I didn’t recognize I was in the midst of a Spiritual Awakening until I became aware. I didn’t realize what I was going through until I was the “other side” of it. I can describe it as a place I used to be mentally. Soon, all that I had once stood for, understood, valued, and prioritized were all changing for me.
It wasn’t until I became aware that these were changing, that I understood what no longer resonated with me. I didn’t know what values or new mindset would replace my old ways of thinking, but I did know the ones I was moving away from…what no longer served me.
Wherever I was going, whatever was coming to me, I was ready to welcome it into my life. I knew I had to shed this layer of myself to prepare me for what was next. That’s all I knew. I didn’t understand what was going on, but that it was going on.
Once I realized what was happening to me, was actually happening for me, I allowed myself to experience everything without judgement.
Every event, struggle, opportunity, thought, emotion. I took it in, felt all that I was feeling, breathed through it, worked through it, got through it and was on my way toward the next level of my consciousness.
What is the Present Moment?
Before I scare people off with my ‘mystical’ words, I understand this diction can be confusing or different at first. If it has never been explained in a way that resonates with you, allow me to explain what it means to me.
When most people hear the word ‘Spiritual’ they tend to associate it with religion or faith. As for this blog, when I say spiritual I mean my practice with the present moment, my subconscious, and the Earth, which have all become very spiritual in the sense of energy.
This does not mean I am not religious or that I don’t have a faith, it means I have a different practice for those versus this. Sometimes it is combined with my Faith, and sometimes it is separate…they are both their own lights in my life.
For me, tuning into my subconscious, my awareness, letting go of my Ego, and returning to the present moment, opened my world into a new reality of possibilities. This new reality, or what Ekhart Tole recalls in this book, “A New Earth“, is the ‘next level’.
What does the next level look like? The next level for me includes values for the majority, a kindness for the greater good, the realization that we are all interconnected and that we should help each other become awakened, not hinder one another.
For me, it is the small moment of space between existing and recognizing you are existing…which is a brief moment in time. But with great practice, those moments bring peace and serenity that can last far longer.
They bring out your most authentic self, free of Ego, free of anxiety for the future, free of fear or trauma from the past. It is where time stands still and is the moments I collect to make up my beautiful life.
These moments would change the world if everyone knew how to tap into them. These moments hold the greatest gratitude for joy, appreciation for the people in your life, for the Earth, and Nature, and People around you. It is bliss. It is, the present moment. And to get there, you must start to awaken to the present moment.
Let me give you an example on how I get myself to this moment. The truth is every second of our day is an opportunity to connect with the present moment. It is our life’s purpose to align with it.
Close your eyes, take a deep breath, hold it at the top of your throat so your chest fills up with air, pause, and open mouth breathe out all that air. You have just put yourself in a position of being. You are a human, being. You are being, human.
Now as you take your next breath, try to become aware of your human body breathing. Become aware of the room around you as you breathe, become aware of the sounds you can hear, become aware of how your body feels, without judgement.
As you become aware, notice. Notice these things for a second and then let go of them, let go of any judgements you may have experienced. Breath, take notice, experience, and breath out. This is the practice of recognizing that you are recognizing the world around you. That is an example of how I tune myself into the present moment.
When to use the Present Moment
This can also be done throughout your day. I think one of the best/easiest ways to tune into the present moment is during moments of joy…like when I am belly laughing with my husband because he just said the most absurd thing at the dinner table.
It’s when I’m at happy hour with my girlfriends who I haven’t seen in months and I get to hug each of them and hear all about their lives.
It is the moment the beat drops during my favorite song played by my favorite band at a music festival surrounded by all my people.
It is holding your animal or loved one closely. It feels like a ‘snapshot’ in time.
And at times, I will literally take a mental picture. No seriously, I have actually held my hands up to my face as if I was holding a disposable camera (now I’m sharing my age….lol), and I will press my finger down on the imaginary button, getting my mental picture all in frame.
No one would recognize you are doing this, unless of course you do the imaginary, disposable camera tactic.
This is an intimate practice with yourself.
When you find yourself experiencing your happiest moments, tune into it, pause, be silent, let everyone and everything continue around you. Breath in deeply, breath out slowly, and recognize yourself, being. I strongly believe the more you do this, the more your life will become blissful and you will remain at peace.
You may also tune into the present moment when you are experiencing moments of chaos, stress, anxiety, etc. I think it is so important to tune into these present moments by recognizing how you are feeling…the thoughts and emotions you are experiencing.
Understand that whatever event, circumstance, person, or feeling that is causing the thoughts and emotions is not permanent.
Take notice to experience them, and then let them pass. Fear, anxiety, chaos, and stress can not survive alongside the present moment. It is impossible. You can change the pattern by starting with your breath.
The Process of Awakening
Everyone’s Spiritual Enlightenment or Spiritual Awakening process is different. (You can call it whatever you want. I’ll be using Spiritual Awakening). For some, it may take a lifetime’s work…for others it may have already happened at a young age…for another’s it could start slow and all of a sudden explode, and so on.
For me, I believe I was slowly becoming awakened at the end of 2019, prior to Covid 19. Through the pandemic I was given the opportunity to take notice, to take equity of my life. I didn’t realize I was going through the Spiritual Awakening process until I was halfway through it.
I had read books and listened to many, many podcasts through the year. I was subconsciously entering into conversations and programs that would only accelerate my awakening further. I was unaware that I had been building up to my next level until I felt entirely crazy. I know my boyfriend (turned Husband) must have thought I was insane. And I felt crazy…I wondered if anyone else had gone through what I was thinking or feeling. I was confused. I felt like this was something totally one-off.
But, I continued to go through it. I took it all that I was reading and learning and continued to keep an open mind, only focused on being present for whatever came my way, without judgement.
I felt like I was leaving behind a version of me that no longer served my trajectory. Things I once believed in or that I thought held value, no longer held the same weight.
It’s completely normal. To feel you are parting with a past version of yourself, it can be brutal. But it is necessary to grow.
This was all around the time when the opportunity to move to Italy with my boyfriend took place.
The World is funny with its opportunities. Some may think Covid-19 was the worst year ever. And for some, it may have been. Some people lost loved ones, lost jobs, lost homes. For some, it was a huge challenge and my heart lays heavy with those who have suffered and lost.
At the same time, the World does not take away without replenishing us…without presenting a new opportunity, perspective, knowledge, or lesson.
The Universe only gives us what we can handle. Before bringing us to a new level of understanding, we have to outgrow where we are.
And when you are on the brink of a new opportunity, it is common to be in turmoil. It is normal for your body to shed what you are currently holding on to, to make space for your ‘next level’. I sometimes call this my next ‘season of life’.
What Comes After Awakening?
This is the story of my Spiritual Awakening and what I aim to teach many people. If you find yourself in a limbo period or funk or whatever you call the in between space that makes you feel exhausted, drained, confused, stressed…just remember, there is something greater coming for you.
The Universe is making space for you to welcome ‘new’ into your life, you just have to notice that opportunity and take it. Like our breathing exercise above. Create the space, take notice, be with it.
Once I realized I had been having a Spiritual Awakening, I found more peace in the process. After reading book’s like A New Earth, The Secret, What I Know for Sure, The Four Agreements, The Defining Decade, etc, I realized that what I was going through was something very special.
It clicked that the last year and a half of my life was slowly building up to this point. And that everything I had ever gone through, had only contributed in bringing me to this exact moment.
Now, being on the other side of my Spiritual Awakening, I feel more at peace. I still have my days, I am not perfect. But now, I have a mindful practice and awareness that I can tune into whenever I am given the opportunity, which is every day, at any moment.
By starting with my breath, I can create space for my thoughts and emotions. This is where the real work begins. This was the next level in my trajectory, this was where I was going after ridding my body of my previous season.
Teaching others how to uncover these moments of bliss is something I feel honored to do. Once you have this ability (this power) it’s hard to not find them. You become a magnet. You attract more moments of bliss, you stop stressing over your thoughts and emotions, you become aware of what serves you and what no longer does.
I welcome you to a new way of being. By being present. You are exactly where you are supposed to be.
I am happy you are here.
