Finding yourself!

Life provides us with past experience and keep us hoping for the future, makes us face reality of life and finally finding ourselves through the process of self realization. You find yourself when you stop looking for yourself outside. I have been in a phase of several personality changes, all due to wanting to find myself. As the saying goes, 'if you lose the world, but find yourself, you win'.

Now as strange as it may sound, since astrology pinpoints a few aspects of your personality, this is where I started looking. I became obsessed with astrology due to this overwhelming need to find myself. You can basically say I studied all 12 astrological sign personalities, all except my own. No one really knew who I was, I didn't even know who I was, my mind and soul was just everywhere.

Eventually while realizing the fact that I was living personalities according to how the higher power wanted me to live, I gave up trying to find myself, and there it was, my real self. It seems like there is no lesson harder than finding yourself, but truth of the matter is, who really knows him/herself. Who really cares who he/she really is. People in society adjust according to circumstances, they don't really bother about who they actually are. Now you can basically say, after ‘finding’ myself, I got two things out of this, my real self and a bit of knowledge in regards to astrology.

However, what I lost, was just that, my whole world because I was forced to lose myself just so I can waste so much time trying to find myself, so to save you the time and trouble, stop looking for yourself. Firstly, you will never find it and secondly, you will waste too much time and make too many unnecessary sacrifices, thirdly, ‘something’ will keep you from finding it. So stop looking for yourself, if it comes back to you, good for you, if it doesn't, who cares, it's not really that important.

And now after putting so much hard work and effort into finding myself, all I need to do now is put more hard work and effort into getting back what I lost in the meanwhile, constantly working for a great life huh? What I have what others don't have is, myself, what others have what I don't have, relationships, marriage, careers, money, houses, love, family, cars, friends, now ask yourself, which would you rather have? People usually lose themselves due to some tragedy or loss, that's how I lost myself in the first place. Rather just give up, don't bother finding yourself, it's not worth the time and effort.

Let me tell you all those important steps in finding yourself. First and foremost is to set your intentions clearly. This first step in establishing a spiritual practice is acknowledging that you actually want one in the first place. Your intention can be as simple as saying to yourself, “I want to learn more about myself in general” . Consciously acknowledging your yearning and curiosity, even if it’s only to yourself, is like opening a door and formally setting your feet on the path of the seeker.

The next one is to feed your mind by reading everything you can get your hands on. Start with something like, books on "Soul craft" or watch videos on the subject to feed your inquisitiveness. Knowledge and curiosity are the cornerstones of a truly rich spiritual journey.

We need to be still every day. “The way that can be spoken of is not the true way”. Our connection to spirit/God/the universe or whatever you want to call it is primarily a felt experienced. A great way to establish a strong spiritual practice is to set aside time every day to intentionally quiet your thinking mind. And of course don’t neglect your mental frame of mind. Because mind, body, and spirit are not separate so don’t forget to employ your physical body in your pursuit of the mystical. It is easier to approach your practice with playfulness and you may believe that a spiritual practice must be solemn and serious.

Of course it is else anything but the real joy is one of the five noble emotions and laughter is its language. So above all else, approach your budding practice with a light heart. Laugh at yourself, laugh at your teachers, laugh at the sheer silliness that is the human experience. Watch for those signs but as you begin to cultivate a spiritual practice you may find that the universe sends you little nudges or clues to encourage you on your seeker’s path.

Here you may begin to notice strange coincidences or undeniable signs that point you deeper into your connection with spirit. It may be something as simple as having three different people recommend the same book, or connecting with a kindred spirit through a seemingly random occurrence. Want to speed things up? Ask for a sign. One of my favourite practices is to write the Universe a letter. Request help with whatever you are struggling with.

Finally try to connect with your tribe because there is a reason that most spiritual traditions are built around congregations. There is an energetic resonance that only comes from being part of a group. That is where spirit resides the strongest. It doesn’t have to be a formal gathering. It can be any circle of individuals who support and encourage each other on this ride we call life. This experiment is the best thing about building your spiritual practice is that it is yours. You alone get to choose what works for you and there are no rules so don’t be afraid to explore. Cherry pick from any discipline, idea, or philosophy that speaks to you. Try everything and trust your gut. Whatever fuels your interest, resonates with your heart, and feeds your soul...do that! Cheers!