When depression is not depression but disillusionment, it still feels like depression. But in reality it is the first step toward the recognition of your inherent freedom and peace. Dis-illusionment is the beginning of waking up from illusion. It is a difficult stage with enormous promise.

What is the illusion that is about to be lifted, and what reality beckons us? Our primary illusion is that we experience ourselves as separated from our Source, as egos subject to a meaningless and uncaring world. Because of this fundamental error in perception we grasp for things we hope will fulfill us and reject what we fear. We live in the tension between hope and fear, perpetually chasing after substitutes for real joy, unfulfilled and blind to the fact that the Source of all we yearn for is within our own hearts.

Human beings lived in this confusion for thousands of years and for many of us it can now come to an end. The process of awakening breaks us open from the inside and this is be highly upsetting to the old ways of our thinking, the view of the old paradigm. And it is good that what is not true should be destroyed so the truth can blossom in us.

To find the bliss of Self in the depth of the heart is the greatest adventure of humankind. As all adventures it brings along dangers and discomfort. To brave these and to triumph over our fears and our weakness is the price of success. That is why I invite you to welcome your dis-illusionment and, instead of trying to reach back to a former state of tranquility, move forward to embrace the astonishing truth of your being.

We embrace this truth and the love it brings through sadhana. Sadhana is the effective practice of waking up from illusion and replace it with the taste of reality. This is done by practicing specific skills, first among them stillness, devotion, self-inquiry, presence, and the support of spiritual community.

Sadhana demands focused self-effort. Through self-effort you are creating your destiny. It is magnificent to be able to change the course of your life by your own power! Your habit of blaming the events of the past, other people, or ourselves enhances the ego and contradicts your efforts to awaken. What appears as your destiny today is the effect of self-effort—or its lack—in the past. What matters therefore is how you conduct yourself now. You are capable to practice easy-to-learn, powerful skills to break free. It is simple. The alternative is to continue to suffer.

The greatest aspiration is to realize our highest goal and manifest it in this world. This is the aspiration to awaken from suffering and realize the radiance of the Self. And the truth is: you are already on the path to this goal. Everything is part of the path to enlightenment, whether you know it or not, even your pain and confusion. Your path looks like this now. Your journey had to go through all your experiences, just as they were. You have not failed, you have not gone wrong; this IS the path to your fulfillment.

What obstruct you from realizing this highest goal of your life is your thoughts. All suffering is experienced not in the outer events we blame, but in the mind. And even the body is exterior to the mind. Therefore your constricting, fear-based mental habits are the true source of your pain. You have inherited them from the society you were born into; they are entirely conditioned and you have not known how to question them to break free of their spell.

How heartless have you treated you and robbed you of the joy of your life! How cruelly have you imprisoned your heart by judging others and yourself constantly! Of course it was all done innocently, out of confusion. And what enormous joy will come to you when you find yourself, when you connect once again with your innermost ability to love yourself as you are and to let this love overflow into the world around you!

That is why I invite you to find your way back to the core of your Being. HeartSourcing is the central practice for that. The essential answer to all you, or anyone, have ever yearned for is the unconditional love and self-acceptance that waits for you in your heart. It may sound too simple and yet it is true. The fundamental nature of your innermost core is that happiness, and once you find it, it can never fail you.

To gain permanent access to that inner Source you can question your basic assumptions with the question, “Who am I?” This is self-inquiry. It frees you of your stressful beliefs and opens you to the realization of a deeper truth that will set you free. Through Open Attention you can shed your patterns of restricting emotions, which you have mistaken for an identity. This will take some effort, yes, but it is not at all difficult to do. The alternative is to suffer more. What will you do?… You are the architect of your destiny!

with love,

Ram Giri

SkillsforAwakening.com