How to Awaken in 7 Easy Steps or Less

I have been gifted with the process of awakening through seven steps. I promise they’re easy, definitely easier than staying in the drama. You might get there quickly, or maybe it will take longer than you’d like. But I promise it’s really right here with you already, you just have to learn how to see it. You will start to glimpse the beauty offered by being humans here on earth at this exact moment. Take my hand, come with me. I will tell you a little about how it happened for me. This journey is going to be more fun together.

I was thirty-four. I had recently given birth to my third child. I was sitting on the end of my bed when this “knowing-ness” happened, like a silent lightning bolt through my body. I all-of-a-sudden realized, and felt, that there was nothing wrong with me. This was so different than my normal thinking. I had spent most of my life trying to figure out what was wrong with me. I was eager to take on almost any label to solve the mystery. In a moment everything changed. This realization re-framed almost everything in my life. I would have to change a few things. Several relationships in my life were operating under the belief that there was something wrong with me. I was clearly part of a relationship dynamic where I wasn’t being treated like the human, or goddess in a body, that I really was. I accepted people screaming at me, belittling me, telling me I was responsible for almost every problem in their life. Trying to help these people at my own expense was no longer part of my framework.

The steps to breaking free of my human bonds was not easy. It was excruciating. I was unsure of almost everything I had to do next. It was like searching in the dark for a light switch, and every time I lit a match to find my way my surroundings frightened me. They were messy and unkind, but I could no longer sit in the dark. I had to find the light and get it to stay on permanently. This is what I am going to help you do. My path has been winding. I realized along the way that I have some unusual abilities. Talking to spirit, people’s deceased loved ones, became one of the most healing parts of my spiritual awakening. Spirit showed me that Love continues after death, and is even amplified. They came to tell me stories of falling in Love, memories of watching their children play, the peace that comes with death. Even more powerful, they made me feel these things, these things I had never felt in this lifetime. It has been the most beautiful gift. I will be forever grateful for the experiences, and the ability to share it with others. 

You see, I didn’t have any of this. I had never fallen in Love, I had never even felt Loved. I never knew what it was like to have meaningful relationships. To say I am an unlikely source of divine inspiration is an understatement. I’m not worthy. Then again, I’m here to tell you that we’re all worthy. We’re all pieces of God, or the Universe, Divine Creator, The One, the unnameable. Whatever you want to call it, I’m here to tell you that it exists and that existence is Love. It is a gift and an exercise of and in Love. So here we go. 

Step one: Love. I guess there’s a reason people have been singing and talking about Love being all you need and how it is the answer. It resonates on a different, knowing level. It’s unconditional. Maybe not all of us can see it, let alone understand it. Some of this stuff is better felt than understood. Some of us have more stuff in the way of seeing the truth and the everything that is Love, I get it. I was there too. I have known so much darkness it’s a miracle I haven’t found some way to escape the experience of human life. But Love is it. Love of everything and everyone, and I mean everyone. Non-judgement is essential in this. I know it’s hard, we want to separate ourselves, make ourselves better than (or worse than). We must come to a place of non-judgement in order to find peace. Start wherever you can. We all are a piece of the divine. Namaste, and whatnot. You know? Not just humans either, there is a soul integrity in all species (think chickens, cows, plants, trees). Beyond this, there is a soul integrity in the Earth, Mama Earth, and all her children, rivers, oceans, forests, mountains, layers of dirt, rock, and magma that circulate within her. It might sound strange, I know, but if you open yourself up to the infinite sources of Love within our universe, you will be surprised at how quickly you can heal almost any wound or abandonment issues you have. There’s also people-Love too, romantic Love, but it is an illusion to believe that it is our only source of Love. Which brings us to our next step.

Step two: Self-Love. It is by Loving ourselves and finding the beauty within ourselves that we are able to Love another, human or otherwise. It enables us to have a non-needy type of Love. A Love that is not self-seeking or self-harming. This step involves finding out who we really are, what we really like, and what we really want in this lifetime. Can you forgive yourself? What do you like to do for fun? This brings us to our next step. 

Step three: Joy. Joy is absolutely essential. This brings us way closer to awakening than any intellectual exercise. We can talk about awakening all we want, but if we do not find out what brings us joy it is unlikely that we’ll be able to stay woke for any period of time. We can’t take any of this too seriously. It is of the utmost importance that you dig deep, really deep, rip off the shame, and find out what brings you joy. This will require an experiential exercise. Go get joyful. Feel joy. Laugh. Dance. I promise you that anything you’re letting get in the way of your joy is a mistake. Granted, harming others at the expense of “joy” is never the way to go. Surely there are infinite reasons why you will argue with me why joy isn’t important, or even why joy could be downright evil. I would argue that those things keeping you from your joy are likely closer to “evil” than your joy is. When was the last time you felt joy? What were the circumstances? If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, would you then choose joy? What would you do? What are you waiting for? I give you permission. Now, let’s get scandalous.

Step four: Sex. There might not be a better way to realize our own divinity than through sex and the experience of orgasm. Spinning around really fast, laughing, dancing all might come close, but the clue to our true nature might be best expressed through sex. Understandably there’s a lot of issues surrounding seeing the beauty of sex, especially for those of us raised in societies that were founded with Puritanical bias. Societies that have withstood centuries, and even millennia, of sexual shame in the name of “God.” I would even offer that so much stuck trauma surrounding sexual assault and the inability to heal comes from shame around sex. That being said, I see you. I Love you. It is ok to heal. You, too, can enjoy sex and realize how it brings you closer to God. There are many methods and energy practices by which we can experience everything this body and mind has to offer. Bringing us to our next step.

Step five: Body. Get into it. Do you see the magic of your breath? Take a moment now to feel it. In, and out. Our breath is what keeps us in our bodies. Magical vessels that can, for some, move us around, experience touch, swing on a swing, dance. There’s always another thing to be grateful for when it comes to our bodies. More than that, we can all come to the place where we truly Love our body and our individual expression of spirit in physical form. What if I told you that you picked your body because you liked it best? This is an ancient idea, and powerful in its capacity to transform our mindset about our bodies. What if I told you the key to getting fit, losing weight, and finding our own sexiness comes naturally after we get into and truly Love our bodies? These bodies can hurt so bad, hold traumas, and look so different than the immature model that society compares us to. It’s so easy for our spirits to want to escape. So we find ourselves at the next step.

Step Six: Spirituality. Not only do we have bodies, we have spirit. A piece of us that came before these bodies and goes on after. There are many clues to the truth of this (I could endlessly entertain you on this subject), but it is important that you search for your own truth. It would be comforting to realize that there is an ultimate divine creator, God for lack of a better word, that made us and Loves us. He makes miracles happen, many of which can be seen with just a second thought on the magic of creation. A bird, a leaf, a seed, a baby exploding out of a woman’s portal of divine creation (OK I had to take a moment to honor the miracle of life that comes out of a woman’s womb, we have all experienced this). We take SO much for granted. And even though I am not a “religious” person, or should I say I’m so into all the prophets that came through all the religions and world’s wisdom traditions, I don’t underestimate the ability for truth to be found in any religion. They all point to the same beautiful thing and are full of many truths. Although, tragically, religion has also been used as a method for manipulating people out of money, life, and (what’s worse) their own power to communicate with God and its many creative incarnations. Take some time to meditate. Which brings us to the last step.

Step Seven: Creativity. This is the part of us that is most obviously God-like. It’s also the part of my awakening that I probably struggle with most. Even though it feels so good to create, there is a lot of fear wrapped up in creativity for me. I have sometimes struggled with taking things that come into my mind and the act of manifesting them into physical form. I can’t tell you (or, apparently I am telling you) how hard it has been to put these words onto the computer and move them into a format where they’re going to be shared with people other than myself. But I know that I have to share this story, so I asked for a miracle to make this really easy for me. Thank you for this miracle. Now, listen: you don’t have to believe me, you can find your own way (and please do share it with me, I can’t get enough inspiration). I encourage you to read and find as many things as possible that resonate with you. But I challenge you to create. What is it that your soul is calling you to bring into this world? I can almost guarantee it is needed. We are waiting for you.

So, there it is. I will dive deeper into each step at another time, if needed. There is so much to say and feel into about each piece, but I feel called to share this with you as quickly as possible so that we can do this life journey together and awakened. I’m not being boastful. I’m not perfect (maybe perfectly imperfect), but the point is that you don’t have to be. That is the illusion: that there is something standing in the way of your awakening, your enlightenment. The illusion that there is something between you and the divine, something between you and peace, something between you and your brothers and sisters. The illusion of separateness. It is time to return to truth. To know home as “heaven” on earth. To know your spirit, Love its manifestation in this body, feel it as part of divine creation. We are all here as expressions of Love. We are here to remember our Love. To Love in the face of war. Love in the face of hate. Love in the face of the tenth butt you’ve wiped today. Love in the face of divorce. Love in the face of pain. Love in the face of abandonment. I am here to tell you that even if you feel no other Love, I Love you. I always have and I always will. Namaste.

Leah Elyzah is a Spiritual Medium, Intuitive Coach, Member of The Night Owls Psychic Medium Group and Messenger of Unconditional Love. You can reach Leah @leahelyzah on Instagram