Has the seed of a new world always been here, waiting for some pre-ordained moment to awaken us to our true selves? Or does a traumatic experience, some fertilizing particle of pain, finally seep so deep into our spirit that it begins to blossom, forcing new thought to grow?

We are all connected by the divine gift of being born onto this planet. Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, Hindu, all of man’s religions share in this gift and the beauty of our distinctions and differences. And what have we done with it? We kill our own, maim the earth, disrespect the beings of nature that are here to support and guide us. We search for happiness in things rather than in each other. We hide our true faces until we become the mask, then despair that we are misunderstood and alone.

We are entering a time of great questioning, of searching our souls for meaning and solutions to the suffering and emptiness; of stripping away the illusions we created to protect, but have instead kept us cloaked from the potential of our existence. In small lives everywhere, away from what we are told is truth, inside an increasing number of people, sparks of knowing are beginning to burn.

What triggers this infinitesimal, yet monumental shift from an unconscious life into consciousness? That moment when we realize something has got to change, that life must mean more…we must mean more. What sets us on the journey of the seeking soul? As written in my book, soul seeds, Addie Mae reveals, “the more I learned, the more I knew, the more questions haunted me. Knowledge is slippery like that. You think it’s teaching answers but its merely exposing how many more questions there be.”

From that cardinal moment of awareness on, nothing is ever the same. Part of us yearns to follow this fledgling truth, another struggles to return to the dark safety of unknowing’s childlike innocence. In the beginning, we may feel more alone than ever. Those closest might not share or even understand these questionings. Our beliefs change, the armor softens, and our spirit begins to soar in new directions. Where we once found comfort, lies disquiet. The unfamiliar and mysterious beckon. We discover solace in solitude, in books and entertainment that reflect this inner conflict, and in the other sleepy-eyed souls who tumble onto our path.

The journey into consciousness is not easy, but no one who has traveled it would choose to return from where they came, because what is learned along the way profoundly transforms, empowers and connects us as never before. We are lucky. We are living in a world where more and more people are deciding to join the awakened ones and participate in creating more meaningful lives, a more compassionate, healthy planet. There are many ready to offer guidance.

Take care of your body. Feed it with things from the earth as much as you can. Move it often. There is nothing that deserves more respect than this magical vehicle that transports your spirit through life. Be kind to others. Their journey may appear different from yours, but in the end, the destination and realization is the same. Judgments are merely another mask created by fear to protect itself from truth. Love is all that will ever have mattered.

Honor yourself during this process. Trust what is transforming within you. Reach out to others. Strength and courage come from sharing our vulnerabilities. Slowly release all that does not serve your best intentions. You will make mistakes, you will step back, slow down, sometimes travel so quickly ahead in enthusiasm that you will stumble, or hurt who you love. This is all part of the soul’s searching to remember.

It is a worthy journey. It is time. And you are ready.