Umatter Podcast

I have been contemplating the masculine/feminine polarities for many years, not knowing how to express what was churning inside me. As I’ve worked toward raising my awareness of these polarities, my life began to change. These changes helped me flow with life and interact with the world around me more harmoniously. Balancing our masculine and feminine attributes is of great importance to our deeper awakenings. We unconsciously dip into both of these polarities countless times a day. However, it’s an overlooked dynamic that requires some attention. 

Chapter ten holds some challenging topics that I feel are important for the seeker to understand. It starts with an intimate story about my father's passing, the story illustrates the importance of letting go of the baggage we carry. 

Chapter eleven  is about our relationship with the Divine and the world around us. I explore our collective purpose I feel that we all share. It also challenges the concept of duality. 

Chapter eight offers some practical information and tools that help you deepen your experience of the silence.  I also address some of the issues that we are currently facing.  As we move into higher consciousness, we need to create fertile ground within us. Clearing away illusionary beliefs and reaching toward unity consciousness helps us create the fertile ground we require. 

This chapter is about change and how it relates to our purpose. I break down change into a three-step process and end the chapter with a deeper look at my theory of “trajectory.” Embracing change helps us flow with life as it unfolds instead of pushing against the reality of what IS.

On the path of deepening our consciousness, there are many virtues to embrace. Virtues are moral standards that guide how we conduct ourselves. They teach us how to love, serve, and embrace others. This chapter is about some of the virtues I feel are most important.  Within the virtues listed below are many hidden lessons. I encourage you to take some time and ponder each one. What do they mean to you? Do you have other virtues that are important to you?

The Seven Virtues Explored in this Chapter

1.         Curiosity: Exploring with innocence

2.         Courage: Abandoning fear

3.         Constancy: Showing up and never giving up

4.         Temperance: Mastering self

5.         Silence: A space within to experience inner peace

6.         Beneficence: Charity that benefits the community

7.         Love: The glue that holds the universe together

This chapter describes how we make a connection with the Divine. I share my ideas about how we not only make that connection but how we  can use our connection with the Divine to enhance our lives and the lives of others around us.

The theme and undercurrent of this book is the discovery of “what IS.” The discovery of what IS starts with the intimate journey of inner understanding. Once we achieve self-knowledge, the world around us bursts into colour. Nothing is too small or too big in our journey of discovery. Leave no stone unturned!

The made-up world we hold in our minds obscures reality by trying to squeeze the past and future into the present moment. Our discovery happens as our awakenings show us the broader view, which unfolds as we deepen our connection with our Divinity.

In this chapter, I explore seven doors that I feel we must pass through to aid us in discovering a deeper reality of life. The seven doors are:

1.         Love

2.         Surrender

3.         Silence

4.         Service

5.         Prayer

6.         Study

7.         Gratitude

There are other doors to discover, but these seven became the main focus in my life that aided me in my transformation. I encourage you to spend time exploring them, finding your wisdom and truth behind each door. The information I share is based on my ideas and experiences; you must discover your own. Your life is a unique and special journey that only you can take. 

This chapter offers brief summaries of the transient states of consciousness we experience as we move between each layer of the soul and the signposts to look out for. These descriptions will provide some insight into what sideways or backwards movements to expect, which can cause us to feel like we’re digressing in our growth on our path of awakening. In fact, the real work begins after an awakening. In the transient states we experience after an awakening, we might find ourselves stuck. These transition states are nothing to be concerned about. No matter if your awakenings are minor or major, they can cause you to re-evaluate your beliefs or re-adjust your life. Throughout my journey of awakening, I have often found myself out of sorts after such experiences. Normal routines no longer gave me comfort, and some of the people I enjoyed spending time with felt out of context with where my life was going. 

Our consciousness changes with each awakening we experience as we move through the layers of the soul. With each awakening, we feel different because we see life from a broader vantage point. The changes that take place can range from subtle shifts we hardly notice to major breakthroughs in awareness. No matter how big or small a shift we experience, the landscape of the mind itself remains relatively the same. The mind changes slowly, which can cause us to return to our previous state of consciousness. Therefore, each shift initiates an adjustment period.  

This chapter breaks down the soul into four layers. 

Illusion — Maya

Personal/ Individual Soul—Jivatman 

Universal/Supreme Soul—Paramatma 

No Soul / The Supreme Existence or Absolute Reality— Brahman

These four layers describe the soul and the changes that occur in our consciousness as we begin to evolve and know ourselves better. The meaning and depth of the soul doesn’t change; we do. Knowing these aspects of the soul dispels the illusion of the ego and the grip it has on us.

During the discovery of our soul, we experience many changes. Various states of consciousness appear during different stages of our evolution. I categorized these changes into four layers. Each layer changes how we see the world, each other, and ourselves. They also change our values and ambitions. What is important to us at one level might not be a concern or consideration in the next. Understanding each layer can help us transcend our current state of consciousness, allowing us to reach into ourselves and find greater depth and meaning in life.