Struck by Reality...A Journey of Awakening

This book does not contain instructions on how to achieve your spiritual goals. Nor does it provide “how-to” guidelines for your personal growth. This book was born in my heart on December 31, 2017, while I was driving to a New Year’s Eve ceremony at my local Community of Mindfulness center. My heart opened up as I became clear that I was beginning my personal journey of awakening to the reality of life as it was in front of me. The only other details I knew at that time was that I needed to write about my spiritual awakening over the next year and the writing must be done in the present moment to reflect on life as it occurred.

The significance of writing about life as it unfolded would be my personal experiment to determine which truth was sustainable for me—the one in my mind that had been fueled by traditions, belief systems, norms, and societal expectations or the reality in front of me. I knew that this would require a lot of trust. It would require a shift in my paradigm for life. I would have to really trust that life was for me.

At this point in my life, I felt like I had no other choice. I’d been beaten down, and the old model just hadn’t worked for me. I was willing to try something different. Even if it didn’t work, I knew that I could exercise my option to free myself of all the “shoulds" that I had so dearly attached myself to up until this point in my life.

I had chosen to be present and mindful, with life in front of me, and to let go of any desires and expectations in my life. I had decided to just be. Practicing this over the next year would help me to decide which truth worked best for me. The key to the process was that I would be writing about the journey as it occurred and, therefore, living in the moment. The name of this book—Struck by Reality—unfolded as part of the process of being with life as it unfolded.

I started this journey, and I am sharing my experience with you to inspire you to look for and to take the path less traveled. I am sharing this because I know that the next stage in my growth involves being an example of living life authentically. I am committing to this process because I believe that we all have a unique contribution and gift to share within our lifetime. Self-discovery is the only path on which we can discover our gifts, if we are willing to go there. I hope this will help you to find and trust the voice that speaks within your heart.

I believe that the spiritual pioneers leading us to the next level of spiritual growth on planet earth will gently guide us back on a journey within ourselves, with the understanding that all that we need to know and learn first comes from within. I believe that the model we will follow will be experiential in nature—you can see what I did and try it, maybe it will help you on your path. Do as I do, not do as I say.

Awake

I woke up to a state of constant joy.

And I know that this will never

leave me.

Nor will it be tarnished

by any outside judgment of me.

I got my wish to be fully present and awake.

Sometimes, we must hit

rock bottom.

And when we

think we’re at the lowest point,

get knocked down even harder, in order to see

and understand deeply that our true

nature is when we have chosen to exist

in a state of joy in the present moment.

I now know with 100 percent certainty that I 

can let go of any thoughts that hold me prisoner to life.

—Karen Maharaj, 

Self-reflection, 

December 20, 2018