What is enlightenment? The general consensus (if you were to Google it) says that enlightenment is a state of being aware of our divine connection to God, and our divine connection to those around us. Many spiritual teachers have attained a permanent state of enlightenment, such as Jesus and Buddha; however attaining even small moments of enlightenment can be a tricky process for us regular folk. Sure, there are moments of clarity, but how many of us have ever actually attained the bells and whistles experience of “enlightenment?”

In the book “Real Steps to Enlightenment,” Amy Elizabeth Garcia shows us how to do just that in a simple step-by-step process. With thirty-three chapters in all, each chapter outlines a particular step, or spiritual lesson, meant to take the seeker one step closer to enlightenment. The lessons cover various topics such as encouragement, support, synchronicity and transformation. Each chapter starts off with a channeled message from Amy’s guide, Jahallah, on the particular lesson. Amy then follows up with a personal anecdote on how the lesson caused a transformation in her own life. A beautiful prayer and a list of simple exercises designed to help integrate the lesson close each chapter.

My favorite chapter was on the lesson of “Cooperation.” This was a very timely message for me as I was just dealing with some cooperation issues in my own household. My children were in a very competitive state, and I was really trying to promote the idea of teamwork to get certain things accomplished. I remembered what Amy said in her book about cooperation, and I focused on creating a cooperative game out of our daily chores. The whole energy in our house changed immediately, and we all got along splendidly!

This book could easily serve as a daily source of inspiration. Each chapter can be read in less than five minutes; then you can spend the day thinking about how you can personally experience the lesson in your own life. Or you can do like I did and read it cover to cover in four days.

A handbook for the spiritual seeker - Real Steps to Enlightenment does what it says it will do; it provides dynamic tools to create change. It is written in easy to understand terms by a woman who speaks from her heart.