The Illusion of Spiritual Escape

One of the most powerful illusions in spiritual practice is the belief that we can somehow transcend the pain of existence—that if we just find the right practice, concept, or state of consciousness, we'll finally escape suffering. 

This illusion keeps us searching externally when the true path is an internal reconciliation with our humanity. 

As I explained to a client recently: "There's no spiritual concept that will remove the pain of existence. There's nothing we can do to remove that out of our design because we're here in duality. So it's going to be painful. It has to be painful by design." 

This understanding is humbling and initially may feel discouraging. But it's actually the doorway to authentic spiritual embodiment—not through escaping our humanity, but by embracing it fully. 

The Dance of Duality 

True spiritual growth isn't about reaching some final state of perfection or transcendence. It's about making peace with the natural rhythm of existence: 

"It's just like an accordion—the misalignment and alignment, the density and then the liberation of the density. It's got to be a dance because we're in duality, and there's no final piece or final outcome or final endpoint to this existence." 

This dance is the nature of being human. When we stop trying to escape it and instead learn to move with it gracefully, we find a deeper kind of peace—not the absence of pain, but a relationship with pain that transforms it into consciousness. 

Finding Your Authentic Spirituality 

1. Simplify Your Spiritual Practice 

The authentic expression of your spirituality is much simpler than most teachings suggest. It's found in: 

• The genuine connection you feel with others 
• The presence you bring to everyday moments 
• Your willingness to feel your emotions honestly 
• The care you extend to yourself and others 
• Your relationship with the beauty and pain of existing 

As I shared with a client: "The essence of your spiritual nature is your food, your body, your nature, your connection to the beautiful humans you work with, the presence you bring, your stillness, your emotional expression... That is the essence of your spiritual nature." 

2. Question Every Concept 

Developing a relationship with your own consciousness means nothing is beyond questioning. Everything must pass the "truth test" in your body: 

• Does this concept actually feel true in my lived experience? 
• Does believing this help me connect more deeply with myself and others? 
• Am I using this idea to bypass my emotions or to engage with them? 
• Is this creating more separation or more connection in my life? 

Be ruthless with reality—not to make it more complex, but to dissolve the thought forms that keep you hooked into patterns of separation. 

3. Connect Through the Portal of Pain 

The only way to true spiritual growth is through connecting with your pain, not avoiding it. When painful feelings arise: 

• Locate where you feel the pain in your body 
• Bring your full attention to the physical sensation 
• Ask the pain what it's afraid of 
• Stay present with whatever arises, without needing to fix it 
• Allow the light of consciousness to open the density 

This connection transforms your relationship with pain from something to be avoided into the very portal through which your consciousness expands. 

This Week's Practice:

The Reality of Your Divinity 

This week, I invite you to practice recognising the reality of your divine nature—not as something you need to achieve, but as something you already are. 

1. Notice the "shoulds": When you catch yourself thinking you "should" be more spiritual, pause and recognise this as the wounded part of you seeking safety through external validation. 

1. Bring attention to your body: Feel the aliveness in your hands, the sensation of your breath, the weight of your body where it meets the ground or furniture. This is your divine nature expressing itself physically. 

1. Embrace your humanity: When difficult emotions arise, instead of trying to transcend them, say to yourself: "This too is an expression of my divine nature experiencing humanity." 

1. Simplify your practice: Let go of complicated spiritual concepts and instead focus on genuine presence with whatever is happening in this moment. 

Remember that your true spiritual nature doesn't need the "bells and whistles" of complex spiritual frameworks. You are already divine, exactly as you are. 

"The essence of who I am doesn't change. So how is this high-vibe, low-vibe in terms of all sentient beings just being exactly where they are at any given moment in time?" 

Making Peace with Existence 

At the core of spiritual seeking is often a fundamental fear—the fear of existence itself. We seek spiritual concepts to make sense of why we're here and what it all means, hoping to find safety in understanding. 

But true safety doesn't come from understanding existence—it comes from being fully present in it, with all its pain, joy, confusion, and clarity. 

This recognition—that there isn't something "more" beyond this present experience—can initially trigger fear. But it's actually the threshold of authentic spirituality. When we cross it, we discover that being fully present in our humanity is the spiritual experience we've been seeking all along. 

Your divinity isn't separate from your humanity—it expresses itself through your humanity. The tears that come without thought, the sudden feeling of gratitude while driving home, the deep loneliness when facing mortality—these aren't distractions from your spiritual path. They are your spiritual path.