At our core, we are not just human beings – at our core, we are divine beings, and our true essence is love – pure and boundless love. It’s the very reason for our existence.

Yet, in the flow of our busy everyday lives, although we feel totally awake, many of us have actually fallen “asleep” to this truth about who we really are. 

Spiritual awakening is about rediscovering – awakening to – this divine nature within us. And when we do that, everything changes. 

Now this awakening is not like just waking up from a nap. For most of us, it’s not even just a single moment – some kind of insightful flash of realization, It’s a process – a personal journey – of gradually waking up to that deeper truth of our more complete being.

Imagine it as walking into a divine garden, where peace, love, and beauty continuously grow and thrive. And as this garden grows all around us, we grow with it, uncovering more and more of the light and love we’ve always carried within us, but have forgotten.

At the heart of this journey is one profound question:

“Who am I?”

In exploring that question, we find ourselves, our purpose, and the love that connects us all.

And – as we continue to awaken more and more – all of life – just – gets better and better. Not just for us, but for everyone and everything we come in contact with.

There is one all-powerful Consciousness in the universe, AS the universe. It is pure Awareness, pure Love. It is all that exists, and, despite any illusionary appearances to the contrary, it is only good. We can call it “God”, but in truth it is beyond naming. Let’s just call it “Spirit” or a “Higher Power, or “the Divine”. Each of us can call it whatever works best for us, but we would do well to avoid any names which may invoke in us any sense of guilt, shame, or obligation, especially from past religious experiences. None of that is who we are.

We are not our thoughts or feelings.

Our thoughts and feelings are temporary apparitions, little vapors of our human minds. They arise and subside, completely at random, but have absolutely no power or influence over who we really are, unless we believe they do.

Understanding that we are not our thoughts or feelings is the single most important shift in spiritual awareness.

We are actually only awareness itself. At first this may be a difficult truth to grasp, but it’s well worth the effort.

Since who we really are – the true Self within us – is awareness itself, that true Self cannot be harmed, damaged or corrupted. As material persons, spiritual beings having a physical existence, we may temporarily lose our way, or be misled. But how long we remain lost depends entirely upon our desire to awaken from the dream of mind identification we have been conditioned to experience and embrace Love as our true nature.

All apparent incompatibilities between science and spirituality are unnecessary distractions. Personal beliefs in external impressions from the past are self-created mirages of the mind. There is no heaven or hell except that which we ALLOW our thoughts to create for ourselves, usually because we just don’t know otherwise. All sufferings are just mental traps we have set for ourselves. But, since we ourselves have set those traps, we ourselves can free us.

Awareness of our true nature is the master key that unlocks all these traps.

Just as with the principles of physics, everything in the universe is subject to automatic, impersonal spiritual principles of pure Love, also referred to as karma. Ignorance or denial of our true nature allows these spiritual principles to become the root cause of suffering, including hostility and violence, which are pointless and unnecessary. Alternatively, following sacred pointers to greater and greater awareness will liberate us from suffering, and let us enjoy happier, more loving, more fulfilled lives.

Love is our true nature.

Omnipresence reminds us of a profound truth: the Divine is not something distant or even external. It is within us, always and forever. It isn’t a being in the sky, judging or punishing us, and we don’t need anyone – no priest, guru, or savior – to help us connect with it. That connection already exists, always has, and always will.

We often feel as if we’re seeking the Divine, but the reality is, we’ve never really lost it. No matter what challenges we face – physical or emotional suffering, or even death – we are never separated from our Divine essence. We are more than just our physical bodies or fleeting thoughts. At our core, we are Divine Awareness, expressing itself not only through us, but AS us.

This means that life, as we experience it, isn’t confined to a beginning or an end. We’ve never truly been “born” and can never truly “die.” Instead, we are eternal beings, always present wherever the Divine is – and that’s everywhere, again, including within ourselves. We are living proof of an eternal truth: our connection to the Divine is unbreakable, infinite and personal.

Acceptance is observing life without judgment.

It’s about recognizing that Divine Grace – an aspect of our Higher Power – is always with us, delivering everything we need spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. In fact, true prayer is simply accepting, trusting, embracing, and being thankful for what is. When we fully welcome all the conditions in our lives, things naturally improve, often in ways that feel effortless. Acceptance invites a continued flow of Divine gifts. All we can do is block their flow by resisting what is. 

The Great Spirit of Life isn’t something outside of us to pray TO. If it’s everywhere, as the great sages throughout history say, it must also be within us. Devotional prayers of acceptance, gratitude, and love are beautiful expressions of the Divine living as us. We don’t have to earn or ask for our blessings; they come freely enough through Divine Grace. We can always expect them, because that’s just the natural flow of Love.

Even when life feels unsettling, there’s always a bigger picture, a bigger story unfolding, and we are a meaningful part of it. Trust the story – no matter what – and rest in the assurance and acceptance of grace as it carries us forward. Struggling is completely unnecessary.

We will do well when we just let it be.

We often mistake our true Self for our thoughts and feelings, giving them more control over us than they deserve. But here’s the truth: you are not your thoughts or emotions. You can observe them without identifying with them, and without giving them unnecessary power.

This realization changes everything.

Thoughts and feelings are tools. They can guide us or be let go of when they no longer serve us. We don’t have to fight, fix, or resist them. When we stop pouring attention into them, they lose their grip on us. They’re like passing clouds – temporary and harmless if we let them drift by.

The key is learning to observe these mental and emotional patterns dispassionately, without reacting to them. By doing so, we reclaim our power. We become choosers – deciding what deserves our attention and what doesn’t. This choice is freeing. It transforms unnecessary suffering into a life of lightness and joy.

As the saying attributed to Jesus goes, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” This is the power of understanding and practicing Attention.

Everything in the universe is deeply interconnected – nothing exists in isolation. As Albert Einstein beautifully expressed, the sense of separation we often feel is an illusion, a “prison”, he said, of our own making. When we see ourselves as distinct from others or nature, we limit our capacity for compassion and understanding.

The truth is, we are all part of the same spiritual consciousness. There is no “us” versus “them,” no true division in the grand spiritual reality. Time, space, and material differences fade when we embrace this perspective. It might seem challenging at first, but this shift in awareness is transformative. It’s well worth the effort. Once oneness is realized, it becomes a guiding light that can’t be ignored.

It is nothing less than a light that can completely liberate us all from the needless confusion and suffering in our lives.

Let’s think about this: Just reading about swimming won’t stop us from drowning. We have to actually, physically get into the water, and practice not drowning. Similarly, spiritual growth isn’t just about gaining knowledge, although there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. It’s about experiencing, applying, and living what you’re learning. We have to abide in our spiritual knowledge.

This idea isn’t new. Wisdom traditions remind us that self-knowledge, without action, avails us nothing. Spirituality thrives when it becomes a daily practice, not just a background belief system. It’s like swimming – it’s good to think about it, but you have to work at it before you can really be comfortable at the water’s edge. Without the actual practice and process of experience, by only seeking to learn about a thing, we cannot harness the actual power of it.

Ralph Waldo Emerson wisely said, “Do the thing and you’ll have the power.” And he was right.

Limited effort isn’t enough; consistency of experience is the only thing that transforms knowledge into habit.

And here’s the good news: You can start anytime. Growth is always possible, no matter where we are in life. Like a tree, we can grow and flourish wherever we’re planted – but only if we’re consistently cultivating ourselves, nurturing ourselves.

So today, let’s commit not just to learning, but to living and thriving in our spiritual journey – persistently and diligently.

After all, an awakened spiritual being is the most important thing you will ever become, and abidance is the most important habit you will ever develop.