Waking Up in a Busy World: Steps In the Space Between

That space between reaction and awareness is what you are here for.

Michael A. Singer

So we are here to grow and evolve. There is a space between our infantile reactivity, our focus on "poor little me" with all its desires and fears and our coming to awareness...full awakening. "Growing up " is a journey that occurs in steps, according to Michael Singer and many others. I can attest to many of these steps because I have taken them (and I have tripped on them) as I make my way to full awareness.

The steps are,, I believe:

Reactivity: where we react with out thought, like temper tantruming toddlers and their "me-me" proclamations, to the life circumstances that surround us. This is where we begin to build our psyche ( the collection of all our learned experiences) and begin writing the lists of our wants and don't wants.
Planning: as we begin to grow we realize that reactivity only gets us in trouble, giving us more of what we don't want and really doesn't help us get what we want...so we learn to plan. We have collected, in our psyches, all those experiences that felt "good" inside and we plan ways to manipulate, seek and attain that which will continue to make us feel good. We have also "learned" to decipher what things and circumstances made us feel "bad" inside and we plan ways to fix what is broken "out there"and we plan ways to protect ourselves from more of these situations. We reinforce this idea of "me"...we reinforce our psyches. The power of unfulfilled desire is at the root of all man's slavery. Yogananda
Noticing: We begin to notice and observe what we are doing in regards to reactivity and planning; we observe that we have been doing it our whole life and that it doesn't work! We see that even though we put so much energy into this and no matter how much we achieve in outer world standards...it isn't making us happy; it isn't taking away our suffering. We are still constantly struggling. We are still suffering.
Realization that we are not okay: We see that as long as we have things inside that bother us or things outside that bother our things inside we are not okay. We see we suffer.
Reaching a limit of not being okay: We finally have enough of these tendencies that don't work. We finally have enough of suffering and struggle. We just want peace! (That is the stage where I am most times)....
Saying "No"to the Mind's Habit Energies : We finally put our hand up and say, "Enough! I am not going to do this any longer! I am not going to be pulled by desire and fear anymore." ...
Turning inward rather than outward: We finally get it that we have to deal with what is inside and stop blaming and worrying so much about the outside. Since you alone are responsible for your thoughts, only you can change them. (Yogananda). Of course we are going to be completely shocked when we see how much we actually have stuffed inside that we have denied most of our lives. It will be a little overwhelming.
Willingness to Evolve: We become willing to step back and watch without reacting as Life does what it is here to do... We, as these troubled reactive, planning little "me"s are, at least, willing to get out of the way for that which is deeper to come through. (This stage is not about renouncing...it all about noticing and being willing not to follow old habit energies any longer ). Though actually being able to get out of the way and staying out of the way, at this point, is not that easy
Testing out the Seat of Awareness: We will, because of our willingness to let go, have moments when we find ourselves centered and peaceful for no explicable reason. In those moments we are momentarily in the Seat of awareness...we are the witness and observer. Little "me" is out of the way. It will seem that we got it....but... we will likely not stay here for very long.
Series of slips and falling back into old ways: This is a "practice" and a practice means there is a certain degree of mistakes and failures as we learn. We will fall back into old habit tendencies. That is a given. It is so important we don't punish or reprimand ourselves harshly, or give up on the process because we just don't seem to "get it" quick enough. We must be compassionate and patient with our inner students, no matter how long it takes. Every time we notice we slip, we are progressing. The season of failure is the best time for sowing the seeds of success. Yogananda
Releasing and Letting Go: old stored stuff begins to emerge and rise up to our conscious awareness. The pent up energy from our Samskaras is heading out the door. We may be tempted here to pull it back in or push it back down because it is painful. Don't! If we slip and do , however, we can go back to step 10
Moving Through Confusion and Chaos: As we begin to awaken there is stage we hit where Life seems more confusing and chaotic than it ever did before. Our defenses have eroded away. We are no longer using our old go-to- methods of coping with life (escaping and numbing) and Life just wants to seem to challenge us. On top of that the painful energy we buried our samskaras in is also rising up. It gets yucky both inside and outside. (Yeah...I know this stage well). This, I believe, is the proverbial "Dark night of the soul."
Reinforcing our commitment: We may be tempted to throw in the towel here...but don't. The confusion and chaos, like all things, will pass. (Well that is what I keep telling myself. :)) We will probably have to reinforce our commitments several times with "I will do better next time!" Persistence guarantees that results are inevitable. Yogananda
Relax. Relax, Relax!: It is all about relaxing, not so much about relaxing into what is unfolding but relaxing in awareness, stepping out of the way and allowing whatever is to just pass through us. Again, this relaxing is a practice The better we get at relaxing, the more things will pass through us, and the longer we can stay centered in higher consciousness, where things are seen more clearly...In centered relaxation, we are the "witness" of the stuff we are seeing and not the stuff we are seeing. That is a tremendous realization. We have relaxed our "attachment"
Opening of the heart: Well the heart is naturally open. It is just through our reactivity, our fear and desiring that we closed it up. Without fear and desire dictating our every move, the heart will naturally remain open and things will pass through much more quickly and smoothy. An open heart means we are more open to Life, allowing and embracing what is.
Energy Flowing: We will, according to the masters, and I have yet to experience this other than in a few glimpses and teasers, feel a surge of natural free-flowing energy as shakti, now freed from behind the blockages, pours through us. We will not only find the peace, I am doing all this for, but enthusiasm, bliss, joy and love . It will feel amazing! ( Well that is what I am told and what I choose to believe). It will no longer matter what is happening out there. We will see that love, joy and peace have always been in us and as long as we stay open, we cannot be disturbed by anything. We might start to get some invisible and some visible support here. (That would be nice! :))
Questioning the Source: Where it is all coming from? Singer reminds us that we can go beyond step 16 and experience something even greater. When we feel this energy we may begin to question where it is all coming from. What is the Source of this love, joy, bliss? We know it is coming behind us so...
Falling Back into the Source : We let everything we are still holding onto go and we fall back into the Source. We just let go of "me" and our humanness completely
Merging: Here we are said to merge...like a drop of water we fall into the ocean and once again become One with it.
Complete Awareness: If we are lucky, and few beings on this planet have ever reached this step, but if we are lucky here, we realize experientially that we are simply awareness. We are as evolved as we can get. At this point, or before, we will be able to look back on our past and see that everything, everything we experienced was there to take us here. It will all make complete sense. Imagine!

Hmm! I am not sure if I will ever get past step 14 but I am willing and committed to keep trying. It, regardless of outcome, just seems like a very important series of steps, don't you think? Well, it is the path that feels most right to me. What about you?

All is well.

Michael A. Singer/ Temple of the Universe ( April 2, 2023) Accelerating Your Awakening. https://tou.org/talks/

Paramhansa Yogananda (1946) Autobiography of a Yogi. Kindle Edition