Notice so often, many assume spiritual growth means achieving some extraordinary, other-worldly, blissed-out state where we are somehow transported out of where we are. This view leads us to constantly reach for the next spiritual high, focus on futures. Or we feel that with all our commitments, responsibilities we have few ways for developing our inner nature. Both of these views reflect an error in perception. Let's step back, take another look. 

In fact, our day-to-day experiences offer raw material for spiritual development. Conflicts that arise in our families and among colleagues, the pain of losing loved ones, or our resistance to paradigms, stories, events, do not prevent inner development. Rather, they point to our ignorance and all else that hinders us from knowing and embodying true nature. We must simply be willing to surrender to the process. We are each invited to meet situations that present with compassion. This is true nature. 

Many of us do not distinguish between true nature and our personality traits, particularly our less desirable traits. Thing is, we are not the body, mind, emotions, but spirit-soul. It is the nature of the untrained mind to want what it perceives as advantageous and resist what seems painful. Discovering how the heart and mind can work together allows us to move beyond resistance and start to know inner freedom. Every situation we create has potential to reveal our true nature.

At different stages, we can feel overwhelmed by life conditions or feel bound by past traumatic events. If and when this happens, we do not see things as they really are. They are just mind-states which can be known, seen as impermanent, do not belong to us. They do not define true nature. A spiritual practice can provide insight and discipline to explore our perceptions. We each must discover what is true for ourselves. Heresay does not cut it. We can each do this right where we are. There is no need to go to a monastery or get our life more together. The intensity of our will and fears is a catalyst that propels us to go down the rabbit hole.  We can choose how to see, reframe, respond to events that will lead us to a deeper relationship with true nature.

For many years, words by Viktor Frankl have inspired me. In his book, Man’s Search for Meaning wrote, “We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

It is crucial to understand, from a spiritual perspective, that the pain and suffering with which we work is no less substantial, or less real or difficult than those others face. The constrictions of the heart and mind cannot be measured like so many pounds of pressure; they are energies we learn to feel, harness and guide us back to true nature. Funny, the quest to reconnect with true nature is often lost in ordinary life. To be wrapped up in the mundane causes us to forget the big picture.

Buddha teaches that true nature is obscured by veils of wanting, fear, and delusion (or ignorance). He urges us to look at nature of our mind systematically and observe how these three mind-states condition what we think and value, and how we behave. He teaches that to identify with these mind-states causes suffering.
If we are not our thoughts, then what is our true nature, how do we find it, and how do we live so that it may flourish?

Well, the true nature of love is not based on ego strategy, but on the sheer openness of one heart to another. This is the kind of heart-opening that provides us with courage to face what arises.

Buddha also echoes our true nature is emptiness- a lack of a permanent Self- and when this true nature is realized, the divine states of the Brahma-viharas – loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity- emerge. There is also a state of mind and heart known as bodhichitta that leads one to completely dedicate oneself to the liberation of all beings from suffering. In the teachings of the great yoga masters, our true nature is Brahman, the universal soul, of which the individual soul is simply a part. When this is realized there is satchidananda, the awareness of bliss, from the knowing that pure awareness is our ultimate nature.

At some stage, it dawns, feelings of true nature are real. What Buddha describes are actual states of mind- body that can be physically and emotionally felt as profound consciousness shifts. For some people, these changes in consciousness have a strong physical component or a marked shift in perception. Some of us experience dramatically altered states of being. Others know subtle shifts in clarity, emotional centeredness, spontaneous acts of kindness. Every moment the body and mind experience true nature may feel transcendent, and manifestation simply occurs without effort. To know a “soft heart” is to act with selfless compassion. This is dwelling in the divine aspect of true nature. The new normal can feel like a transcendent moment.

Decode physical injury

Notice every moment, infinite opportunities exist to ground the soul in this world, to make the unconscious, conscious, reinforce confidence in our abilities. At times, we get bruises from little bumps in life, to our ego/ pride or physical body. Each is a subtle reminder of any lingering self-punishment we are ready to let go.  Recently injured my big toe. Love tuning into intuitive messages.

Almost everyone can relate to unconscious injuries as we cannot consciously self-harm. In life, our feet are on the front line. Sometimes it feels we take two steps forward, three steps back. The spiritual vibe of foot issues refers to current life situation or direction, its like soul reflecting on the nature of the 'right' path.

In the wider world, feet literally carry us through. They support our weight, guide us to find balance, and are the means to ground our soul growth. Physical pain can echo growing pain or resistance to soul growth. If you have ever broken or stubbed toes, twisted an ankle, ripped a ligament, it dawns the physical issue and forced pause is a gift pointing to something else. Level of consciousness echoes what is most relevant to each of us.. There are no accidents, only synchronicities.

As mysterious pain arises, body parts are speaking to us. Our feet allow us to get around. Put one foot in front of the other, and we get somewhere. Physical injury stops us in our tracks, forces us to slow down. If not feet, could be hands, fingers, or another body area. Sometimes we resist changes soul knows are best for us that don’t feel good to ego. Whatever prompts change is a gift. We are invited to savour the blessings in our midst. We may be processing feelings like grief or anger around unwanted change. Maybe you fear not being supported ? Ultimately what matters is trusting, supporting ourselves in our own surrender.

You may wonder if you are asking too much of yourself or pushing self forward when you do not feel ready for something. To question whether we may take on too much responsibility, it may be that we are are ready to redefine responsibility. Such questions we can only answer for ourselves.

Recall the idea that "God never puts us in a situation he doesn't think we cannot handle, though sometimes we wish he didn't trust us so much." The soul and ego are at odds only until it dawns they are both on the path to realize the same thing.

Turns out paradise is not found by resisting discomfort or rejecting unwanted parts of self. We are in process of rewriting eons of false narratives we created and embedded in our bones, muscles, fascia, connective tissue, ligaments, cells. With perfect timing, what are initially viewed as injuries or negative events suddenly echo a healthy energetic recalibration process, so we evolve or rebuild from the inside out, and finally see boundaries and problems only exist in mind.

See the cosmic wisdom beyond past lives

Notice what it feels like to ease into a more liberated and joyful human experience. Awakening to false identities and energy distortions continues to create upheavals in human existence. Different reference points in our realities are crumbling. New references arise to replace those we outgrow and let go. More and more people are growing aware of unrest, yet conflict and confusion may seem to intensify until that pivotal moment-a life changing shift.

Many people are taught to believe they live to reach a point when God or enlightenment may be realized, like a reward at the end of a path or death. Still others nourish traditions where spirit is felt as part of this 3-D world. We can be and embody divine spirit, remember that heaven is always here in this moment.

We each have the ability to reach a frequency that is beyond the personality, that allows us to listen to the Higher Self or Source Energy. We are linked to a certain universal frequency of light understanding, an awareness of who we are as one unified being.

Each instance we experience a frequency like we have in another incarnation, this triggers deja-vu or visions of "past lives". We have the ability to extract wisdom and insight from the stream so as to anchor a new vibration. The body may not be the same but energy vibration and frequency are recognized by our timeless consciousness. Meditating on uplifting core frequencies is a means of drawing ourselves out of imbalance and confusion and back to love. Meditation and other spiritual practices are also a path to allow us to get back into harmony with true divine nature.

Allow it to happen

Kundalini is a buzzword many people aspire to. Its the byproduct of spiritual advancement. In the West, people are taught to be ego-driven, self-centred, to focus on the goal, prize or destination rather than the path to get there. People are widely unaware of the reasons behind the process, its origins, and the collective motive for doing it. It is about contributing to evolving humanity. It was originally part of an initiation process. The energy generated here allows the mythical phoenix to arise from the ashes. 

An energetic view is its the rising of consciousness through chakras.  The cakra (Sanskrit) means “wheel” and refers to energy points in your body. They are thought to be spinning disks of energy that stay “open” unless blocked. The life force is a symbolic flow of energy that can rise in a very gradual and smooth process which is the natural course of things for some beings.  In ancient times, when one had a guide through processes, it was the traditional reflection of maturity and development. It can result naturally and spontaneously from living a pure and wholesome life.  Yet, in modern day, this is a rarity.

Many people are familliar with the Purusharthas (inherent values of the Universe: Artha (economic values) Kama (pleasure), Dharma (righteousness), and Moksha (liberation).

At a spiritual level, the Purusharthas are the blueprint for human fulfillment. Being mindful a satisfying, balanced, a meaningful life at the deepest, most holistic level of life. They offer a way of keeping you 'above board' so you make sound decisions. Knowing soulful goals brings meaning to your spiritual practice.

Purushartha implies “for the purpose of the divine Self. Take a moment and ask yourself, ‘Am I managing my life in a way to support my spiritual growth?’ and ‘What do I really, really want at the level of my Soul?’”

Consciousness opens or unfolds your potentiality relevant to where you are in life.  Issues arise if people take steps to rush this process.  For example, engage in intense spritual practices without proper preparation, purification and guidance is risky.  Without the proper containment of energy, guidance and interpretation of what is happening within, it can create more issues that you start with. In some cultures, a person is apprenticed to a master and goes through the process at a suitable pace for a disciple. 

Yet, in modern times, with access to the Internet and bombardments of information, people often work on their own without background insights. The ego would have us believe that we do not require external teachers or gurus.  To take a substance or engage in practices on a whim might evoke extreme experiences, but not everyone is equipped to intergrate that. Some people take drugs or intensify practices and  get shaken up without anyone to guide them. So, if the process does not unfold naturally,  the issue is never consciousness or kundalini energy, but the state of receptiveness of the body vessel. What happens sometimes is people attempt to get somewhere they have not created an energetic basis to sustain.

My own process has involved opening myself to progressively more intense flows of energy.  To simply have energy flowing without blockages would be pure bliss (satchitananda). However, trembling typically reaches a hiatus where a person cannot handle any more charge or electrical flow and must then take a rest. The process may then, in due time, begin again.

To surrender to the flow allows it to flow down through the crown, integrate all the koshas into harmony. This energy is divine intelligence, knows precisely what you need for soul evolution.  Some blockages are shaken out through kriyas (body's spontneous movements). We are invited to feel into discomfort, relax to allow energy  to flow freely.  Does the pain have a memory or emotion attached to it? One may lead to flashes of others as part of the process of releasing blockages. Does the intensity flowing through have a sound? Release it.

In Kundalini meditation, you can work to awaken this energy, go through your process and achieve enlightenment through a combination of techniques, including:

1. deep breathing (breathwork)
2. mudras (hand movements)
3. mantras (phrases)
4. physical movements (kriyas)

Notice to be aware is an ongoing process. Awareness is not an end goal. Time is illusion so beginning, middle, end are illusions. As we develop mindfulness, purify thoughts and feelings within, we grow aware of the present personality and the core along with all the influences, distractions, distortions. As deeper energy discernment arises, sources of influence within and beyond our own energy field, are felt. Many stages exist in awakening. It is not a single "event."

At some stage, it dawns spiritual growth and personal growth are the same. This is a purification and process of rediscovery of who we truly are.  We are constantly interfacing with other versions of Self in parallel timelines and worlds. Expansion of consciousness allows for non-verbal, energetic and telepathic exchanges unaffected by space-time. Accelerating changes in the physical world echo ongoing internal structural transformation and transmutation. Coming to adapt and accept conditions beyond our control is a learned skill, part of the journey to self-mastery.