by Luminita Saviuc: “Each separate being in the universe returns to the common source. Returning to the source is serenity…

If you don’t realize the source, you stumble in confusion and sorrow. When you realize where you come from, you naturally become tolerant, disinterested, amused, kindhearted as a grandmother, dignified as a king.” ~ Lao Tzu

Even though some people learn and evolve, spiritually, way faster than others, the truth of the matter is that we’re all heading in the same direction. No matter if we’re walking, stumbling, jogging or marathoning through life, we’re all heading home

Today I want to share with you 15 of the things that start to happen as you grow and mature spiritually, things that will bring a lot of peace and serenity into your heart and into your life, making you a more humble, compassionate and loving person.

1. You recognize yourself in all beings.

You know that you are ONE with all things, all beings and all creatures. And because your heart is filled with love and compassion, you don’t feel the need to judge, blame, condemn or criticize anyone.  You recognize yourself in the world around you. You see yourself in those who are good, but also in those who are bad; in those who are kind, but also in those who are cruel, and this humbles you a great deal. 

“I am the twelve-year-old girl, refugee on a small boat, who throws herself into the ocean after being raped by a sea pirate. And I am the pirate, my heart not yet capable of seeing and loving… Please call me by my true names, so I can hear all my cries and laughter at once, so I can see that my joy and pain are one. Please call me by my true names, so I can wake up and the door of my heart could be left open, the door of compassion.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

2. You live your life from a place of sincerity and humility.

The more you realize who you truly are underneath it all, and why you’re here in this world, the more humble you seem to become and the greater the need for sincerity.

“When I look within, and see that I am nothing, that’s wisdom. When I look out and see that I am everything, that’s love. Between these two, my life turns.” ~ Nisargadatta

3. You love without expecting to be loved back.

Love is who you are. Love is what you were made of. You don’t love to be loved, you love because love is all you have to give.

“We are born of love; Love is our mother.” ~ Rumi

4. You are comfortable with not-knowing.

You know that life’s plans for you are much grander and more complex than the plans you yourself have for yourself. Because of that, you have given up the need to control how your whole life unfolds, and instead you have learned to instead, put your trust in life. 

“Not-knowing is true knowledge. Presuming to know is a disease. First realize that you are sick; then you can move toward health. The Master is her own physician. She has healed herself of all knowing. Thus she is truly whole.” ~ Lao Tzu

5. You trust life’s wisdom.

You allow life to guide you, to lead you, and to take you on the path you are meant to walk upon, and not the path you think you should walk upon.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” ~ Isaiah 55:9

6. You have no interest in being who people think you should be.

Your only interest is to realize your true nature by becoming who life created you to be, and not who people think you should be.

“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” ~ Catherine of Siena

7. Your wisdom is your own.

The things you know, you know them from your soul; your wisdom is your own. It does not come from what others have written or spoken, but rather from deep within yourself.

“I have been a seeker and I still am. But I stopped asking the books and the stars. I started listening to the teachings of my soul.” ~ Rumi

8. You forgive easily.

Even though you still encounter people who mistreat, harm, betray and disappoint you, you forgive them all, and you forgive them easily. Why? Because you understand that people only express that which they are, as humans, conscious of being.

“Justice to be wise must be administered with love, ever turning the other cheek and at all times returning good for evil, love for hate, nonviolence for violence.” ~ Neville Goddard

9. You give without expecting anything in return.

You give because the need flows out of you all the time, and not because you expect anything in return. The happiness of those you help is your reward. 

“The fool laughs at generosity. The miser cannot enter heaven. But the master finds joy in giving and happiness is his reward.” ~ Buddha

10. Your heart is at peace even in the midst of adversity.

No matter how many challenges life sends your way, and no matter how much pain you have to endure throughout your life, your heart is always at peace. You have learned how to be content under all circumstances.

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” ~ Philippians 4:12

11. You embrace all that comes your way with thankfulness.

You know that life loves you and that it is constantly guiding you on the path you are meant to walk. And even though this path may not always be smooth, easy and free of struggle, pain and darkness, you embrace all that comes your way with thankfulness knowing that nothing is happening TO you, everything is happening FOR you!

12. You purified your soul of attachments.

Because you now know that trying to cling to the very transitory nature of life is a cause of great suffering,, you don’t cling on to anything or anyone. You live in the world, but you are not OF the world. You love people, you love the world around you and all that it holds, but you don’t create attachments.

“This is the whole secret of non-attachment: live in the world, but don’t be of the world. Love people, but don’t create attachments. Reflect people, reflect the beauties of the world — and there are so many. But don’t cling. The clinging mind loses its mirrorhood. And mirrorhood is Buddhahood. To keep that quality of mirroring continuously fresh is to remain young, is to remain pure, is to remain innocent. Know, but don’t create knowledge. Love, but don’t create desire. Live, live beautifully, live utterly, abandon yourself in the moment. But don’t look back. This is the art of non-attachment.” ~ Osho

13. You no longer look outside yourself for fulfillment.

You have reached a point in your life where you no longer base your purpose, meaning or fulfillment on anything external to you. The outside world can no longer fulfill you, and your only true fulfillment now comes from deep within yourself.

14. You see yourself as a spiritual being having a human experience.

You know that the body is only the vehicle transporting the soul in this physical world, and that even though you have a physical body, you are not the body. You are the Soul within the body.

15. You delight yourself in quietness and solitude.

You delight yourself in quietness and solitude, and the sound of silence helps you connect with the deep side of you where all life’s wisdom rests, and where all the secrets of the world are hidden.