This article is written in partnership with LightEn—a philanthropic, educational organization that publishes important spiritual works, provided free of charge online and as close as possible to cost in their print form. We are honored to work with them. ~ ed.
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“A person must break free from societal imprints and from the habit of intruding upon others in the name of ‘good advice’, learning to respect one another and their decisions.” ~ Zulma Reyo, Inner Alchemy: The Path of Mastery
Are you ready to meet your Truest Self?
As you ponder that question, perhaps you’re overwhelmed with thought or flooded with a rush of instability. Am I ready to meet my truest self? You ask yourself the question and perhaps you’re met with the discomfort of uncertainty.
But if we were to allow ourselves to sit with the discomfort of the question, we might tap into our inner wisdom: I know I’m meant for more.
In Zulma Reyo’s Inner Alchemy: The Path of Mastery, we move from our inherent and limited way of being into a higher consciousness in which we not only meet but fully unite with our truest self—and that’s just the beginning of the journey.
Because, when we align with our truest self, the light that we hold within beams out into the world and inspires others to follow in the same pursuit. And as ripple effects tend to go, that, over time, makes a significant impact on the consciousness of the planet.
Transform yourself, & change the world. Download the book for free, here >>
Right. This isn’t Deepak Chopra, or even Eckhart Tolle (though we’re not knocking them). Inner Alchemy: The Path of Mastery offers a deeper, more extensive educational offering than typically seen in more mainstream spiritual works.
The book, published by LightEn, was named a 2022 Independent Press Gold Award winner and a 2022 Nautilus Book Awards Gold Winner in each of their respective Mind, Body & Spirit categories—and for good reason. It’s more like a manual of study and application than a book.
When you pick it up (or download it) and read just the first few pages, there’s a sense of the soul leaning in. It’s like a craving, but instead of a physical hunger, it’s a spiritual thirst for higher consciousness and more connection to heart.
Over the past few years, I’ve been undergoing a sort of spiritual delamination. I’ve found myself, especially this year, peeling apart the layers of me that have been blindly following societal norms, and uncovering who I know I actually am.
While I’ve long intuited what has been behind this inner struggle, when tuning into the pages of Inner Alchemy: The Path of Mastery, I began to more clearly understand that I’m in the midst of transitioning from a human doing to a human being. And letting go of a more egotistical self to make way for the heart to lead is not always easy.
Zulma guides us how to use and control our personality from what she calls our higher mind, rather than letting it control us.
Because, as Zulma reminds us:
As we read—or rather work—through Zulma’s masterful guidebook, we:
>> Map out the physical, emotional, and mental fields of energy within us
>> Identify the role of personal and collective belief systems, schools of thought, various typology systems (such as the Enneagram), and ancestral influence in our construction of Self
>> Compare world beliefs, cultures, and traditions, including religions, and how these create subtle divisions and deep rifts amongst us.
And as we advance, our metaphorical vision shifts from quantity to quality, from the particular to the global, Zulma explains—all without losing perspective of particular needs and dynamics.
Because to bring about balance, we need to be balanced.
But first, you’ve got to understand the basics.
Find out how to align your inner energy with the outer world, here (for free) >>
Inner Alchemy 101:
Just like with the alchemy you’re probably familiar with—the kind where components of a formula are separated to extract a more valuable substance, Inner Alchemy requires us to separate thoughts from feelings and body sensation.
“The alchemist,” after all, “uses all the aspects of themselves (their entire ‘family of Self’, so to speak) to help them co-create, transmute, heal, and bless their immediate world, their environment and their planet,” as Zulma says.
So, the “gold” we extract from Inner Alchemy is a Soul-Awakened mind and a balanced energetic way of operating in pure, unadulterated essence on a daily basis.
Inner Alchemy training occurs in three stages:
>> We define yourself in time and space;
>> We awaken to the subtleties of multidimensional reality; and
>> Simultaneous to the second stage, we expand our consciousness and connect to Source.
So, let’s start where we (probably) are: in stage one:
The 3 Levels of Mind
If we’re looking to make meaningful change in our own and others’ lives, we need to scale our mind from the lowest level (Ordinary) to the highest (Soul-Awakened) realm.
The table below clarifies some of the distinctions between ordinary (lower) mind, Higher Mind, and what it means to be soul-awakened (read from left to right):
But before we dive in, we should begin with a little self-inquiry. So, pause for a moment, grab a pen and your journal—and ponder this small sampling of excerpted questions from Inner Alchemy: The Path of Mastery:
1. Who and what are you, and what can you become?
Check your expectations. Ask yourself what you are ready to perceive and learn.
2. Who are you to yourself?
Do you feel the different aspects of yourself? Identify these and give them specific names.
3. What is your relationship to your body (awareness, weight management); to your mind (your ability to concentrate, focus, direct or empty the mind); and to your emotions (your identifications, attachments, loss of power)?
4. Where in your life are you out of control or finding it difficult to manage?
When and with whom are you out of control? What do you control in yourself, in your environment or in others in your environment?
5. What do you dislike in others?
Notice three characteristics you dislike in at least three people. See if these also appear in you or in someone close to you.
Discover more questions & uncover more of yourself in this FREE download of Inner Alchemy: The Path to Mastery >>
Now with a faint outline of who and where you are on your journey, we’re ready to dip our toes and start exploring.
The Ordinary, or Lower Mind
“The lower mind receives ideas from Spirit, interprets them according to its personal need or preference and implements them through a rational approach. This linear thinking is the natural way of third-dimensional life, where mind deals with detail.” ~ Zulma Reyo, Inner Alchemy: The Path of Mastery
The ordinary mind is what it sounds like—the primary level that many of us operate out of daily. It’s the mind that needs to figure things out, looks for guarantees, and evaluates everything (hello, overthinkers).
Here, we often seek to feel emotions that do not threaten our self-image. We prefer to remain comfortable rather than face the discomfort that spiritual growth requires.
We distract ourselves with emotionally intense films or music, gossip about the outrageous things happening to others, or in the relationship realm, distract ourselves from our loneliness with magnetic attraction and physical sensation.
And while, at first glance, it might seem that we want to get out of the realm of the Ordinary, the truth is that we actually want to befriend it. Because while it has its lows and can lead to negativity, the higher levels of the Ordinary Mind hold our thoughts of beauty, art, music, and science, and thus can be used as fuel for the higher levels of mind we’ll speak about momentarily.
“In order to reinstate the power of that highest, fullest aspect of Self, we need to recognize the lower as a tool for higher and greater force,” Zulma explains.
An Inspiring Meditation:
If you’re ready to sample the power of beginning on the path to mastery, Zulma offers a free Master Practice meditation that connects us with the different aspects of Self. This meditation is also about Alignment.
As I was guided to project a mirror image of my energetic self beneath my feet and also to connect with a sea of light far above my physical being, I felt truly transported to another realm.
While I’ve experienced similar meditations before and have connected myself with both a grounding and a higher self, something I’ve never been able to figure out is why this light that I always “tether” myself to is so far off to the side of my energetic body in the astral realm.
While in the midst of Zulma’s Master Practice, feeling an energetic vibration coursing from head to toe and far outside my body, I came to realize that this is representative of my lack of true alignment with my higher self, which makes sense, since this mediation is intended to open the path for true soul embodiment.
I’m now allowing that cognition to guide me as I continue to strive to operate at higher levels of consciousness.
The Higher Mind
“The individual expressing themselves through the Higher Mind uses the faculties of the emotionally integrated lower mind. What at the one level appears as judgement, at another is discernment. What appears as arrogance, on the higher levels could be termed honour, integrity and fearlessness.” ~ Zulma Reyo, Inner Alchemy: The Path of Mastery
The Higher Mind is essentially heart intelligence. It is the realm of intuition and the ‘knowing’ of accumulated inner experience.
At the level of Higher Mind, our feeling nature has been refined from passionate intensity into warm compassion; we’re ready to serve.
In Zulma’s Inner Alchemy School, the aim is to help us co-exist in conscious and close proximity to the Higher Self, gaining access to creative ideas, forces, and powers that enable us to rebuild the personality, the world, and the planet.
Download the book for free, and learn how you can apply to Zulma’s school >>
In a way, the Higher Mind is where we begin to build ourselves up as spiritual leaders.
“At this higher level, the lower mind and the emotions move in harmony:” Zulma explains. “The brain capacity expands to both right and left hemispheres, activating perception beyond duality.”
As we feel more connected to the whole and less need to prove ourselves as individuals, pockets of silence attract higher thoughtforms and bring in the regenerative force from Spirit.
What this looks like is a shift from self-centered to collective thinking.
Soul-Connected, or Soul-Awakened
“The soul-connected person becomes a blessing to everyone and everything, enabling peace and creativity. The aura, that compound of body, emotion and mind, acquires a rhythm of serenity and harmony, a sense of solidity, inspiring trust and transparency in others.” ~ Zulma Reyo, Inner Alchemy: The Path of Mastery
A soul-connected person is one whose whole personality, and Higher and Lower (or ordinary) mind, vibrate in resonance with the soul, perhaps similar to a Buddha state.
All the actions of a Soul-Awakened person are addressed for improvement and self-correction through embracing higher values and possess the ability to use discernment and discrimination, together with an artful use of power (when necessary) to replace any need to defend themselves or control others.
In other words, we move from trying on and learning a new way of leadership in the Higher Mind state to fully embodying it in the level of the Soul-Awakened Mind.
Which level of mind did you find is your default, and which did you find yourself wanting it to be? Did you find yourself in the lower realms and feel a pull toward connecting with your Soul-Awakened mind?
Inner Alchemy: The Path of Mastery is the perfect companion for embarking on such a journey. In it, Zulma’s teachings, tools, and resources demonstrate how to put our personality aside and master our energy to access the higher mind for the benefit of the globe.
In a world so rapidly “advancing” in ways that harm rather than help our planet and our people, from poor agricultural practices to corporate greed, it’s imperative that if (when) we feel the call toward Inner Alchemy and spiritual alignment, we answer it.
Don’t spend any more of this precious life doing what doesn’t serve you. Become who you truly are—and serve others in the process.
You’re an Alchemist. Begin your transformation with this FREE download of Inner Alchemy: The Path of Mastery >>
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IMAGE: (COVER) CHRISTOPHER RUEL/UNSPLASH
AUTHOR: MARISA ZOCCO
