THE MATURATION OF AWAKENING (like a good wine)

Awakening is the initial recognition of that which is awake in you. It’s the moment when you wake up out of the slumber of mistaken identity and open your eyes to the light of your essential nature.

The maturation of awakening is like the process of a tiny bud becoming a flower. Only a flower in full bloom can fulfill its divine destiny by revealing the beauty of its true colors and by releasing the intoxication of its fragrance. The flower is neither trying to give anything nor trying to get anything and yet its beauty and fragrance are freely available. It is simply being itself.

In full embodiment of awakening, that which moves through you as “your life” will be given in service to the awakeness inherent in all things. Just like the flower, you have no choice. You are simply being yourself. There is no division here, no trying to give anything or get anything. It is the heart of you meeting the heart of what is.

The outermost expression of this maturation is unique to you. Just as every flower has a unique shape and color, the life of each awakened individual has an utterly unique appearance. For some it is expressed more outwardly. For example, through the inspiration to build an ethical business, the desire to offer a service through work within a community or organization, the impulse to support others on their personal journey (perhaps by being a therapist, life-coach, or a spiritual teacher), or through the expression of creative arts.

For others it is more of an inward expression. For example, through a contemplative life of living in a spiritual community, gardening, writing poetry, or simply by being very present while making a cup of tea or walking the dog.

Either way, outward or inward, what you do is in service to the truth of reality rather than to the egoic need for self-comfort or self-importance. Initially, it is very likely that the pull is further inward into stillness and solitude. But as time progresses, that which moves through you is likely to draw you back into the world, where you can better serve the illumination of all beings.

~ adapted from the book "Embodied Enlightenment", Amoda Maa

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