The Journey Back to Unity and Our Enlightened Nature

Part 3 of the article series “The Path to Spiritual Enlightenment”, published in Norwegian in the magazine Medium (no. 4, 2024) and on wanvig.no. An earlier English version is on wanvig.no/en.

The world can feel darker now than it has in a long time. The news streams in like an endless flood of problems without solutions. In the middle of all this, many of us are searching for something more. A counterweight. A way out of the darkness.

The way leads back to something you already have in you. Something you may have forgotten, but never lost.

As a child, you were in contact with your complete nature. The joyful child was buried under layer upon layer of expectations, rules, and other people’s opinions. But it was never destroyed.

The way back runs through the developmental journey of the chakras from root to crown, through the transforming power of shamanic death, and past the many shortcuts that promise quick enlightenment but never deliver.

When the world feels dark: is there an alternative?

War. Climate crisis. Political chaos. Economic uncertainty. Pandemics. Artificial intelligence threatening jobs. Social media that divides more than it unites. Day after day, week after week, year after year.

And in the middle of all this, you and I have to handle everyday life.

We have to pay the bills. Perform at work. Take care of the people we love. Stay healthy. Keep our relationships alive. Find time for ourselves. And somehow, in the middle of all this, find meaning in it all.

It is no wonder if you feel overwhelmed.

It is no wonder if you sometimes wake up at night with a knot in your stomach. If you feel a vague unease you cannot quite put into words. If you ask yourself: “Is this all? Is this life?”

I know that feeling. I have been there myself.

In 2003, I collapsed completely. A life-threatening burnout the doctors could neither explain nor treat. I was successful, and everything looked perfect on the outside. But on the inside, I was dying. Literally.

It was only when everything fell apart that I found the way to something deeper. Something that saved my life and changed it completely.

This is what I have learned through more than twenty years as a shaman, and through my own journey from the bottom to deep inner peace:

There is a counterweight to the darkness.

Not as an escape from reality. Not as an excuse to ignore the world’s problems. But as a deeper presence in reality, a presence that gives you the strength to meet the challenges without being crushed by them.

The path to spiritual enlightenment is not a distant, mystical idea reserved for monks in remote monasteries or gurus on mountaintops in the Himalayas. It is a practical, down-to-earth path back to something you already have in you.

“Where light fills existence, darkness cannot exist.”

The path to spiritual enlightenment is not a distant, mystical idea reserved for monks in remote monasteries or gurus on mountaintops in the Himalayas. It is a practical, down-to-earth path back to something you already have in you.

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This is not poetry. It is not a beautiful play on words or a nice phrase to hang on the wall. I mean it literally.

In a state of spiritual enlightenment, you do not experience anxiety in the same way. Pain loses its grip. Hopelessness disappears. Not because the world’s problems disappear, they are still there, but because you see them from an entirely different place.

From a place of deep inner calm and clarity.

From a place where you know, not believe, but know, that you are more than your body, more than your thoughts, more than your story. That there is a side of you that can never be harmed, can never die, can never lose its fundamental goodness.

Does it sound too good to be true?

I understand the skepticism. As a civil engineer, I was the most skeptical of all. I did not believe in anything I could not measure, weigh, or prove. “Spirituality” was a word I associated with naivety and escape from reality.

But after walking this path myself, and after helping several thousand others on their journey, I know that this is possible. Not for a chosen few. For everyone.

It takes work. It takes time. It takes the courage to look yourself in the eye. But the reward is a life that is different from the ground up: a life filled with meaning, peace, and deep joy, independent of what happens around you.

The joyful child you once were

Do you remember it?

The first months of your life. Perhaps you have no conscious memories from that time, almost none of us do, but your body remembers. Your cells remember. Your soul remembers.

In that period, life was filled with pure curiosity.

Everything was new. Everything was exciting. The light falling through the window. The sounds from the world outside. The feeling of warm hands holding you. You did not need anything in particular to be happy. Happiness was simply there, as a basic state.

Joy without reason. Joyfulness that did not depend on outer circumstances, only on the basic needs being met.

You did not need to achieve anything to feel valuable. You did not need to perform to be whole. You did not need to prove anything to anyone.

You were in contact with your complete nature.

In the first part of the series, “Your First Birth: The Original Pure Mind,” I introduced the concept of the “Sahara”: the vast, timeless, and spaceless side of yourself that exists in what we call Unity.

Picture yourself as one desert. An endless desert stretching in every direction. The Sahara. Millions of square kilometers of sand, sun, and silence.

Now pick out one single grain of sand from this desert.

This grain of sand is your material existence. Your body. Your thoughts. Your feelings. Your story. All the experiences you have had. All the memories. All the dreams. Everything you think you are.

One single grain of sand.

But the desert? The infinite desert surrounding the grain of sand on all sides? That is who you truly are. Your timeless, spaceless, infinite nature. Your Sahara.

Most people live their entire lives in this one grain of sand.

They worry about the grain of sand. Defend it. Polish it. Compare it with other people’s grains of sand. Try desperately to make it bigger, better, more impressive, more successful.

They quarrel about the grain of sand. Suffer for the grain of sand. Sometimes they hate their grain of sand and wish they had another.

Without realizing that they are surrounded by an infinite desert of possibilities.

As a child, before the ego was fully formed, you had a natural connection to this desert. You did not know that you were limited to the grain of sand. You experienced existence from a much larger place.

That is why children have such a capacity for wonder and joy. They have not yet learned to believe that they are only the grain of sand.

What happened to the connection?

As you grew up, something happened gradually.

Your ego began to take shape. This is a natural part of human development; we need an ego to function in the world. The problem is not the ego itself, but that we confuse the ego with who we are.

You learned what was “right” and “wrong,” and that concerned much more than morality. The right way to dress. The right way to speak. The right things to think. The right things to feel.

You took in other people’s opinions as if they were truths. Your parents’ expectations. Your teachers’ evaluations. Your friends’ judgments. Society’s demands.

Rules. Norms. Prejudices. Expectations. Taboos. “This is how it is done.” “This is not how it is done.” “What will the neighbors say?” “You have to be realistic.”

All of this settled like layer upon layer of dust over your original, pure mind.

It is like a mirror that gradually becomes dirty. The mirror is still there, as clear and pure as ever. But the dust means that you can no longer see the reflection clearly.

The joyful child was gradually buried under all this.

Not destroyed, but hidden.

As an adult, most of it is about functioning. About surviving. About succeeding by standards that may never have been your own. You wake up. Go to work. Come home. Look at a screen. Sleep. Repeat.

Routines take over. A certain numbness sets in, not dramatic, just a gradual dimming of life’s colors. Conflicts fill everyday life, at work, at home, in the news. And the darkness, the creeping darkness that takes your energy and joy, begins to leave its mark on you, and on the whole society we live in.

But the child is still there.

Hidden beneath the layers. Waiting. Hopeful. Ready to be found again.

And sometimes, in glimpses, you can feel it. In a moment of deep stillness. In the presence of nature’s beauty. In a child’s laughter. In moments of real connection with another human being.

Then you feel that there is something more. That life can be different. That you can be different.

That is not an illusion. It is a glimpse of reality.

The path back to the light

To find your way back to your original, pure state, you must do something active.

It does not happen by itself.

You cannot wait for it to come to you. You cannot hope that it will happen by chance. You cannot buy it, inherit it, or receive it as a gift.

It requires conscious effort. Systematic work. A willingness to meet what has built up in you over the years, not to fight it, but to see it, understand it, and integrate it.

Society has built barriers around you. All the expectations. All the roles you play. All the identities you have taken on. Everything that defines you in other people’s eyes, and perhaps in your own.

Your ego has built even more. Defense mechanisms. Strategies for avoiding pain. Ways of keeping the world at a distance. Masks you have learned to wear for so long that you have forgotten they are masks.

These walls may feel safe. They protect you from pain, rejection, and disappointment. They have served a function. They have helped you survive.

But they also shut out the light.

So how do you begin?

The first steps

By cultivating inner calm. Not as an escape from life, but as a foundation for meeting it. Stillness is not the absence of sound. It is the presence of something deeper. In the stillness, you can begin to hear yourself again.

By practicing deep meditation. And I mean truly deep meditation: not five minutes with an app while you half check your phone. Real, silent meditation in which you learn to be with yourself, without distraction, without an agenda, without anything to achieve.

Stillness is not the absence of sound. It is the presence of something deeper. In the stillness, you can begin to hear yourself again.

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By looking honestly at yourself and your life. Not to judge or criticize, but to see clearly. What works? What does not work? Which patterns repeat themselves? Which pains do you carry that you have never processed?

By daring to feel what you have avoided feeling. Most of us carry feelings we have pushed away because they were too painful. Grief. Shame. Anger. Fear. These feelings do not disappear. They are stored in the body and in the mind. To become free, you must be willing to meet them.

Slowly but surely, you can find the way back.

It is like washing the dust off a mirror, layer by layer. The more you wash, the clearer the reflection. The more you work, the more of the original light begins to shine through.

It is no easy journey.

There will be days when you feel you are going backwards. Periods when everything feels harder than before you began. Moments when you want to give up and return to the numbness.

But it is a journey worth taking. For it concerns everyone you touch, not you alone. It is about contributing to a better world by becoming a brighter human being yourself.

Shamanic death: killing the ego

In the second part of the series, “Killing the Ego Through Shamanic Death,” we looked at one of the most decisive phases on the path to enlightenment.

The Dark Night of the Soul.

Perhaps you have already been there. Perhaps you are there now. Perhaps you recognize the description even though you have not had words for it before.

It is the period when nothing makes sense anymore. When the old motivations, career, money, status, even family, lose their power. When everything you thought you knew about yourself and life falls apart like a house of cards in the wind.

The old strategies for keeping yourself going stop working. You can no longer distract yourself. You can no longer pretend. The mask you have worn for so long begins to crack.

Most people flee from this state.

They medicate it away with pills or alcohol. Distract themselves with work, entertainment, or busy calendars. Fill life with noise to escape the silence. Throw themselves into new projects, new relationships, new goals, anything to avoid feeling the emptiness.

But the dark night is a door.

Behind it lies the light. Not in spite of the darkness, but through it.

The shamanic death is about meeting and overcoming your deepest fears. The imprints you have carried since childhood without knowing it. Traumas that have shaped you without your being aware of it. Karma, the repeated patterns, that have bound you to certain ways of reacting, feeling, and acting.

By confronting these parts of yourself, not fighting them, but truly seeing them, feeling them, and integrating them, something begins to happen.

The old walls begin to fall. Stone by stone. The illusions the ego has created dissolve. The identities you thought were you turn out to be only clothes you have been wearing, clothes you can take off.

It takes courage. It takes patience. It takes a willingness to let go of old patterns and beliefs, even those that have felt like “you” your whole life.

But on the other side, something awaits that you can hardly imagine:

A higher state of consciousness in which light, love, and joy replace the darkness, the fear, and the pain. Not as a temporary feeling, but as a new basic state. A new way of being in the world.

Shortcuts to enlightenment that do not work

Many want the fast way. The solution that requires the least possible effort. Enlightenment in three easy steps. Transformation over the weekend. A pill that fixes everything.

I understand the temptation. Everything is supposed to happen fast these days. We are used to instant gratification. Patience feels like a lost art.

But the truth is hard: This is one of the most important reasons why almost none of those who set out on a spiritual path arrive at a real spiritual awakening.

They look for shortcuts. And the shortcuts only lead them further from the goal.

Not because the universe punishes them. But because real change has no shortcut. It is like trying to skip winter to get to spring faster. Nature has its own rhythm. So does the soul.

Here are the most common traps:

1. Superficial meditation and mindfulness

Meditation is a strong tool. I have practiced it daily for more than twenty years, and it has been fundamental to my own development.

The problem is that most of what is sold as “meditation” today is not really meditation.

Five minutes with an app while you half check your phone is not meditation. Listening to guided visualizations while your thoughts wander is not meditation. Sitting still and feeling stressed that you are not doing it right is not meditation.

That is relaxation in spiritual wrapping. And relaxation is good, we all need more of it, but it is not the same as real spiritual development.

Real meditation practice is about stilling the mind completely, not calming it down a little. It is about reaching states in which the thoughts stop entirely. In which you rest in pure awareness without any content.

This takes time. It requires systematic training under qualified guidance.

Superficial meditation can even become a form of escape. You feel a little better afterward, a little calmer, a little more relaxed, and use that as an excuse not to deal with the real problems and blockages that hinder your growth.

You get an illusion of progress without real change.

2. Spiritual consumerism

In our time, it is easy to fall into the trap of consuming spirituality as if it were entertainment.

You buy books. Lots of books. They sit on the shelf and look impressive. You may have read some of them, or at least started them.

You sign up for courses. You attend seminars and retreats. You follow gurus on Instagram and YouTube. You may have an impressive collection of crystals, oracle books, incense, and Tibetan singing bowls.

All of this can give a feeling of progress. Of being “on the way.” Of being a “spiritual person.”

But if the knowledge does not become lived experience, if it does not take root in your everyday life and lead to real changes in how you live, feel, and act, it remains only intellectual entertainment.

You know a lot about spirituality. But you do not live it.

Spiritual enlightenment requires that you go from theory to practice. That often means making difficult choices. Changing habits that are deeply ingrained. Confronting uncomfortable truths about yourself. Letting go of things, perhaps even people, that do not serve your growth.

It is much easier to buy a new book.

3. Social media gurus

Social media is full of “spiritual teachers” with impressive followings and polished images.

They sit in meditation postures on beautiful beaches. They share words of wisdom in graphics with a sunset in the background. They have perfect homes, perfect bodies, seemingly perfect lives.

Some of them offer valuable insights; I am not saying that everything on social media is bad. But the format creates an illusion of rapid progress that does not match reality.

Short videos. Easily digested quotes. Perfect moments. All designed to catch your attention for a few seconds before you scroll on.

Real enlightenment cannot be conveyed in a 60-second video. It requires depth. Time. A personal practice that goes far beyond what any influencer can give you.

And dependence on outer guidance, however inspiring it is, keeps you stuck in other people’s light instead of finding your own.

You cannot become enlightened by watching someone else who is. You have to walk the path yourself.

4. Psychedelics and substances

This is perhaps the most controversial point, but it must be said clearly.

Yes, psychedelic substances can open the door to strong experiences. Glimpses of something greater. Insights that feel deep in the moment. Many say they have “seen God” or experienced “unity with everything.”

But they are no substitute for the continuous, deep inner work that lasting change requires.

The problem is that a psychedelic experience is like taking an elevator to the top of a mountain. You get to see the view. It can be spectacular, life-changing, unforgettable.

But when the effect wears off, the elevator takes you back down.

You have not built the muscles needed to climb up yourself. You have not learned the way. You have not integrated the experience into your daily consciousness.

Psychedelic experiences can also be overwhelming. They can be misunderstood. And without proper integration, which requires months or years of work, they can lead to more confusion and disillusion, not less.

Real enlightenment is not about visiting higher states. It is about living there. Permanently. And that requires that you walk the path on foot.

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Some end up chasing the next experience, the next trip, instead of doing the real work. They become dependent on the elevator.

Real enlightenment is not about visiting higher states. It is about living there. Permanently. And that requires that you walk the path on foot.

5. Spiritual bypassing

This is perhaps the most insidious trap of all, because it is so well camouflaged.

Spiritual bypassing is when you use spiritual practices and concepts to avoid uncomfortable feelings, traumas, and problems.

You focus on “light and love” to avoid feeling the pain. You talk about “letting go” without having done the work of really processing what you are letting go of. You say “everything happens for a reason” as a way of avoiding the grief.

You use positivity as a shield: “Think positive!” “Stay high!” “Don’t let it bring you down!”

It looks like progress. It feels like progress. You may even convince others, and yourself, that you are very spiritually developed.

But it is actually the opposite.

The unprocessed material does not disappear. It is stored. It ferments. And sooner or later it comes up, often at the most inconvenient moments, often in distorted form.

Real spiritual growth requires that you meet everything in you, including what is painful, shameful, and difficult. Not to dwell on it. Not to identify with it. But to see it, feel it, heal it, and integrate it.

6. Misuse of shaktipat

Shaktipat, the transmission of spiritual energy from a master to a student, can be a strong experience on the path to enlightenment.

But when it is sought as a shortcut, it becomes a trap.

Some become dependent on the ecstatic experiences. They chase the next dose of energy, the next high, the next meeting with the master. They travel from retreat to retreat, from guru to guru, in search of the next experience.

But they never do the necessary inner work themselves.

Without proper preparation and understanding, shaktipat can even create confusion and imbalance. Energy that is awakened without a prepared system to receive it can lead to problems: physical, emotional, and mental.

Real enlightenment requires a personal commitment to continuous practice and self-reflection, not dependence on outer transmissions of energy.

The master can open the door. But it is you who must walk through it.

The only path that works

Real spiritual enlightenment is a deep transformation.

It requires patience. Perseverance. A willingness to meet the darkest parts of yourself. The humility to realize how little you know. The courage to continue even when it feels impossible.

There is no shortcut past this.

Every attempt to skip the necessary work leads to an illusion of progress, not real awakening. You can fool yourself for a while. You can even fool others. But deep down, you know that something is missing.

By avoiding these traps and instead committing to an honest, integrated practice, you can gradually open yourself to the true awakening. The one that brings lasting peace, a peace that is there even in the middle of life’s storms. Deep joy that springs from your inner being, independent of outer circumstances. Clarity and understanding that change everything.

The only path is through honest self-exploration and healing.

It is a journey that requires courage and commitment. But the reward? A life filled with deep meaning, clarity, and inner peace.

A life in which you live fully, instead of merely surviving.

Spiritual enlightenment: the developmental journey from the 1st to the 7th chakra

You are far more than a physical body.

According to the yogic tradition, you consist, in addition to your material existence, of a complex energetic structure.

72,000 nadis: energy channels running through your entire system, like an invisible network of light and information.

114 chakras: energy centers, each with its own function, its own frequency, its own role in your total consciousness. Of these, two are located outside the body, while 112 are within it. We can work directly on developing 108 of them. The remaining four develop as a result of the work with the others.

The seven main chakras each have 16 dimensions. One is tied to physical existence, the one we all know. The other 15 open onto spiritual dimensions most people never experience.

Here is a brief overview of them:

1st chakra: the root chakra (Muladhara)

This is where the journey begins.

At the base of the spine, at the tip of the tailbone, you find the foundation of your entire existence. The root chakra is your connection to the earth, to the physical, to reality here and now.

Connected to the earth element, this chakra is about the most basic things: Survival. Security. Stability. Belonging.

Before you can climb higher on the ladder, you must feel safe and grounded down here. It is no use seeking higher consciousness if you are constantly in survival mode, worried about where the next meal will come from, or whether you have a roof over your head.

Working with the root chakra means working with your roots. Family ties: not necessarily the relationship to your biological family, but your sense of belonging to a place, to something, to someone. Financial stability: not wealth, but a basic security. Physical health: taking care of the body, which is your temple in this incarnation.

Many spiritual seekers want to skip this. They find it “too material,” “too earthly,” “not spiritual enough.”

But a tree without roots falls over in the first storm.

2nd chakra: the sacral chakra (Svadhisthana)

Just below the navel you find the center of feelings, creativity, and life energy.

Tied to the water element, the 2nd chakra is about flow. About letting feelings move through you without stopping them or drowning in them. About embracing your creative power and expressing it in the world. About sexuality, in the physical sense and as life force, as creative power.

When the root chakra is in balance, when you feel safe and grounded, you can begin to explore this deeper emotional side.

It is about accepting your feelings. All the feelings, not only the “nice” ones like joy and love, but also anger, grief, fear, and shame. Feelings are not good or bad in themselves. They are energy in motion. And suppressed feelings create blockage.

It is about expressing the feelings in healthy ways. Not suppressing them. Not exploding with them. But letting them flow through you and out, like water through a stream.

And it is about finding your way back to pleasure. The spontaneous pleasure that needs no reason. The creative impulse that simply wants to create, express, play.

3rd chakra: the solar plexus chakra (Manipura)

In the region of the stomach, your fire burns.

The solar plexus chakra is the center of personal power. Self-esteem. Willpower. The ability to set boundaries and take control of your own life.

Connected to the fire element, this is the place where you find your inner flame. Your drive. Your will to act, to create change, to stand up for yourself.

Many struggle here.

They give their power away. Let others decide who they should be and what they should do. Say yes when they mean no. Adapt to avoid conflict. Lose themselves in other people’s expectations.

The work with this chakra is about taking the power back. Not over others, but over yourself. Your time. Your choices. Your life.

It is about developing self-assurance without arrogance. Strength without hardness. Will without rigidity.

And it is about balance: Personal power combined with compassion. Healthy boundaries combined with openness. Fire combined with warmth.

4th chakra: the heart chakra (Anahata)

In the middle of the chest you find the gateway between the earthly and the heavenly sides of yourself.

The heart chakra is the center of love, compassion, and forgiveness. Tied to the air element, it balances everything above and below: the three lower “earthly” chakras and the three upper “heavenly” ones.

This is perhaps the most important chakra of all. The heart is the very gateway to the soul, to the divine, to who you truly are.

Opening the heart is about loving, truly loving, both yourself and others.

Unconditionally. Without demanding that anyone be different from who they are. Without needing to get anything in return.

It is about forgiving old wounds. Not because those who hurt you deserve forgiveness. But because you deserve the freedom of no longer carrying it.

And it is about cultivating empathy and kindness, not as a duty or a spiritual exercise, but as a natural radiance of who you are when your heart is open.

It is about forgiving old wounds. Not because those who hurt you deserve forgiveness. But because you deserve the freedom of no longer carrying it.

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5th chakra: the throat chakra (Vishuddha)

At the throat lies your voice. Your truth. Your ability to express who you really are.

Connected to the ether element, the finest of the elements, the throat chakra governs communication and real expression.

When the lower chakras are in balance, when you are safe, in contact with your feelings, in your power, and with an open heart, you can begin to find your real voice.

Not the voice that says what others want to hear. Not the voice that holds back out of fear of rejection or conflict. Not the adapted voice that has learned to say the “right” things.

But your own voice, the one that speaks clearly and honestly, that listens deeply, and that expresses your creative and spiritual insights without shame.

Many people have never found this voice. They have lived their whole lives with a false voice, an adapted voice, and do not even know that there is anything else.

6th chakra: the brow chakra (Ajna)

Between the eyebrows lies the third eye.

The brow chakra stands for insight and intuition. Connected to light (tejas), it gives you the ability to see beyond the physical senses and reach deeper understanding.

When the lower chakras are in harmony, you can begin to open this center.

Then you develop your intuition. Not as magical mind reading or predictions of the future, but as a deeper knowing that comes from a place behind the thoughts. A knowing that “just knows” without being able to explain why.

You cultivate spiritual awareness. You begin to experience sides of reality that the physical eyes cannot see. You gain clarity in your visions and understanding of yourself and the world.

Many spiritual people seek this chakra without having done the groundwork in the lower ones. They want the intuition, the visions, the psychic abilities, but they have not built the foundation. The result is often confusion, illusions, or in the worst case, mental imbalance.

7th chakra: the crown chakra (Sahasrara)

At the top of the head: the connection to the divine.

The crown chakra stands for your highest spiritual potential. Tied to pure consciousness, this is the entrance to enlightenment, to unity with all that is.

There is no direct way to develop the 7th chakra.

It is a result, not a goal in itself. You cannot “work on” the crown chakra the way you work on the others. You cannot force it open with techniques or exercises.

When the other chakras and their 16 dimensions are opened and balanced, the next step happens not through effort, but through surrender.

You “leap into the unknown,” and the crown chakra opens.

Then you experience transcendental consciousness. Unity with all that is.

Why you need a qualified teacher

Every spiritual path can be described as a journey from the root chakra to the crown chakra: from earth to heaven, from survival to enlightenment, from the grain of sand to the desert.

There are many techniques and processes for moving the energies from the 1st to the 6th chakra.

You can get far on your own. You can open much, heal much, transform much.

But from the 6th to the 7th chakra?

There, no concrete path exists.

In the yogic tradition, this transition is called “falling upward.” It is a paradox: You fall, but you fall upward. You let go, but you reach higher.

It is not something you can do by will or technique. No amount of effort can force it. You must either jump or fall into a bottomless pit where you have no idea what awaits you.

Everything you have built up. All your identity. Everything you think you are. You must be willing to let go of it, with no guarantee of what will come instead.

Many spiritual people believe that love and peace are the highest. That is because they are stuck in the 6th chakra. They have come far, further than most. They experience deep meditation, intuition, spiritual insight. They feel love and peace.

But they have not taken the last leap.

And the truth is that there are states that surpass love and peace in ways that are impossible to describe in words. States in which even the concepts “love” and “peace” feel too limited. States of pure being, pure consciousness, pure existence.

The final leap

When you are ready to take this leap, into the unknown, where everything is different from what you are used to, you need one thing more than anything else:

A qualified spiritual teacher who has walked this path before you.

Not because you need someone to tell you what to do. Not because you are unable to find the way yourself. Not because you are weak or dependent.

But because this leap requires a trust so deep that you cannot jump without it.

You must trust that it is safe to let go. That what you are falling toward is better than what you are leaving. That you will not disintegrate, but become whole in a new way.

This trust you cannot build toward a book. Not toward a video. Not toward an idea. You can only build it toward another human being, a human being who has been there, who knows the way, who can hold you through it.

All the great spiritual traditions have known this. The relationship between master and student is no coincidence, and no outdated custom from the past. It is a necessity.

The last great leap into freedom cannot be made alone.

This is perhaps the most important reason why so few complete the journey. Not lack of will; many have enormous will. Not lack of ability; many are highly gifted. Not lack of knowledge; many know a great deal.

But the lack of a qualified guide they have built deep enough trust in.

The path forward

Later in the series, we take a closer look at which paths you can follow to complete liberation in a state of spiritual enlightenment.

There are several trails up the mountain. Different traditions. Different methods. Different approaches.

But they have something in common: They all require that you walk them, and do not settle for reading about them.

Knowledge without practice is like a map without a single step. You can study the map for years. You can become an expert on the map. But you get nowhere.

The journey is waiting. The question is whether you are ready to begin.

Knowledge without practice is like a map without a single step. You can study the map for years. You can become an expert on the map. But you get nowhere.

Pål-Esben Wanvig

Do you want to go deeper? In the podcast “The Journey to Self-Realization” (in Norwegian), Amina and I walk through the same terrain in conversation: episode 30, “Snarveier til opplysthet som ikke virker – og veien som virkelig leder hjem” (Shortcuts to enlightenment that do not work, and the path that truly leads home), episode 31, “Utviklingsreisen fra 1. til 7. chakra” (The developmental journey from the 1st to the 7th chakra), and episode 33, “Hvorfor du trenger en guide på veien til enhet” (Why you need a guide on the path to unity). On my blog you will find more articles on the path to Unity. See also “It Is Impossible to Meditate: What Meditation Really Is, and Why Almost Everyone Misunderstands It” (Part 11), on the difference between relaxation and real meditation.

If you want to walk the path yourself, it begins at the Yggdrasil Shamanic School with our free online course on primordial shamanism: Nature’s Path to Freedom and Self-Realization – Shamanism, Rituals, and Rune Magic – Twilight Between Two Worlds. No path could begin more simply. How far it reaches is up to you.