Nurturing discernment
By Sakinah Bowman
What is "awakening"?
For me, it is the process of shedding the layers of programming and illusion that this system of reality (capitalism, religion, colonialism) has indoctrinated us with. It is the re-membrance of a time where we lived cohesively with all life on this planet, a time that wasn’t built on fear. This isn’t a singular event, from my perspective, awakening and ascending consciousness is a lifetime endeavor. I view Earth as a place to learn, gain experience points, and enjoy a whole range of emotions and possibilities. I also feel that this is unique to every individual, as we each anchor different vibrations with our existence.
Let me level with you:
When I first came into remembrance, the best way for me to describe it, is that it happened from my crown chakra down. It was a process of me expanding my perception and having a lot of energy coming online before I had done the base work. In my observations, this isn’t uncommon. We receive new information that shatters the walls that held the illusion of our programmed reality together and we deep dive into rabbit holes, seeking to chart them, know them, grow, and integrate as much of this suppressed info as possible.
All of this information consumption can lead to a separation or cognitive dissonance between what you now know and what’s programmed in your various bodies. There is a period of integration that needs to occur. This integration period is important because it is from here that you’re able to truly map out your natural cycles of adding and subtracting (info, people, resources, etc.), process new information that resonates, get in touch with what your soul is calling you towards, and grow in your personal discernment.
So below are some things that have personally helped me. The golden rule on this path: Take what you need, leave what you don’t.
1. Go Within
In hindsight, perhaps the most important thing I needed to hear upon awakening was to heal myself. There are literally generations of trauma, societal programs, outdated belief systems, karmic debts that extends lifetimes, etc. that we hold within our waters (re: Primordial Powers: The Waters ), that it’s imperative to bring them to your waking consciousness. Identify them and begin to work on shifting, healing, evolving, and releasing them as necessary. Upon doing this you’ll likely realize that a lot of the people, attachments, behaviors, and cycles that currently exist in your life, stems from these programs and you’ll begin to go into an isolation period (a period where you fold into yourself, reassessing the things you’re allowing to exist within your reality by fine tuning your frequency through amplifying your intentions, fasting, and just being with yourself).
This is also the space where you develop your core and begin to connect with your internal guidance system (which, from my perspective are future/parallel versions of yourself that are assisting you on this journey), or intuition. This is a space where you build your center and your internal foundation. You are perfect, yet all of the generations of programmings that we incarnated to clear may emerge in the most spontaneous of situations.
Be patient, resilient, and compassionate with yourself and watch it overflow in every area of your life.
2. Honor sacred time
Of course, you’ll still go through your cycles of testing this out, slipping a bit, taking your notes, and refining your sovereignty. This too is part of the process. When working with the cycles of cyclical time (Re: Honoring Sacred Time ) you’ll notice that you may come to a lesson/trauma multiple times before you’ve mastered/cleared it. This could range from involuntary emotional responses, being triggered by certain actions, people pleasing, etc. This is because bringing it to your conscious awareness is only one layer. A lot of these behaviors are deeply embedded within us and the process of clearing them will likely require a “process” of experiencing various situations that bring up all of the perspectives in which it exists. For example, you may have difficulty setting boundaries, it make take you various situations and years of people and institutions testing your boundaries before you are completely comfortable and unapologetic with setting those boundaries. This could stem from growing up and seeing your mother struggle with boundaries herself. Perhaps there is a past life association where you equated being open and available with loyalty, trust, and accountability.
Your reality may continue to provide you with opportunities to address this wound and clear it from your field. Be patient, aware, and always follow your first mind. Consider it an initiatory process, during which you’ll also re-member the importance of mastering your thoughts and working with the various layers of the thought realm. You’ll know you’ve mastered your particular lesson when a situation that used to trigger you manifests yet again in your reality and instead of allowing it to affect you in the way that it once did, you flow through it with ease and awareness.
Honoring Sacred Time, means that you don’t force yourself to be at a point that you’re not at. This advice is tricky, because naturally, when the mind/our internal masculine energy overstands something, it wants to jump right into application. Honoring sacred time means cultivating a greater capacity for patience and honoring the wisdom of The Divine. You are exactly where you are meant to be. Be still. Be present. Through your gratitude for the present moment, you will allow yourself to create the future in the now because you are aware of the various “timeline” choices and their consequences.
3. Empowered powers
Your spirituality should empower you to co-create your reality. The wisdom of your favorable and unfavorable experiences are necessary for you to find balance.
There is strength in what we deem to be “failure”.
There is power in being able to recognize which traits are generational residue that need your attention and healing.
Know, that you are the question and you are the answer. You are able to withstand all truths because awareness of all polarities is what creates balance. And balance is what’s required.
4. Journal your Journey
On my journey, I’ve found it extremely helpful to keep a journal and to document the phases and cycles I’ve been in on my journey. When you take the time to do this, you literally get to see your progress and growth.
A few years ago I began to notice that around the same time each year certain shadow lessons would resurface at a deeper level, calling for my attention. I also noticed that I would enter a higher level of overstanding with a topic that I first began studying around the same time the year before, as well. My personal patterns would reveal that I would re-member something/bring a shadow aspect to light, go through mini cycles of experiencing life from this new octave of awareness (or enter the same cycles of unconsciousness if I didn’t properly integrate those shadow aspects), then around that same time the next year, I would either reach a newer layer within that awareness OR have that same shadow lesson resurface in an even harsher way, if need be. I realized that I learn in “an upward spiral”. It fascinated me to observe this.
One year later, my being was ready to receive/re-member “Cyclical Time”. You see, Native peoples innerstood that reality is an upward spiral of cycles. The Mayans knew that lessons and time unfolded in a sequential manner.
For more on this, check out my blog post Honoring Sacred Time: Journal your Journey where I share different type of journals and how this has impacted my life.
Maybe journaling isn’t your thing? Voice notes, or little vlogs are also a helpful tool. Get creative and remember to follow your spirit!
So there you have it, a short list of the most pertinent things that have assisted me in structuring my discernment. This journey is constantly unfolding so please feel free to comment some things that have helped you as well. We’re all here to assist and grow each other and that starts by growing community.