The 8 Stepping Stones of Manifestation
Dear friend,
I’m sure you are feeling a certain way right now. We all do. This is our Reality. No one can argue with us about it. Whatever thoughts, emotions, and sensations arise, we understand them as real but recognize that they are not the Truth.
Our experience is constantly changing. Even when we feel stuck for some time, we move on eventually. One moment, we may feel depressed, but in the next, we could feel ecstatic. Understanding this doesn’t necessarily help, but it may raise the question: What never changes?
This important question is the beginning of our discovery of truth. There is a land beyond our subjective experience; we can access it by being present in our Reality. What does this moment feel like?
When we can see and feel clearly without getting involved and entertaining our mental, emotional, and physical states, we can become conscious of our experience. We are out of confusion and mess now and no longer feel lost.
The ‘next step’ is to become aware of our seeing and feeling – the quality of consciousness itself. This awareness always remains empty and clear. Therefore, we could say it’s never changing, although the experience is always fresh and new. This is what we call universal Truth.
You will know when you get a taste of it as you can investigate the instructions in this text. Since it feels incomparably alive and clear, we may want to live all our lives from Truth. This is why I wrote the 8 stepping stones – to help us manifest Truth in Reality.
8 Stepping Stones
Imagine 8 stepping stones in the river leading downstream to the ocean. Unaware of the stepping stones, we may drown swimming in the messy waters of our Reality – getting lost and confused. Now, we can use the stepping stones to travel light.
1. Become conscious of your Reality.
Notice physical sensations, thoughts and emotions, and other contents of consciousness. When we do this each moment, we may start to see recurring patterns – the same triggers and reactions keep repeating themselves. It’s a sort of phenomenal observation of our Reality. This can be challenging as we tend to avoid facing Reality as it is, miserable or pleasurable. At this moment, we can confess to ourselves: “This is how I live” without any judgment, or at least noticing the judgment as a pattern in itself.
2. Observe your Reality in action.
See the patterns in action as Reality unfolds. It may be frustrating since we have seen the patterns and may want to change or get rid of them. But at this stage, we are unable to intervene effectively. We must first remain vigilant of our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and get to know them more deeply. Then, we can start to participate in the creation of Reality.
3. Consciously participate in the creation of your Reality.
Begin to see that our consciousness creates Reality. Thoughts produce emotions that affect behaviors. Our belief shapes Reality. When I believe in the meeting to go well, it will most likely go well, and vice versa. Once we have discovered this connection for ourselves, we start to be able to participate in the creation of our Reality by changing the thoughts we put into our consciousness. At this stage, we may use affirmations, tap into existing belief systems of our liking, and choose the media content we consume more wisely. This is how we become ‘Reality-shifters.’
4. Recognize the level or quality of consciousness with which you are creating Reality.
Realizing the contents of our consciousness, we can become aware of the overall level or quality of our consciousness. If we can see that our experience of life is miserable, we may discover the level or quality of our consciousness to be very low – we live largely unconsciously. The level or quality of our consciousness predicts our experience of life. We could say the more conscious we are, the better we may live. But this is not the final understanding. From now onwards, it doesn’t make sense to understand intellectually. You have to feel and experiment with each of the stepping stones to advance in your practice.
5. Get to know awareness as inherently empty.
Become aware of consciousness itself, and you may find that this awareness is inherently empty. The contents of our experience arise and subside back into this source. Emptiness is the key to Truth. The river of our consciousness is kept clean as there is no opinion, no interpretation, and no intellect to pollute it.
6. Rest in that awareness.
We sit down on the stepping stone in the middle of the river. The water of experience, thoughts, and emotions rushes by, but we remain untouched. Rest in awareness and let the stream of consciousness be. Thoughts can come and go whilst we remain in clear, empty awareness. This is true meditation and deep, active rest. Nothing needs to be created.
7. Let go into empty consciousness manifesting itself.
Let emptiness, silence, manifest itself. The meditation continues as we get up from the stone and let ourselves be moved. Our actions flow from the spark of this moment. We may still use thought, but it’s no longer using us to create reality. We surrender control of our creations and become the hand of the Divine. Take the arts for example. When we feel the spark to paint or dance, no thought is required to bring the painting or the dance into existence. We follow our inspiration and feeling. Creation is the manifestation of empty consciousness. That manifestation is the voice of Truth.
8. Know that manifestation to be the voice of Truth
When we allow the feeling of empty consciousness to flow and manifest itself, its voice is pure and purposeful. Truth arrives in Reality to preserve natural order and beauty.
The 8 stepping stones of manifestation help us manifest Truth in Reality. We can study them for some time before we no longer need instructions. May this path become clear through our investigation and practice. May it support us live light.
Thank you,