I have awakened, what do I do now?

1. Get the awakening confirmed. This might sound strange at first. Finally you know who you are. The experience is clear, concrete, and self-evident. But it has often been shown that a glimpse could be very much like "the real thing". Also it often takes a while before the mind calms down and settles. You have come to a new country and by habit there is expectations and modes of behavior that need some time to come to rest and disappear. One who has lived in this country for a number of years can see where you are and also give you a description of the terrain in this new land. This will enable you to relax faster and become at home with all the new. Further this is a confirmation and a quality guaranty. There are two many self-appointed spiritual teachers that create a mess for seekers. You are now to embody your inner experience and live life from the basis of oneness and wholeness. It is also about that you take yourself seriously, that you truly understand that this is the greatest thing that can happen to a human being, and that you stand up for this reality. Don't forget your diamond. By showing it it will shine with a strong, bright, and steady light. If you don't dare to show and expose yourself there has not been any awakening. Then fear and the need to control is still in charge.

2. Share. What you have been given or discovered is not your own. You are only a channel, or a form that life uses. By sharing you admit the existence of wholeness - the one without a second - and you are letting go even more from the personal boundaries. In this way Presence will shine clearer through you. The presence never changes but will will rest more in it, relax, and take life just as it is. Otherwise there is a risk that you will turn Presence into something personal or fragile that needs protection. Share in the way that feels natural and genuine for you. Talk to those of your friends who can receive you when you talk about what happened to you. Trust the impulses that come from within you telling you what to do. Life is now about living inside-out instead of the old outside-in. You now trust what comes from within you instead of the information you get from other people or outer sources. Trust is growing and Presence can express itself more powerful through you. Your life becomes more intense, simpler, and whole.

3. Be true. What happens after the awakening, often called deepening or maturing, demands that you are being honest both to yourself and others. The awakening happened in an instant. To grow in enlightenment takes an entire life. A life in gratitude, humility, and bowing down before the greatness of life. Your personality changes continuously. New thoughts, feelings, experiences comes and goes like waves on the sea of wholeness. You are everything and everything is in you. Dare to admit your shortcomings, limitations, and weaknesses. Talk about what you really feel and want. Your personality has its limitations and by being honest it will be more and more permeated by Presence. Never loose contact with your vulnerability and humaneness. By these qualities people can see themselves in you and your heart will overflow even more when you dare to show yourself exactly as you are.

Don't expect a calm and easy life, a spiritual vacation or pension. Why not read Jack Kornfield's "After the Ecstacy, the Laundry". In this book you will find many stories about challenges after the awakening. I don't find Kornfield's theories interesting, but the living stories about what people have gone through is very touching and also serves as warnings in some cases. For many people the first period after an awakening is a honey-moon. So much love, expansion, life. Also a lot of new self-confidence and trust. Your heart is opens, you experience an enormous amount of stillness, love, and ecstasy. Everything is just fantastic. After this there is usually a time of many challenges. All this is to lived in practical life. You have to take care of your job, economy, love relationships and so on. A lot of material from the subconscious is surfacing and it is good to have a method like meeting feelings to take care of all the emotions that are coming. For some their whole life seems a mess, maybe you will be forced into a period when you can't be active but you need to take care of yourself physically and mentally. Adya Shanty and Mooji are examples of this. After some time these waves calms down, life becomes calmer, but there will always be challenges. It is a part of the deepening.

There is also a need for a warning. For some people there is so much investment in this enlightenment. When what they think is an awakening has happened they go on a new career as spiritual teachers. They are maybe very successful and get lots of followers. But it takes a lot of courage and maturity to admit that it was a mistake. I had a glimpse, a wonderful time of bliss and love, and I am back in separation again. Not many people would like to step down from their throne a be just a usual, common person. You have gotten used to be special and you want to stay in that position.

The confirmation from an experienced teacher should serve as a safety net. It takes time for the ecstasy to mature into ordinary life and an experienced teacher can have an important role here as a mentor. When the awakening had happened for me, some people came or called and told me that they had the experience of a selfless state. I learned by experience not to confirm people to quickly. Usually there is a complete change in the energy pattern when an awakening happens. But if there still is an experience of a me, although very subtle, and/or some obstruction the flow of love and life this tells me that something is not complete yet. Also if there is no experience of gratitude a bell rings for me. Signs like humility, nothing else is needed, completeness are also important. So I am not in a hurry to confirm. There is usually also a lot of emotional turmoil going on which can make it difficult to see what is genuine.