As the moments of our lives rush by, it’s not often that we stop to contemplate the true meaning of our purpose and of our existence. And even when we take time to ponder these truth-seeking ideas, we’re unable to understand their true meaning unless we strip ourselves bare of the things that deceive us from the pure essence of our soul.

All our means of escapism add up to contribute to this deception. Drug and alcohol use or having a constant need for distraction are among the escapist methods we employ to remove us from what we think of as the doldrums of everyday life. But escapism keeps us from exploring that which is real. Instead, we need to awaken to the present through quieting our mind and connecting to the web of oneness that ties us to all other living things.

By virtue of being alive, we have an expectation of life. We want it to satisfy us and make us happy. But being alive doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re consciously awake. Being awake means becoming fully present — or being consciously aware of how present we are. We can be awake, but we must become fully aware of who we are in our doing.

When we make a conscious choice to become more awakened, veils begin to lift and our way of seeing begins to change. This is what Mindfulness does for us. Mindfulness lets us put aside our future-seeking or past-obsessing thoughts and keep our minds on the present moment. A regular Mindfulness practice holds us in present moment awareness as if whispering in our ear, “Stay here in this moment and look more deeply into what you are seeing.”

Mindfulness puts us in a state of readiness to receive a greater knowing of who we are, which is much more than our identity or persona. When the pure essence of the soul is left alone to be, and rests in quietude and acceptance, that is when the mystical can visit us.

The mystical is there, but we will miss it again and again because we don’t set our gaze where we need to look. It takes getting out of our own way to realize the many sacred truths on this mystical life journey. If we want to bring ourselves to the divine in our being that awaits us, we must inhabit present moment awareness and quietude, and then say, “I am ready to know you. I am ready to take you into myself. I am ready to become you.”

Use this Mindfulness meditation to ease you into contemplation so that it becomes a natural state of consciousness for you:

1. Find a quiet place to sit

2. Let your mind rest in non-doing

3. Open your mind to receive wisdom by telling yourself you are open to know it

4. If your mind is active, engage it in a question — for example, ask yourself “Who am I?” or “What is this life?”

5. Spend time allowing yourself to be with what you ask, and call forward God, source, or whatever the Divine means for you

6. Say that you are ready to “know”

7. Be with whatever you are hearing or feeling

8. Allow yourself to go deeper into reflective thinking

9. Let your introspection take you where it will

10. Let yourself freefall into the connection between your soul and the divine

As you seek to know the sacred and mystical truths of life, be patient in your seeking. They will reveal themselves to you if you seek to know them.