I ran into a Wikipedia article on the Seven Factors of Awakening (sapta bodhyanga) from Buddhism. This is a different tradition than mine, but one that points in the same direction.
I found some good insight here, but some of it is a little lost in translation and time. I’ll share the wiki definitions and then reframe each of them.
1) Mindfulness (sati, Sanskrit smṛti). To maintain awareness of reality, in particular the teachings.
Smriti is memory. As a factor in awakening, I’d take this to mean remembering who we are from direct experience. Coming back to the Self. Not trying to control or hold on to an experience or memory, but just coming back to it (remembering what is already here) when we notice we’re not.
Trying to control how we’re being or what state we’re in I do not recommend. That’s just individual mind wanting control. Just favour our deeper nature when you notice.
Being able to come back to something means it’s already established in our experience. We can’t be mindful of presence if it’s not yet established or clear. That’s where a transcending practice comes in.
2) Investigation of the nature of reality (dhamma vicaya, Sanskrit dharmapravicaya)
We can translate Dharma as that which sustains. Pravicaya is investigation. Thus, an investigation into that which maintains the world. Put another way, clear recognition. Key is the ability to discriminate reality from unreality and one state from another. If we’re unable to tell imagination from direct experience, for example, how are we going to recognize our deeper nature as consciousness?
3) Energy (viriya, Sanskrit vīrya) determination, effort
Virya means vitality. This includes the ability to do the work needed to make spiritual progress. This isn’t hard work, but it requires sustained effort and a willingness to face our shadows.
4) Joy or rapture (pīti, Sanskrit prīti)
Priti is happiness or delight. This refers to the general emotional tone. If we’re repressed or dwell in our darker emotions, that’s going to interfere with sattva (clarity) and the ability to see clearly to awaken.
5) Relaxation or tranquility (passaddhi, Sanskrit prashrabdhi) of both body and mind
Prashrabdhi is generally translated to mean pliancy or flexibility. Being able to grow requires flexibility. Put another way, tamas guna is inertia or resistance to change, the opposite of sattva, clarity.
6) Concentration (samādhi) a calm, one-pointed state of mind, or “bringing the buried latencies or samskaras into full view”
Samadhi means evenness of the intellect. I translate samadhi as transcendence. The intellect becomes even when we experience our deeper nature within. This is deeply calming and the mind becomes focused on this naturally, not by concentrating. Concentration is the hard way.
The second definition is not samadhi but an effect of it. The deep rest and clarity of transcending can bring unresolved latent experiences up to be felt and processed. Proper instruction includes understanding how to allow and process what arises. However, larger traumas may require extra skills to process smoothly.
7) Equanimity (upekkhā, Sanskrit upekshā).
Knowing who we are creates a calm in the mind, emotions, and intellect. (Although it also creates a ripe ground for healing, which may periodically disrupt this.) This creates the circumstances for clear seeing. With healing and the right catalyst, that inner observer can see itself and awaken here.
Please don’t consider these requirements that must be met perfectly to awaken. I’ve seen lots of exceptions. The point here is to explore where you might need a little attention. We need only be clear enough and settled enough for the seeing. The threshold for that has been gradually dropping as the collective consciousness has risen. This is because of the many people who have shifted already.
Davidya