We had a fabulous turnout, with 30 conscious creators joining us last evening, for the showing of Dr. Wayne Dyer’s movie: The Shift. It truly is magical when like-minded folks gather and discuss what is possible, and become more aware of the magnificnce that lies within each of us.

I believe that the process to awakening is pretty much the same for everyone. However, how we come to awakening takes many forms. For some of us, it’s rather abrupt as it could take the death of someone close, or possibly a change in relationships, or career. And clearly, an event such as 9-11 can also be the catalyst for a shift in consciousness. For others, like for Dr. Dyer, it can be a gradual process of expanding consciousness by following our internal desire to search for meaning.

Here is a rather simplistic outline of the process to awakening:

1. Our True Self enters this world with an open heart and a blank mind.
2. Then our mind gets programmed with other people’s thoughts.
3. Because we trust the adults around us, we believe what they say, even if it hurts and wounds us. We then create our beliefs based on their beliefs.
4. Our ego then runs our life based on those beliefs and we begin to believe we are our thoughts. Then we start to defend these beliefs, even if they cause us suffering.
5. Because our ego based thoughts come from external programming, and not from our inner knowing, we create an inauthentic self or mask that hides our True Self, from ourselves and from others.
6. Then, life being the benevolent force it is, gives us an opportunity to feel unfulfilled so we can begin to seek meaning. This is the moment the Shift takes place.
7. As we seek, we discover new beliefs that help us feel more joyful.
8. Our ego now has new beliefs to operate from. Although we now have more joyful moments, we still experience old beliefs creeping up to sabotage our ability to remain joyful, so we seek for new and more powerful tools to help alleviate this discomfort. (this is where most seekers stay because they get trapped in the ego’s desire to search for relief and not dig for the root cause of their discomfort which would, of course, take the ego’s power away – this is the insidious work of the ego)
9. The few brave and courageous souls who decide to instead of seeking temporary joy they will do whatever it takes to understand their egoic mind, through the process of becoming aware of the root cause of their beliefs, are the ones who will reach the ever present joy they are. This is when, without ego based obstruction, joy will freely flow through them.
10. Awakening is reserved for those who “unlearn” those outdated beliefs and return to being like little children--joyfully living from the heart.

You will know you are awake, when you surrender to life so it can live you. Now that is a joy-filled life!