Awakening is just the beginning, and the work is never done. Our initial spiritual awakening is when the real work of healing and transformation really begins. Before our awakening our teacher is karma, and we are so lost in maya that our evolution is rather slow. But gradually the lessons of pleasure and pain balance our lower chakras and begin to quicken our hearts.

At this point we begin to awaken to another perspective. An aspect of our awareness ceases to be identified with maya and starts to remember/recognize the interconnectedness of it all. This awakening can happen gradually over time or abruptly in a road to Damascus or enlightening experience with the awakening of the Kundalini energy.

The awakening of the evolutionary kundalini energy and the heart are the beginning of our conscious evolutionary journey. At this point the evolutionary journey is accelerated, however, the basic ego structure of the false self usually remains and simply becomes more subtle.

After my lightening from the sky kundalini awakening my ego was reduced by about 80%. However, my basic ego structure remained. I have continued to lighten the mind and emotional body through spiritual practices over the years but the basic incarnational ego structure still remains. I have simply become more aware of it and less identified with it.

It is tempting when we awaken and start experiencing transcendent states of consciousness to think we are completely enlightened and the work is done. However, the experience of enlightenment is not complete liberation from the ego. Since my awakening a part of my consciousness has remained established in my awareness of being one with god. But the ego structure of the solar plexus remains whenever I am operating from that seat of consciousness.

One who is completely liberated has purified the personality of the solar plexus to the point that it is completely transparent and non-reactive. This allows them to operate continuously from the upper chakras of the third eye and crown. At this point the individuated self is no more and one is simply an instrument of god’s will and an expression of god’s grace. This is the total merged of the separate self by into god.

Very few souls attain this state of liberation while in a human form. Most who awaken will have experiences of transcendence of the self as their third eye and crown chakra become activated but will not operate from them primarily. Each of us has an energetic balance particular to our soul’s evolution, and is working through lessons and karma while seeking ever greater balance and purity of consciousness.

We incarnate with a particular configuration of energies that makeup our personality shell. This configuration of energies is what we came to work with during this incarnation. Therefore it is useful to know what your configuration is in order to better understand what you are trying to balance.

A few useful tools for understanding the ego structure and your baseline energetic configuration are astrology and enneagrams. Generally speaking our karma is written in the stars. The planetary influences and configuration at the time of our birth are a good indication of what energies you came to work with during this lifetime.

Similarly, the enneagram test helps us identify the core motivations of our ego structure so that we can better understand the subtle ways in which it reasserts itself after awakening. For instance I am an enneagram three, which is a personality type motivated very strongly by external validation. Sometimes called “the Achiever” this personality type is very ambitious and measures its success by social status and other people’s approval.

At our best a three is kind, generous, and ambitious to be the best they can be embodying widely admired cultural qualities. At our worst we are devious and want to win at any cost. Throughout my life I have experienced both the unbalanced and best aspects of this personality type.

Most of my work in this lifetime has revolved around balancing a very active solar plexus that seeks power and prestige, with a heart that takes effort to keep open. This can be thought of as the balancing of the qualities of power and love. Most people seem to be dominant in one of the qualities of power, love, or wisdom, and are seeking to balance it with whatever of those three qualities is weakest in their configuration. 

The tools I mentioned help us identify the structure of the ego shell so that we are better able to identify its subtle hand as we seek to purify our consciousness and embody ever more of our divine nature. That being said, you need not identify too strongly with these things just as you should not identify too strongly with your mind and ego shell. These are the energies you can to work with and ultimately balance and transcend.