Applied Spirituality: Keys To Enlightened Living

Key #1 - Your True Self remains untouched by experience. On day 1, we explore who you really are - beyond ideas, beliefs, and concepts. We go directly to the experiential understanding that your Self remains untouched and unaffected by thoughts, feelings, and circumstances. In fact, your True Self is ever-present, always at peace, and fully accepts and embraces everything that arises.

Key #2 - Thoughts effortlessly appear in awareness. On Day 2, we notice that there is no thinker behind the thoughts - they simply appear on their own. Your True Self observes all thoughts that appear and embraces them fully, including the resistance to some of these thoughts. Without believing in and identifying with thoughts, the mind begins to re-align and becomes a tool for expressing what is actually true.

Key #3 - There is no free will. On Day 3, we explore the implications of the fact that there is no thinker. Since thoughts lead to behaviors, but thoughts appear effortlessly in our experience, that means that our actions also happen without a doer. Once more, by recognizing this to be true, we begin to let go of self-judgment and self-blame, and our behaviors become filled with more kindness, love, and compassion.


Key #4 - Each negative emotion contains a lesson. On Day 4, we learn to listen to the wisdom of the body. Any time tensions (such as stress or anxiety) arise in the body, they are a signal to pause and be with the feelings that have arisen. These feelings are always there for a reason. Recognizing this will help you to befriend and trust those emotions and appreciate the lessons that they hold for you.

Key #5 - The mind is not something to be resisted. On Day 5, we go deeper into unwinding the patterns of the mind. Now that you know that there is no thinker, you can catch the thoughts that try to identify you with a false ‘I’. The practice is to notice which thoughts beginning with “I am” refer to your True Self, and which ones refer to the mind and the body.

Key #6 - Healing our perception heals our relationships. On Day 6, we meditate on relationships being a reflection of the way we see ourselves. If arguments often come about with one particular person, or we can’t accept another person’s behavior and the way they are, that means there is something within us that we should look at and heal. Once re-aligned, our perception will change from being judgmental to understanding where the other person is coming from and accepting them as they are.

Key #7 - True abundance is knowing your Self. On Day 7, we make a shift from the idea that success is dependent on objective reality to finding it in the non-objective, ever-present, and all-encompassing Now. True abundance is knowing that there is nothing outside of you.

Throughout the first seven days, we have recognized our True Self; the fact that there is no thinker and no doer; and the resulting implications in terms of dealing with (so-called) negative emotions, catching the mind’s tricks of identifying us with a false self, healing our relationships and being truly successful. Finding your True Self is only the beginning of an endless journey of discovering more and more ways to express your innate peace in the world.

Key # 8 - Intuition always works in your favor. On Day 9, we meditate on intuition - the inner knowing that often comes when the mind is quiet. Even if it may not seem like the correct decision at the time, your intuition always guides you according to your best interest. The more you trust it, the more you are able to listen to it and follow it. Ultimately, your intuition is your True Self signaling to your mind/body what to do or where to go next. Following your intuition means that you are able to make decisions based on information that lies beyond the scope of the limited, rational mind.

Key #9 - You cannot “get it.” On Day 10, we meditate on insights being on the level of the mind and the fact that the journey of spiritual growth is endless. That means that the mind and the body - being part of objective reality - will continue to expand and become better and better expressions of your True Self, pure love. On the level of the mind, this is a process of gradual dissolution of any thoughts that are not loving. On the level of the body, it is a releasing of tensions that leads to the body becoming more and more transparent.

Key #10 - Enlightened living means fully accepting what is arising. On Day 11, we meditate on the true meaning of acceptance. Accepting a situation as it is does not mean doing nothing - instead, it means doing the most loving thing. In some cases, that could be simply being there and listening without judgment. In other cases, it would be to say something or take action. What is important is to feel into and let go of any resistance to the person or situation that is present within you.

Key #11 - The goal of life is presence. Until you are fully present, the goal of all of your objective experiences is to bring you back. Once here, the goal of life is to express the truth of who you are in your own unique way.

Key #12 - Karma is the spiritual path. On Day 13, we meditate on karma and understand it as the totality of the beliefs in separation that we hold. The more we let go of those beliefs, the more we advance on the ever-deepening spiral of love, and the better we can express the changeless reality that is our Self.

Key #13 - You are not the body. On Day 14, we compare the changing and active experience of the body to the changeless, still, and peaceful experience of awareness. We will notice that the body appears within awareness, yet it is very different from the constant “I am”-ness that underlies all experience.

Key #14 - The true body is transparent. On Day 15, we explore the actual experience of the body - beyond the labels of the mind. First, we will discover that it is just a sensation appearing in awareness, and then we will also find that this sensation is actually transparent.

Key #15 - The world is an expression of awareness. On Day 16, we meditate on sense perceptions, the world as a projection of the collective mind, and the screen of awareness on which it appears. Ultimately, just like the body, the world is made of awareness Itself.

Key #16 - The Now is not a moment in time. On Day 17, we meditate on the difference between the present moment and the Now, and notice that the Now and “I am” are pointing to the same timeless reality. Being present, then, means being the all-encompassing presence within which all experiences arise.

Key #17 - Your character is unique. On Day 18, we meditate on the fact that you are not the character that has a mind/body, yet your character has unique traits and a unique past, and therefore, a unique role to play in the world. The more you rest as your True Self and embrace everything that arises, the more you will fulfill that role with ease, love, and kindness.

Key #18 - Happiness is the combination of knowing your Self and fully embodying your character to express your uniqueness in the world. On Day 19, we meditate on happiness being your innate peace and presence on an absolute level, but also expressing that happiness through your character on a relative level. The more you understand the body/mind/world, the more your character can be fearless and flow with ease and freedom in the world.

Finding your True Self is only the beginning of an endless journey of spiritual growth and of deepening your understanding of life. This ongoing process of letting go of our beliefs in separation is expressed through our characters, relationships, and actions in ways that are ever-more aligned with love. By resting as awareness, we witness the succession of insights and realizations of the mind, embrace the fluctuating states of the body, and enjoy the unexpected and miraculous ways in which life unfolds.