a two-week-long vacation. It may take years, or even an entire lifetime. Maybe it will never be completed. But that doesn't matter. Every single step counts because it brings you closer to the truth and your real self.

Eventually, when nothing is left to give, no belief, no agenda, no insecurities, no role, no identity - you just feel at peace. You just "are." You come to terms with the present moment, with how things are right now, with how you are right now. You just accept - everything. Experiencing yourself, observing yourself as just this "beingness," pure energy, pure existence, you have reached what feels like an "inner sanctuary of tranquility and profound stillness" where you just perceive. "Nowhere to go. Nothing to do. No one to be.," as Vietnamese monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, puts it.

It's only in this State of Being, with "full on" present moment awareness, that true liberation from your past and future, and from your "monkey mind" with its thoughts, beliefs, and patterns can be experienced. The more time you spend in your natural State of Being - experiencing Ease of Being - the more you surrender and trust. Until, eventually something beautiful happens. Your soul effortlessly reunites with your Higher Self, with Spirit, opening you up to perceive all of existence through its lens - sensing what it senses, feeling what it feels. Doing so allows you to fully embody your true self, the love that you are, the light that you are, and the peace that you are.

It wasn't that long ago, that I had the most eye-opening dream about how my Higher Self relates to my soul and how it "sees" my human life experience. Witnessing my own birth from a third person perspective, yet already knowing all of what would eventually come my way, all the struggles and suffering, all the pain and exhaustion, all the emotions and feelings, I felt the most profound, unconditional love I've ever felt in my life. It instantly brought me to tears the moment I woke up, and changed how I would perceive myself and all other beings, forever.

Realizing yourself as this beautiful soul, as this always changing, always evolving, continuously growing, never to be completed, magnificent masterpiece, you can't help but also realize the same in everybody and everything else. You see yourself in others and others in you. You feel deeply connected with all of them, sharing a mutual bond - being a Spiritual and a Human Being, at the same time. You realize the interconnectedness of all in existence. The separateness you once "thought" to be real breaks away, and opens up a space where Oneness can settle in.

You realize the suffering you share, the confusion you share, the pain you share, the struggle you share, the desparation you share, the "finding yourself at the brink of breaking down and falling apart" that you share with every other human being. From here, kindness slowly arises, compassion for yourself and others, humility, because you realize you are neither better nor worse, just as everybody else, and finally love. You embody a love so deep, so pure, so unconditional that everything else vanishes into nothingness. You just love. You are love. This love is what will always remain. It carries you through life. It makes room for your inner light to shine, to shine as bright as the sun. From this moment onwards, you feel driven to create balance and harmony, for yourself and others.

Whenever I find myself surrounded by darkness - anxious, fearful, frightened, or desperate - I just hit the "pause button." You, too, can do this anytime. Thinking otherwise would be yet another false belief. Just breathe. Close your eyes and go inside. Feel inside. Visit your sanctuary. Reconnect with your Higher Self. Remember your truth, your light, your essence. "Wake up." Just be. That's what I do, and I still have to do it, often. Let me "bring you straight back to Earth," in case you entertain a certain belief that "being enlightened" puts you on a fast lane towards Heaven, Nirvana, Valhalla, or whatever you might call the state of pure bliss and ultimate happiness. It doesn't.

It's much more about balance. You are both a Spiritual Being and a Human Being, and will continue being so, as long as you play this "game of life." Your human life experience is tough and challenging. It's supposed to be like this, so that your soul can grow and evolve. But it's also so very precious, beautiful, and magical to consciously see it unfolding right before your eyes - the synchronicities, the inspiration, the guidance, and your transformation. Aligning with your Higher Self let's you perceive not only yourself and other beings, but Oneness, the way your soul does - Spirit does.

The pain will remain, but you try your best, and take good care of yourself - of both the human and the spirit. The suffering and the confusion will still come to visit you, but you try your best and let them in, just as you do with your irritating family members that come to visit you once a year. Because you still accept them. You still cherish them. You still love them. It's just who you are. The emotional turmoil will still leave you buried underneath its debris, but you try your best to meet yourself right there - broken, hurting, lost - carefully unburrying yourself, giving yourself a soft hug, showering yourself with unconditional love, and gently guiding yourself back into the light.

You will do this not only with yourself, but with others, too. At first, it may only be a loved one, a dear friend you feel closely connected with. When they stumble and fall, you will be right there with them. Reaching out, lending a helping hand, seeing them in their despair, and loving them just as they are. Then, it will spread. You notice others falling, and will intrinsically feel the desire to help them get up, because you see yourself in them. There is no room for "other," for seperateness left, as love, light, and peace have already taken its place.

That's how you know that you've already come a long way on your path. It might be over soon, or still continue. Only your souls knows. But it doesn't matter when your time here ends, because you realize your true self as timeless, infinite, and formless - as Universal Consciousness, as Spirit itself. At this stage, you've come full circle. You've experienced the "loop of enlightenment," as I would describe it. You live your life consciously, intentionally, purposefully, and authentically, savoring every moment of it, as if it were your last.

Accepting the present moment as it is, accepting yourself as you are, accepting others as they are, accepting your thoughts, feelings, emotions, and physical limitations, accepting the suffering and the pain, you are able to finally make peace with all of them. From this profound acceptance of what is - right here, right now - kindness, compassion, humility, gratitude, appreciation, clarity, light, love, and peace will arise, effortlessly. Eventually, your "unconscious self" will have left your human form, just to make space for your "conscious self," for your soul, to fill it. You are not it, the human, anymore. You are in it, in the form.

In the end, it's all about balance - heart and mind, human and spirit. It's not either/or. It's not seperateness. You are both, the human and the spirit, and need harmony to create wholeness. Let go of any remaining resistence and false beliefs, tricking you into assuming that "being enlightened" means you don't have to deal with this 3D world or your human "imperfections," anymore. Accept your human flaws, the confusion, the insecurities, the suffering, and the limitation. It's much easier to accept and cherish the Spiritual Being, than the human part of you. Yet, your true level of self-realization reveals itself in your ability to love every single facet of yourself unconditionally - all of it. The light and the dark. Why? Because your soul does. Spirit does.