Monday, February 27, 2017

Epilogue : The Three Stages of Awakening

Epilogue : The Three Stages of Awakening


My job here on earth is twofold. My job is first of 
all to make amends. My second job is to awaken 
people who might be asleep. Almost everyone is 
asleep! The only way I can awaken them is to 
work on myself.

—Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len


The other day a reporter asked me,“Where do you 
see yourself a year from now?”

In the past I would have given him a sincere 
accounting of what I hoped to achieve. I’d talk 
about my plans, goals, and intentions. I’d tell him 
about books I wanted to write or things I wanted 
to be, do, create, or buy. But because of all the 
work I’ve done with Dr. Hew Len, I no longer 
state goals or intentions or make plans for the 
future. So I instead replied with the truth of this 
moment:

Wherever I’ll be will be far better than what I 
can imagine right now.

There’s more depth to that answer than you might 
first notice. It came from inspiration.The answer 
surprised me as I said it. It also revealed where 
my mind is these days: I’m more interested in this 
moment than the next one. As I pay attention to 
this moment, all the future ones unfold quite 
nicely.As I once told Dr. Hew Len,“My intention
these days is to honor the intention of the Divine.

I relayed the reporter’s question and my inspired 
answer to a friend just a few minutes ago. He 
loved it. He’s been doing ho’oponopono with me
for a few months now, so he understood the 
ultimate truth: When you let go of your ego and 
the ego’s desires, you allow something better to 
guide you: the Divine.

This new me, and new understanding, is all part of 
my vivification.This didn’t all happen overnight, 
of course. But by saying “I love you” and the 
other statements, I’ve been led to a deeper 
awareness, what some might call an awakening, 
maybe even enlightenment itself. I came to 
understand there are at least three stages to this 
awakening, and they’re almost a map of life’s 
spiritual journey. They are:

1. You’re a victim.We are virtually all born feeling 
we are powerless. Most of us stay that way.We 
think the world is out to get us: the government, 
the neighbors, the society, the bad guys in 
whatever form they seem to take.We don’t feel we 
have any influence. We’re the effect of the rest of 
the world’s cause. We gripe, complain, protest, 
and gather in groups to fight those in charge of us. 
Except for a party now and then, life, in general, 
sucks.

2. You’re in control. At some point you see a life-
changing movie, like The Secret, or you read a 
book, such as The Attractor Factor or The 
Magic of Believing, and you wake up to your 
own power.You realize the power of setting 
intentions.You realize the power you have to 
visualize what you want, take action, and achieve 
it.You begin to experience some magic. You start 
to experience some cool results. Life, in general,
begins to look pretty good.

3. You’re awakening. At some point after stage 
two, you begin to realize your intentions are 
limitations.You begin to see that with all your 
newfound power, you’re still not able to control 
everything.You begin to realize that when you 
surrender to a greater power, miracles tend to 
happen. You begin to let go, and trust.You begin 
to practice, moment by moment, awareness of 
your connection with the Divine.You learn to 
recognize inspiration when it comes to you, and 
you act on it.You realize you have choice but not 
control of your life.You realize the greatest thing 
you can do is agree to each moment. In this stage, 
miracles happen, and they constantly astonish you 
as they do. You live, in general, in a constant state 
of amazement, wonder, and gratitude.


I’ve entered the third stage, and maybe you have,
too, by now. Since you’ve come along for the ride
with me, let me try to further explain my own 
awakening. It may help prepare you for what you
will soon experience, or help you better 
understand what you are currently experiencing.

I had a glimpse of the Divine in the first seminar 
with Dr. Hew Len. It was during those first days 
with him that I stopped my mental chatter. I 
accepted all.There was a peace almost beyond 
understanding. Love was my mantra. It was the 
song always playing in my brain.

But this glimpse didn’t stop there.

Whenever I was in the presence of Dr. Hew Len, I 
felt peace. I’m sure it was the tuning-fork effect. 
His tone affected mine. It brought me into 
harmony with peace.

During the second seminar I began to have what 
some would call psychic flashes. I saw auras. I 
saw angels around people. I received images. I 
still remember seeing invisible cats around 
Nerissa’s neck. When I told her, she smiled.
Whether the image was real or not, it sure altered 
her mood. She beamed.

Dr. Hew Len often sees question marks floating 
above people’s heads, which tell him which 
person to call on in an event.Whenever he sees 
invisible symbols or beings, he adds,“I know it 
sounds crazy. Psychiatrists would lock someone 
up for saying things like that.”

He’s right, of course, but once an awakening takes 
place, there’s no looking back. In my first Beyond 
Manifestation weekend, I read some of the people
’s energy fields.They were in awe. I can’t say this 
is a gift so much as it is an opening. A previously 
unused part of my brain turned on and lit up. Now 
my eyes see, if I let them. I told Dr. Hew Len,
“Everything seems to talk to me. Everything 
seems alive.” He smiled knowingly.

By the time of my second Beyond Manifestation 
weekend, I had another satori experience. Satori 
is a glimpse of enlightenment, a taste of the 
Divine. It’s as though a window slides opens and 
for a moment you merge with the source of life. 
It’s as difficult to explain as describing a flower 
from another planet. But by seeing that I could
disappear and experience zero limits transformed 
me. I have that experience as a touchstone. I can 
recall it and return to it. On one level this is 
wonderful, as it’s my ticket back to bliss. But on 
another level this is just another memory, keeping 
me from experiencing this moment. All I can do 
is keep cleaning.

Sometimes when I’m in a meeting, I’ll relax and 
unfocus my eyes, and I’ll be able to see the truth 
behind a situation. It’s as though time stops or at 
least slows down.What I then perceive is the 
underlying tapestry of life. It’s a little like peeling 
off the top level of a painting to find a masterpiece 
under it. Call it psychic vision, X-ray vision, or 
Divine sight. I’d say that “Joe Vitale” (and even 
“Ao Akua”) disappears into the zero state, or my 
eyes perceive it.There are zero limits.There just is.
At that place, there’s no confusion. It’s all clarity.

I don’t live in that state. I still come back to so-
called reality. I still have challenges.When Larry 
King asked me if I had a bad day, I said yes. I still 
do. Dr. Hew Len said we would always have 
problems. But ho’oponopono is a problem-solving 
technique.As long as I keep saying “I love you” 
to the Divine and I keep cleaning, I return to the
place of zero limits.

The signal from zero is, if we try to put words on 
it, “love.” So saying “I love you” nonstop helps 
us tune in. Repeating it helps neutralize the 
memories, programs, beliefs, and limitations that 
are in the way of your own awakening. As I keep 
cleaning, I keep tuning in to pure inspiration. As 
I act on that inspiration, better miracles than I
could have ever imagined take place. All I have 
to do is keep at it.

Some people think they understand the voice of 
inspiration by paying attention to the tone of the 
voices they hear in their heads. A friend once said
,“I know the difference between my ego’s voice 
and inspiration’s voice because the ego has an 
urgency to it and inspiration is gentler.”

I think this is deceiving. A voice that sounds harsh 
and a voice that sounds gentle are still voices from 
the ego. Even right now, as you read these words, 
you are talking to yourself.You are questioning
what you are reading.You’ve come to identify 
with that voice and to think it’s you. It’s not. 
Divinity, and inspiration, are behind those voices. 
As you keep practicing ho’oponopono, you keep 
getting clearer about what is actually inspiration 
and what isn’t.

As Dr. Hew Len keeps reminding us,“This is not a 
fast-food approach to healing. It takes time.”

I’d add that awakening can happen at any time. 
Even while reading this book. Or taking a walk. 
Or petting a dog.The situation doesn’t matter.
Your internal state does.And it all begins, and 
ends, with one beautiful phrase:

“I love you.”

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