My name is Anastasia and I am a self-proclaimed jew-menian unicorn. Basically I’m half Jewish / half Russian Armenian. I threw in the unicorn reference for good measure.

My journey to the path of enlightenment began about seven years ago. I’d been stuck in a hazardous cycle of living with red flags going off like fireworks on the fourth of July. I relied on an array of vices to shut them down. I wish I could say I didn’t see them coming, but I’d be lying. We’re all born with beautiful gifts and talents that we are meant to share with the world and sometimes we get so caught up in human behaviors that we forget just how magnificent a being we are. At a certain point in everyone’s life, if you are not paying attention, the universe will shake you to awaken you.

“Life offers us a second chance every day, it’s called tomorrow.” I must have read that thousands of times, but, it never really resonated with me until a short time ago. Hearing or reading something doesn’t matter until the deepest part of you acknowledges it, until it agrees with your spirit.

Now I know what you’re going to say… How do I know what your spirit thinks or feels given how many different ways there are to interpret Spirituality? Some are more religious-based and others are a bit more complicated to understand. So before we go any further, it’s important that you keep the following in mind: Everybody does the best they can from their level of consciousness.

What that means is that everybody learns and understands differently. Society at large might call us Indigo Children, Lightworkers, or define us by our dyslexia or ADHD. Society is obsessed with labels, especially when you could potentially pose as a threat. The world fears what it doesn’t understand so they medicate you and or enroll you in special classes in school all because they have no time or patience to educate on a more stimulating level.

Some of you might be more mechanical rather than mental, or vice versa. At the end of the day, we’re all brilliant; we just need to remember to slow it down once in a while to hear our inner voice speak. Some call it Intuition or a Conscience, or simply Gut Instinct. It’s essentially all the same. It’s your Higher Self, your Soul Call.

I know there are a lot of you who live a religious-based life, which is absolutely fine, but I think you will also find these words of some advantage to you, along with all the Atheists. You see we all cohabitate on Earth, and we all have a certain set of obligations we need or want to fulfill. We all have things that we love. We all live by a certain moral code — some of us more than others.

I was raised in a very Christian world. I attended a private Armenian school at the demand of my now Atheist father. Throughout my time in school, I always felt like there was more to life than what the Bible preached with all those pesky religious rules.

Today my life has been drastically simplified. My religion is Love. I’m writing these words for a dual purpose: closure and healing for me, and hopefully for you.

It sucks when your body/mind is shifting in all different directions and you feel like you have no one to turn to for guidance. In school we’re taught all sorts of subjects. A few essentials, obviously, but they’re not taught as simplified as they should be.

For example, science class was such a bore because it was on a technical astrophysicist level — not on the “Law of Attraction, everything is energy and you reap what you sow” level. Why must academics be overly complicated? For the most part, in school I felt lost, confused and alone.

Self-care and Self-love are important topics, yet they are not offered as official school subjects. Why is that? Maybe it’s because we’re so programmed to teach from a place of fear instead of love, from religious doctrine instead of infinite intelligence, from judgment instead of acceptance. Either way, countless people suffer.

If you think self-love and self-care are unimportant and crazy, you might want to take stock of your life and re-evaluate your decisions up to this point.

It isn’t crazy for you to put serious thought and effort into creating the life of your dreams. Society teaches us that we should go to school, obey our parents/authority figures, and upon graduation, we are not complete until we marry and start a family of our own — completely skipping over the development of “Me” and “My”. These concepts are developed in childhood, a time when you are the most innocent and un-jaded. It’s the fear-based guidance that you get growing up that kills your infinite childlike wonder.

As a kid, you’re the closest to your Higher Self as you ever will be. Your Higher Self is your Instinctual Self – the self that guides you to all the good feeling stuff. Believe it or not, your Higher Self communicates with you constantly. You’re just more receptive sometimes more than others. Usually when you have fear-based dialogue playing in the background of your subconscious, it drowns out the voice of your Higher Self.

Fear-based dialogue is something we learn. It’s not instinctual. It usually trickles into your life subconsciously by your parents, your teachers, society or social media. It’s when that fear-based dialogue starts playing during whatever situation you’re going through that your instinctual voice and knowledge gets muffled out.

Fear (the ego) has a very strong, distinct appearance. It controls you in an unproductive and at times, self-destructive manner. Love (the soul or spirit) has a very powerful yet mellow appearance. When you operate from a place of love, you notice a very calming and natural rhythm. I’m sure you have all heard this before at some point in your life, but maybe you weren’t quite ready to receive or understand it.

How we receive things in our everyday life can really make or break us. That is true for news of a birth, a death, a marriage, a divorce, scholastic achievements, apologies, proposals, world conflict, etc.

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change”, Dr Wayne Dyer once famously said. A simple shift in awareness can decide your situation/fate. It sounds complicated, but I promise you it isn’t. There is always something to learn in any situation. There is always an opportunity to grow.

I completely understand if you are still skeptical and thinking that these words cannot possibly relate to you, because I do not have a clue what you are currently going through. The truth is, I don’t need to.

All I ask, before you completely form an opinion, is to take a moment right now and sit in stillness. Take deep breaths slowly inhaling and exhaling. Try to recall a time you really felt happy and content. Honestly happy and content — it doesn’t matter how big or small the joy is/was. Regardless of what’s going on around you or within you, just sit for a moment and think. Be gentle with yourself at all times. You are the most significant person in the world. You are truly an amazing gift. If you can’t think of one moment of pure bliss, you have some work to do. It doesn’t require anything except the desire to be peaceful and content.

Here are some easy ways to get started on your path to self-awareness:

Get yourself a journal. Sit quietly (it’s important to write stuff down for later reference) and list all the things you want to have or achieve, anything at all. Really feel the words take on an energetic quality. One by one, as you list everything down be sure to write all your heart’s desires in the present tense. It makes a huge difference and helps you really feel and visualize it better.

Allow yourself to get real. Really real. List all the vices you currently have in your life. Remember, you’re not writing them down to shame yourself; there’s no shame in wanting to be a better you and learn from your mistakes. You need to get a handle on these distractions before they get a handle on you. An example of vices can be anything from recreational drug use, alcohol abuse, sex with multiple partners, overindulgence of food, toxic friendships and or relationships, etc. You need to make the choice to really let it all go. I know it’s easier said than done, but, if you decide to declutter and detoxify your life, your path of enlightenment will reveal itself to you.

Acknowledge and celebrate yourself. In life, sometimes you need to be your own hero. This is your journey and you must walk it proudly. Being a human is hard and there will always be times you feel like shit and want to give up, but I ask that you don’t, for your sake. On the days you aren’t feeling so great, be gentle with yourself. Take extra special care of yourself. Do whatever makes you feel at ease. Whatever you do, make sure it doesn’t include giving up on yourself.

Be always optimistic. It is impossible as humans to be positive 24/7, however remaining optimistic is not. Remember, it is always darkest before the dawn.

Here is an example scenario. Let’s say work or school sucks and you just had a massive argument with your partner/spouse/parent/colleague/boss and you feel you can’t see the light at the end of this dreary tunnel. When faced with a difficulty such as this, allow yourself to detach from it. Become a spectator of the issues you’re having and observe it from a higher perspective and break them down individually.

• Why does work/school/home life suck? Why am I not happy? Is there something I can do to fix my discomfort?
• Why did I fight with my partner/spouse/parent/colleague/boss? Was the argument about the same thing as always? Are we bringing up old issues from the past? Is there a way I can fix my discomfort? Have I outgrown this relationship? Is this situation bringing up unresolved feelings from my childhood where I felt abandoned or like my needs were not being met? Am I giving my power away? Taking ownership of your behavior is important.

Issues such as these can make you feel overwhelmed without a doubt, but it’s all in the way you handle them. I’m not for a second suggesting that I know all the details of your life. The breakdown is merely an example of how to handle them one by one. When you brainstorm this way it is easy to see the situation from a higher perspective. There’s a lesson hiding in everything. Keep yourself as open and receptive as possible to learning something new in every season of your life. There’s always an opportunity to grow.

Live life authentically. Remain true to yourself at all times. If something doesn’t resonate with your spirit (higher self), let it go! Don’t let the voice of your ego or the voice of peer pressure form opinions for you. You’re a limited edition, not a clone!

In today’s society, we think something is wrong with us if we don’t all look a certain way, act a certain way or believe a certain thing. I say, if you stand out, good for you! So many people limit their potential by dimming their own light so others can shine brighter, whether subconsciously or consciously. Never hide your brilliance because it’s uncomfortable for others.

You were born with special gifts and talents that the world is meant to see. You may think you have nothing to offer, but I promise you — you do. Once you take complete ownership of your life, choices and all, without distractions from friends, family, society, etc., you will shine!

You just have to make the conscious decision that your precious life is worth it. And it is! No matter what is going on around you or in your life, I ask you to really hear and acknowledge these words. Affirm them out loud and proud. Shout them out till you believe it with all your heart and soul. Tell yourself that even though the reasons for all the things you are going through may not be clear at this point in time, trust that everything will fall into place.

Once you begin to use this simple mantra and fully let it resonate with your entire mind, heart, body and soul, you will begin to experience amazing shifts in your life. Once you can say these words with absolute faith that they are true, the real work can begin.

I must warn you, however, that once you take your first steps into the unknown, you can never go back. It’s going to be a painful journey of self-discovery, purging whom you thought you were and whom you were told you should be. Keep in mind you need to graciously let go of everything that no longer serves you, and know you will definitely lose some people along the way. It will make you question everything you thought was true and everyone whom you once turned to for insight. But I promise you, it will all be worth it.

Remember, diamonds are created under pressure.

If you are indeed doing all you can on both the good days and the bad days, and the road still gets bumpy, and you’re starting to feel happy for no reason, hopeful, eager for what’s coming next and like shit simultaneously, I offer these encouraging words: Good! Keep going — you’re headed in the right direction!