3 Ways to Make Progress on Your Journey to the Highest Self Easier
“The goal is not to be better than the other man, but your previous self.” — The Dalai Lama.
Once, a seeker asked an enlightened Sufi saint, Baba Bulleh Shah, “What is the way to the highest self?”
Being a simple man, he said, “Focus your attention from outside to inside.”
Simple. Yet profound.
You try to get rid of the problem or find solutions to the problem. But the struggles in life never go away.
Why?
Because you get in your way. You twist the stories to strengthen your identity (either victorious or victim).
Stop getting in your way. Notice how simple life is. It is not as complex as you make it.
Release your *attachments* to your desires.
Many years back, I wanted enlightenment. I thought it was the shortest way to be free of my sufferings.
The desire was noble. Yet the attachment to the desire imprisoned me.
It took me long enough to understand that desire is always in the future, whereas life always flows in the now.
You think you know what is best for you. But you can’t be sure if it will make your life easy or hell.
Life is a mystery.
Sometimes the worst phase becomes beautiful lessons that transform our lives. And often, the momentary happy stage becomes lifelong pain.
Yet we are attached to our desires. We love our control, even in tiny things. Even a little deviation gives a headache.
Trying to survive every moment is like living under a sword hanging on your head. Putting on a courageous mask often worsens the situation.
Nobody can go on like this forever. Yet nine out of ten situations, you live on tenterhooks.
When life does not happen as you think it ‘should,’ you create pain.
When expectations crash, misery occurs.
The desire to control things to go in your favor pushes you into the abyss of fear and frustration.
Desires are not wrong. But the firm belief that what you think is right is your hindrance.
Be aware of the attachments to the desires.
Awareness helps to create a distance. You can then see your desire like a third person, with no firm beliefs.
It releases your burden and helps you focus on doing things instead of expecting and fearing what if.
The sure sign that you have progressed well toward your highest self is that you have become more light-hearted. It happens when you let go of attachments to your desires.
Be conscious of your *resistance* to life that drains your energy and shifts your focus to the chaos.
Most people don’t like their current lives.
You either want to be someplace else or be with someone else. Heck, you can also want to somebody else.
Life in the ‘now’ seems boring, too easy, or even frustrating.
It shows the resistance to life. It highlights your control or fear. It shows you strongly disapprove of life happening to you. You then try everything to make things right.
The control makes you madder.
However, your life situation does not create misery for you. Your hostility towards life, in the now, is the reason for your suffering.
Let go of all assumptions. Let go of the belief that you know what is best for you.
Don’t fall into the trap of your imagination. Don’t feel you know everything.
Don’t look for other options because there are none. The present moment is all you have.
Embrace life, even if it is challenging.
You can either choose to live in a mental battle or decide to embrace the present.
Embracing the present doesn’t mean you won’t put your efforts in the right direction. You save energy and focus on the right path.
It gives you the freedom to act and not react. More liberation means you are progressing in your path to the highest self.
Be mindful of your current life *story.*
Genuinely answer these questions. You can even write these answers.
How is your life going? What do you feel inside? How would you describe your situation?
Your current life says a lot about you. It can specifically design the way to your highest self.
How?
By reflecting on the stories.
Suppose you are waiting to present at a critical official meeting. You have prepared well. But often, the mind will doubt and put unnecessary pressure. You may feel fearful.
But if you recognize the story of our mind at the start. You can differentiate between two realities.
First Reality — An official meeting is coming up. You have prepared for it. But still, doubt consumes you. You feel you could do better. You feel fearful and guilty and get jitters minutes before the meeting.
Second Reality — An official meeting is coming up. You have prepared for it. Now you can’t do anything anymore. You can only present. And let's see how it goes.
Both conditions are the same. Yet, the reactions and narratives of the mind are not the same.
You can easily break the mind’s nonsense commentary.
How?
By being aware of it.
The light of your consciousness disperses the mind’s madness.
Your life conditions are not a curse and hindrance to your highest self. They are blessings that highlight your shortcomings.
Often, the mind feeds you with doubts and drowns you in fear.
But being aware of your life story teaches you more than any philosophy or technique.
Use your awareness to differentiate between the mind’s narrative and reality.
The more you get stabilized in reality, the more stories dissolve. Truth then automatically rises.
Often emotions overwhelm and muddle the situations. You think you are getting angry at something. But in reality, the mind is making stories by identifying itself with the victim and producing anger.
A conscious life helps create that distance between truth and your stories.
Awareness is your shortcut when it comes to progressing toward your highest self.
Meditation and mindfulness create a gap between what you think you are and what you are. That is why they are paramount to discovering your divine self.
It raises your awareness.
Awareness helps you to recognize your minor slip-ups. You realize when you drift in your stories or resistance towards life or get attached to desires.
Practice awareness within yourself. Make your breath an anchor. Get your attention to it every time you drift outside.
After all, your highest self goes through you. You are the essential missing part that you seek outside. Turn your attention inwards to realize what you always were and are.
Is life dragging you, and you don’t know how to handle it? Download my FREE guided meditation to heal your traumas and embrace your magical self.
