Introduction
For those on the spiritual path, there will be a point in life where you will discover that your reality is not as “real” as it once appeared. In fact, you are going to discover that many of the things you used to consider as solid truths were based on manipulation, politics, and deceit. This new perspective can be very enlightening and liberating, but it can also be very disorienting.
For example, you may have an experience that causes you to have a crisis of faith. As a result, you could end up leaving the religion that you had practiced since childhood. For others, it might be a disillusionment with society, the media, and/or the government.
Once you escape from the matrix, you realize that the false reality you were living in gave you a sense of security, even if that reality was an illusion. The new reality is a lot less “stable.” You are unsure about what to believe any more, or for that matter: who to believe anymore.
At this stage of the life journey, there are several “traps” that people commonly fall into. By avoiding these traps, you can move much more quickly to the next phase of the spiritual journey.
Escape from the Matrix: Common Traps
- Trading one Illusion For Another
A common trap is trading one false reality for another. This is easy to do, as we are not comfortable with the “not knowing” and want to regain a sense of stability. For example, people who have left their old religion might cling to the beliefs of a spiritual guru. People who have lost faith in mainstream media might attach themselves to the views of alternative media. In both cases, these people have lost sight of the fact that they have traded one illusion or set of beliefs for another.
- The Superiority Complex
When people realize that their beliefs systems were not based on reality, there is a strong temptation to use this experience for ego purposes. The first thing many people do is turn around on those that still hold similar beliefs and judge them mercilessly. This is how we have ended up with Cancel Culture and “Wokism,” neither of which are beneficial for anyone.
Wokism is nothing more than judging other people for their beliefs. Cancel Culture takes this a step further by censoring those that believe the “wrong way.” From a spiritual perspective, all people will develop on their own time (just ask the indigenous people: they’ve been waiting for Western Societies to mature for centuries now). Trying to speed up the process through forced coercion will only slow down the process.
Transcending the Matrix
Many people get caught up in the “matrix” even after seeing through it. For example, a person might suddenly realize that the roles of terrorist and victim that are being portrayed in the media are actually the opposite of reality. This person might then try to fight against those who have created this false perception of reality.
However, this stance of “fighting for justice” is not helpful, from a spiritual sense. From the ego’s perspective, everyone is a victim and everyone deserves “justice.” Therefore, the fight for justice will never end as long as we continue to believe in the illusion that each person is truly separate from another.
The Turning Point: The 4th Initiation
In a previous article about ascension, I noted that we as humans develop spiritually via the following stages:
- 1st Initiation – basic mastery of the physical body
- 2nd Initiation – basic mastery of the emotional body
- 3rd Initiation – basic mastery of the mental body
- 4th Initiation – prioritizing the spiritual over the material
- 5th Initiation – ending the cycle of reincarnation
- etc.
When people have their initial awakening experience, it is a symptom of approaching the 3rd initiation. In contrast to many ascension “events” which are often subtle, this awakening is often an intense feeling of bliss and love. The pleasure that occurs is a result of the kundalini energy waking up and rising up the spine. However, this blissful feeling is only temporary, as the kundalini energy shortly retreats back down to the base chakra. (Note: when the kundalini energy rises permanently at the 5th initiation, the feelings of bliss do not occur.)
What this initial awakening does is provide some sort of “wake up call” to start the spiritual journey. It is much harder now to mindlessly walk through life and pretend everything is the way that you once believed. Those that answer the call will likely reach the 3rd initiation in a short amount of time. Practically speaking, this means searching for truth instead of accepting what you were previously told was truth.
The next step of the journey is to advance toward the 4th initiation. As commented earlier, many people stumble at this point on the path by judging others who don’t agree with their new-found truths. This happens when we fail to understand that each person has their own path to follow. In contrast, to continue making spiritual progress we must now overcome the next big hurdle: learning to unconditionally love others.
The Power of Love
There is currently a lot of division in the world. Instead of listening and respecting others and their ideas, we are practically fighting with each other about so many things, from politics and vaccines to climate change. In addition, there are people in power who seem to be doing everything possible to stir up hate and create chaos (on both sides of the political spectrum). The lesson at the 4th initiation is to learn to love those that we absolutely hate the most and disagree with the most.
When we fight each other, everyone is put on the defensive. As a result, nothing is accomplished and the conflicts can potentially continue indefinitely. The other possibility is to learn to love and respect those that we don’t agree with, and also those that we think are just plain evil. At the end of the day, all humans are connected with each other, and we all need support from one another.
There is never any harm that will come from loving another person. On the contrary, this is what will bring more light into the world. People who are not under constant attack (whether or not they deserve it) are more likely to defend themselves and less likely to change themselves. But by feeling the love of others, people are more open to cultivating love within themselves.
The Reflection of Love
Many people have a hard time initially in learning to love others. This is because they do not love themselves. It is actually impossible to unconditionally love another person if you don’t love yourself. In fact, your love for another can only be as strong as the love that you have for yourself.
Therefore, the path to the 4th initiation begins with turning inward. It is necessary to form a relationship with who you truly are, and not who you wish you could be. This person needs your love, your acceptance, your patience and your forgiveness. And as you continue to strengthen this relationship with yourself, you will be able to extend this love and acceptance to others.