Bit-by-bit

"Like finding a river flowing in the hills and following it all the way to its source, a spiritual practice can lead us through many varied territories.  Those who persist eventually realize the core of existence, and relax into wholeness and Being. We seek this because something outside of mind is driving us, and the promise it offers is that someday we will come to know that what we seek is the same as the one who is seeking, and we come full circle, with a sense of completion and interior harmony. When we become harmonious inside, the outside world will in time seem perfectly acceptable just as it is, despite the fact it could use some improvements. As our true spirit comes alive it moves back into the world with no regrets.

Of course meditation is not the only way that spirit opens itself up. In the non-dual eastern traditions this awakening is reported to happen to those who are ready through simply hearing the truth, or by sitting for a while in the presence of a master teacher.  It is understood that awakening may also happen spontaneously, especially in those who are devoted to and longing for Truth.  It sometimes happens during trauma and near-death experiences, as well as in reaction to deep emotional overwhelm. Awakening happens when our ego-driven safeguards and protections become disarmed, opening us so that our senses and consciousness can be penetrated by Truth. It happens when for a moment thought stops!

It is interesting that many spiritual seekers travel to the other side of the world to find a teacher who will startle them into awakening, and then find themselves contracting against the experience once they have arrived.  It is like banging on an entry door, and then refusing to enter when it is opened. The calling of our spirit and the anxiety of our minds can come into great contradiction!  In our hearts we know what we want, but our thoughts produce obstacles and objections, throwing up smoke screens to distract us.  It can take many years for some-one who wants awakening to give up fear and distractions, because the separate self wants to endure as the dominating controller of our lives. Its position sometimes has to be worn down bit-by-bit before we are completely receptive to the awakened heart and mind."
-- Bonnie Greenwell