It is a process of remembering who we truly are. When we come into form (when we are born) we forget we are God/Source. We forget our boundless, eternal nature, and instead feel small and separate. We live out our life as the character we've been told we are until the seed of enlightenment within us is activated. This may happen because we have a glimpse of reality (transcendent experience), or perhaps we go through a very stressful or traumatic time that allows us to drop the story of ourselves, even for a moment. We start to realize that we are not the person we thought we were, and we wonder, well who am I then? We begin a journey, deeper and deeper inward, to try and find out the answer to this perplexing question. During this process, we let go of identities, beliefs, ideas, concepts, and patterns, and heal old unprocessed emotions and trauma. We spend a lot of time in meditation, reconnecting with our true selves - our forgotten, silent, divine core. After many realizations about who we are and the nature of reality and many direct experiences of this Truth, we eventually shift out of the trance of separation - leaving the dream behind. We realize that what we have been seeking is what remains when all the illusion is gone, and it was always there - hiding in plain sight. We experience ourselves as everyone and everything, yet also formless - a beautiful paradox where we live consciously as God in human form. This is sometimes called enlightenment.

The aloneness is a teacher. It can sometimes be triggered by us losing someone in our lives, but can also arise without reason. When we spend time with this painful feeling, we begin to learn that there are some realizations about what is true, that are ready to be faced. Each time it cycles around, we deepen our understanding that we are truly alone because there is only one of us, yet we are everywhere, at the same time. We start to be taught what Oneness is. What initially can be challenging to face, we end up adapting to completely. We live our lives from this Truth.

Everyone has a different awakening path and for some people, it involves a close relationship with a mentor/teacher. For others, it is more of an independent path as they have karmic lessons around developing autonomy and discernment. Regardless of your path, it can be very beneficial to have someone in your life that is further along on the awakening path, to check in with from time to time. It is easy for us to delude ourselves when we're lost in the trance of separation and this can keep us from progressing on the path. A good guide will be able to point out where you have blind spots, so you keep progressing forward.

Learning how to trust the awakening path and the great mystery of who we are, is a process. This trust is developed incrementally over time, as it is revealed to you that it is trustworthy. Although you may be pushed to your limits at times, you find out through experience that it was necessary and that you got through it unscathed. Every fear and doubt is addressed, piece by piece, through the intricate and complex awakening process. Over time you grow faith in the process so strong that you are willing to completely surrender the story of you to this unknown force. When this time comes you are ready, and your love for Truth outweighs your fear of the unknown.

It takes real courage to keep progressing with awakening. Sometimes it can feel like things are changing rapidly, and other times it can feel like no progress has been made in a while. This is where radical honesty is required, to inquire whether something needs to change. Is there an attachment that wants to be released but we are grasping onto it? Are we avoiding facing the deep aloneness that is an unavoidable part of the awakening journey? Are we scared of being everything/emptiness/Source so we are avoiding silence/meditation? The more willing we are to sit in discomfort and face whatever wants to arise, the more we allow for the natural unfolding to continue.

There are many types of fear that you may face on the path. It may be fear around the changes that are happening, how much you'll lose, or what your life will be like when you're awake. It's completely normal and understandable to have these fears and each one will need to be lovingly met. At some stage, you may start to feel existential fear and this may sound like "I'm scared of not existing, I'm scared of dying, I'm scared of being everything". Notice the natural tendency you may have to resist this intense emotion and instead gently lean into it (energetically) going slightly deeper each time you try. Allow yourself to fully feel this intense fear for as long as it takes to shift (often months). It can be helpful to remind ourselves that nothing bad is happening, a fear response is being activated in the body due to the mind not being able to understand what is outside of itself. You are just remembering who you truly are, ultimately there is nothing to be scared of. It can be beneficial to meditate on death and what it means to be eternal. This can often soothe existential fear.

Truth with a capital T, speaks to the truth of reality or absolute truth, which means it applies to everyone and everything, such as - we are emptiness, we are formless, we are everything. There is still truth that applies to people on a relative or personal level such as "I am John". It's true as far as that's what he's been named, but ultimately there is no person there (which would be the ultimate or absolute Truth.) This Truth is what awakening teachers and traditions are talking about and although it is expressed in slightly different ways, the underlying message is the same. So when a teacher is talking about Truth, they're (hopefully) not referring to their belief about what they think is true, but giving voice to the nature of reality from emptiness itself.

It's an avoidance strategy to avoid the difficult parts of the spiritual journey. Once you've learnt some spiritual truths, the mind can then unconsciously use this content as an avoidance strategy. Common ones are: - we are already all enlightened, so I don't need to work on awakening - we are already whole and complete, so I don't need to work on myself - we are already That/God/Awareness, so I don't need to do any spiritual practices/therapy It's about the mind using a spiritual truth to avoid pain, which in turn delays spiritual growth. It's trickier to spot than other avoidance strategies because there is often some truth to the justification. This is where a teacher can be of benefit to you, as they can point out where you are deluding yourself.

Practice 1: Sit in meditation and once your mind has become quiet, ask the question - who am I? Wait quietly and attentively for the answer. If the mind tries to come up with an answer, then that is not it. You are looking for an experience of your true nature, not a verbal answer. The answer is the gap of silence before the mind starts talking. It may only be for a second and perhaps seem subtle, but if you keep repeating this practice, you will start to see the benefits. Practice 2: Try to locate the "I". When you notice a thought, such as, I'm always late for work, try to locate the one talking. Any time you hear an "I" "me" or "my" thought, try to find the separate entity that is having those thoughts. You are investigating to see if you can find any solid sense of self, any subject that is having these experiences. You may feel confused, disorientated or the mind may go silent. All of that is normal.

We go through many different transitions and have deeper levels of realisation as we go through the spiritual awakening process. Awakening officially begins with an identity shift, where some part of the identity drops away and we start to have access to awareness/presence. After many years of unravelling the illusory self, we experience three permanent shifts: - The mind awakens and realises it is emptiness which is the end of seeking and feels like a rebirth. At this shift, you can no longer believe you are a separate person. This is a permanent identity shift from believing you're the character, to living permanently from the Truth which is, I am Awareness/Emptiness. This shift can be referred to as liberation. - The heart awakens and realises "I am everything", sometimes called Unity Consciousness. You then live perceiving Oneness. You see everything as yourself, which is Awareness. This shift can be referred to as self-realisation. - The final shift which is sometimes called "no-self" and is the end of the self-reflective function of the mind. It is easy to confuse earlier shifts that happen when we're seeking for one of these three permanent shifts. Although getting a taste of our true nature can happen in an instant, the spiritual awakening journey is a long and complex process.

Some indicators that you are progressing with awakening are: - Deeper and deeper access into awareness in an embodied way - Identity dropping away - lose interest in past endeavours, unable to create a new identity, life is changing with attachments dropping away, you are evolving rapidly - No longer trying to be anything in the world, awakening takes priority - Surrendered to the awakening process, no longer trying to control it - Making noticeable progress with triggers - Starting to access the full emotional range and have appropriate emotional reactions to circumstances that arise - Working on love - the beliefs about love from childhood dissolve, and you start to access a deeper and more fundamental love that is always there - Stop projecting wounds onto others - Addictions and other coping strategies have dropped away - No longer trying to control others, see the perfection in how everything is and that it doesn't need to change - Have strong boundaries and self-care - Psychological maturity, a high-functioning human - Worked through layers of dependence until completely independent and learning about autonomy (not being influenced by anyone else) - Breaking core wounds - I am unworthy, I am not enough, I am unlovable, I am broken - Breaking core identities that make up the illusory self - I am a man/woman, I am a person - A winding down of the seeker energy and practices until you're only interested in sitting in silence for extended periods - Desire drops away - Personal will drops away - The majority of trauma and patterns have been worked through - Later realisations include realising who/what I am is that which I have been accessing, realising that you are love, realising that you are everything

Our true nature is a label to describe who we really are beyond all of our identity and conditioning. Through the awakening process, it is revealed to us through direct experience that there is something deeper than the personal story. Other words to describe our true nature are awareness, emptiness, presence, source, consciousness, or our essential or fundamental nature. However, these are all just labels and only point to what is true. What we are is ineffable.

Humanity has evolved to have self-awareness, which is a self-reflective function of the mind. This begins around 18 months of age and allows us to feel separate from our surroundings and develops the felt sense of "I". Then, our family and society condition us into believing we are separate by teaching us our name, roles, gender and everything else about being a person. Layers of identity are constantly added throughout the life and this makes us feel as though we exist as a separate entity. This is innocent and allows us (as God) to experience ourselves as people. So, although we could never truly be a person, we can believe we are and enjoy all of the experiences of this belief.

Everything that comes into form eventually goes out of form, so on a relative level, death exists. Going through the awakening process reveals to us through our direct experience that what we truly are (emptiness/awareness) is eternal, meaning it has no start or finish. When we have the realisation that we are eternal, the fear of death dissolves and we can easily live from the paradox that the human body will die, but we will continue on as our true nature for eternity.

Non-duality is a term to describe that there is not two or no separation. It means that what we are is unable to separate itself into parts. There is only us, as God, appearing in different forms. The awakening process reveals non-duality to be the Truth of reality.