TWO APPROACHES TO EMBODIMENT AND THE IMPORTANCE OF USING BOTH IN YOUR SELF-MASTERY / AWAKENING PROCESS

"We are perceivers. We are an awareness; we are not objects; we have no solidity. We are boundless.”
                                                                                         ~Don Juan/Carlos Castaneda

Within the spiritual community, references to and discussions about embodying Core Self (Spirit, Inner Self, etc.) are prevalent. But what does embodiment really mean and how do we actually attain that?

To fully embody Core Self means that our mind-body complex has been restored to its original capacity for transducing the higher-order consciousness, knowledge, energies and creational capacities of Core Self, as well as its desire for the unique ways in which these are to be applied by this aspect of itself (your mind-body complex) within this reality...

THE TWO FUNDAMENTAL APPROACHES TO CORE-SELF EMBODIMENT

In order to prepare the mind-body complex for [full] transduction of Core-Self, there is no getting around the work of removing the distortions in our mind-body complex. Although there are many facets and components of the self-mastery / awakening process, which is, at its center, the process of Core-Self embodiment, there are two, fundamentally different, yet equally important and effective approaches to eliminating our distortions so that we may regain our capacity to embody Core Self. Using both (and knowing when and how to use them) will amplify the results of your efforts to enable the fullest-possible embodiment of Core Self in this reality.

The first approach is the more frequently-discussed and focused-upon approach. This method revolves around applying various means of uncovering, identifying and clearing or releasing the distortions (false concepts, ideologies and beliefs) within our mind-body complex.

The "find-and-clear" approach to Core-Self embodiment is highly-effective when a holistic perspective is applied. This method can result in marked progress when all facets of the mind-body complex (our mental, emotional and physical aspects), and all areas of our lives (i.e., our job/career, our personal and professional relationships, the ways in which we spend our time and energy when we're not at work, etc.) are addressed using a combination of psychological, emotional, physical, mental and energetic modalities.

The second method of removing distortions from your mind-body complex incorporates an entirely different approach. This method entails regularly and consistently opening yourself to and merging with the present-moment awareness, [silent] peace and stillness of Core Self.

Both approaches are invaluable, but the second is highly-underused, or, is not being used for the purpose of removing distortions. In other words, although many individuals on the self-mastery / awakening journey are regularly engaging in some process for "connecting" with Core Self, that process is likely not being used with [focused] intention toward clearing distortions from the mind-body complex.

In Satprem's book, Sri Aurobindo or the Adventure of Consciousness, both he and Sri Aurobindo contrast cleaning and clearing (the "find-and-clear' method) with what I refer to as the "merging with Core Self" method:

Having brought this mechanism to light, we will have found, at the same time, the true method toward vital mastery, which is not surgical but calming; the vital predicament is not overcome by struggling vitally against it, which can only exhaust our energies without exhausting its universal existence, but by taking another position and neutralizing it through silent peace:

“If you get peace, Sri Aurobindo wrote to a disciple, “then to clean the vital becomes easy. If you simply clean and clean and do nothing else, you go very slowly for the vital gets dirty again and has to be cleansed a hundred times. The peace is something that is clean in itself so to get it is a positive way of securing your object. To look for dirt only and clean is the negative way.”

The "find-and-clear" method of removing distortions is very effective when a holistic approach is taken. This method is of particular benefit to those who are in the earlier phases of the self-mastery attainment / awakening process because it facilitates a deeper understanding of how distortions have permeated every aspect of ourselves and our lives, and the development of our ability to quickly and intuitively "scan" all of those aspects when we sense that we are somehow "off track" on our journey.

However, focusing all of your Core-Self embodiment efforts on the "find-and-clear" approach to removing distortions tends to entrain a negative, "what-is-wrong-with-me" perspective within us. Over time, this perspective can skew our alignment with and diminish our deepest experience of what we really are and all that is [inherently] "right" with us in the here and now. We end up having created yet another distortion within the mind-body complex that impedes our Core-Self embodiment capacities.

Both approaches are instrumental and can contribute greatly to the results of your self-mastery attainment / awakening efforts. Discovering and developing your own unique, balanced use of these methods opens you to and immerses you in the flow of the embodiment process.  

The most self-empowering, effective tools (processes, practices and activities) for advancing your progress are attuned to your uniqueness and your unique needs and situation, and they are strategic. Setting the intention of removing consciousness and energetic bottlenecks and blockages that have caused distortions in the mind-body complex when you are engaging in the practice of connecting with Core Self greatly amplifies the return on your embodiment efforts.

When used in combination with intentions aligned with Core-Self desire and the higher-order principles of creation, the practice of Core-Self connection, as well as other strategically-designed practices facilitate your embodiment progress in multiple areas simultaneously. For those seeking to receive optimal return for their self-mastery attainment and embodiment efforts during this end-of-cycle time of transition, learning what types of [energetic] processes to use and how to align them with your unique needs, or creating your own "from scratch" are potent means of doing so.

Related:

How to Identify Your Core Genius and Use it to Facilitate the Unfoldment of Your Unique Purpose
Thought and Emotion Self-Mastery Basics
Transitioning to Transcendent Consciousness and Responsible Creation