The Path: The Awakening Journey of a Teacher

By Desislava Simeonova

The Path describes the journey that starts the moment a person is born. In this book, Desislava shares personal stories that helped her evolve as a person. She discusses in-depth universal and natural laws that she discovered through personal experiences in her life. In order to find true happiness and inner peace and joy, one needs to bring awareness and attention to the internal world. Desislava shares different mindfulness techniques that helped her and her students find balance and release stress. This book also describes in-depth life lessons learned by a teacher who followed her passion to inspire more people to live their life with purpose and to connect with their divine nature. She explains how one can unleash his or her potential and discover who one truly is by accepting challenges and by being persistent, determined, and open for change. This book will guide you through the various stages of life that will help you answer the question, Who am I? The moment Desislava discovered her true nature, she realized it was time to share with everyone the wisdom hidden deep inside each one of us so that there is peace, true happiness, and joy on this magnificent planet.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jun 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9781982228774

Desislava Simeonova

An experienced teacher devoted to inspiring and motivating students to discover their unique self, Desislava Simeonova is a life-long learner. She accepts the challenges and look at them as opportunities for spiritual growth. She is also certified yoga instructor who guides others to connect with the divinity within. She completed various courses on mindfulness and how to communicate without violence. Desislava also completed successfully four ten-day silent meditation courses which helped her face her own limitations and discover that behind them there is something very powerful waiting to awaken.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

From Darkness to Light

The first eighteen years of my journey were the most challenging, but at the same time, they were very important building blocks. I was creating a solid foundation that would act as a springboard for my journey ahead. All the difficulties I had to go through, which will be revealed in this book, were sent to me because I was ready to face them, and I had to learn lessons to help me in my spiritual growth.

Here is how my journey of self-discovery started. I lived with my mother, sister, and father in a small, two-bedroom apartment in a town called Dobrich. It is located in the northeastern part of Bulgaria, not far away from Black Sea. My mom has worked as a teacher during her entire adult life. She is a very strong, loving, and creative mom. My sister, who is two years younger, has been my best friend since early childhood. My dad is a kind, loving, and caring person in his own way. Every member of my family impacted my character, self-esteem, and behavior.

As a child, I had very low self-confidence. I thought I was limited, not intelligent enough, not good enough. I was very shy, and I wanted to be invisible. At the age of six, I was in Grade 1. My school was just a few minutes’ walk away from home. My first four years of school fully supported my later beliefs about myself—that I was not good or smart enough—which made me ask myself why I was born and what the purpose of life is. I had no one to explain to me what this life’s journey was all about, so I had to discover everything myself. I was comparing myself to others all the time, and each time I was doing that I felt more and more miserable. I had the same teacher during my first four years of school, and that teacher came up with the idea to create a board on which there were different vehicles. She placed the name of each student next to the vehicle that corresponded with his or her performance. There was a bicycle, a donkey cart, a car, a helicopter, an airplane, and a rocket. To some extent, it was motivating for me to try harder so that I could reach higher levels, but at the same time, it was devastating because I was rarely able to go higher than the helicopter level. I was trying my best, and yet I was not performing well enough. This comparison from early childhood contributed to the belief that I am not smart enough. However, I knew that I had to continue working hard, no matter how challenging it was. I share this character trait with my mother.

I hope this will help you reflect on your methodology when you teach children that comparison may have a negative impact on their performance. I had to learn that the hard way by experiencing it. My belief nowadays is that each person is unique, each person has a unique talent, and each person has a special place on this planet. I often tell my students how magnificent they are and that each one of them has a unique and special gift they need to reveal through accepting the challenges of life instead of avoiding them. If there is a challenge, it means that you are ready to face it. God would not send you anything that you are not ready for. If you happen to avoid the lesson that God wants to teach you, you will be provided with another opportunity. Life is about learning and becoming a better human being. It is basically a journey of going back to where we started, to being pure, sincere, honest, caring, compassionate, and loving. The mind is what we need to train so that we connect with our divine selves and be the people we are.

Let’s go back to my early childhood. From Grade 5, I stayed at the same school for another three years. I had so many challenges at school that I was barely able to see any light. Even my relatives had very low expectations, which made me feel even worse. They were hoping that I would get my elementary school diploma and with that document I would be ready for work. I would find some low-paying job and somehow survive.

When I was in Grade 5, I had many teachers, and each taught me a different subject. This was one of the hardest years of my life. What I believed about myself was how everyone actually saw in me—not capable, not talented, not smart enough. I remember how hard I was trying at home, and even my dad tested me to check how well prepared I was. Each time I was evaluated, waves of strong feelings took over, and I wasn’t able to show good understanding of the content learned at home. I had no idea what I was dealing with. I discovered the true reason much later in my life. It is called a panic attack. Each time I had to be examined in front of the entire class, something was activated within me, and I started to shiver, sweat, forget everything I learned, and cry. I had strong emotions that triggered the inability to speak clearly. When there is a strong emotion, a part of the brain, called the amygdala, is activated, which blocks access to the memory stored in the hippocampus. Nowadays, I know that when I have a panic attack, I need to observe what happens in my body. In my case, panic attacks and anxiety were activated because of fear of failure. I wanted to prove to the world how capable I was. However, each time I tried, I activated something that was dormant in me and made everything even worse.

Fortunately, in grade six my mother went to meet with two of my teachers and explained how hard I was studying at home and that my dad was testing me regularly. She explained that in her opinion I didn’t deserve such low marks. My mother’s actions and the support from my Math teacher and tutor contributed to a change in my life. Grade six was a very important time. I started building confidence and believing in myself. I took a different path. There were a lot of challenges, but my belief that I can face everything made me stronger. Each time I overcame a problem I felt better about myself.

In grade seven, I put in a lot of effort as I was applying to attend a better school. I wanted to be accepted in a foreign-language program to help fulfill my dream of moving to another country whose standard of living is higher than that in Bulgaria. I also thought that by running away from my problems at home, I would feel better and more at peace with myself.

While I was attending regular school, I was taking extra classes in English to improve my language proficiency. I was getting ready for the TOEFL, a standardized test that measures the English language ability of non-native speakers who wish to enroll in English-speaking universities. I was also helping my mom, who worked extra hours to save some money to pay for my English classes.

On top of everything that was happening in my personal and academic lives, the living conditions in Bulgaria were challenging at the time. There were many instances when we had to wait in long lines in warehouses to buy some provisions, such as cooking oil, bread, cheese, and meat. We needed special coupons to purchase them because they were not available in stores. We waited for hours. We also didn’t have a variety of fruits during the year. The days around New Year’s Day, as we didn’t celebrate Christmas back then, were the greatest time of the year as we were able to buy oranges, clementines, and bananas. This was the only time of the year we could purchase these kinds of exotic fruit. In addition, the value of the Bulgarian currency was changing rapidly, and there were moments when my mom wasn’t sure if we would have enough money to survive the month. We often ate dishes with beans and lentils. Every summer we preserved fruits, tomatoes, and peppers to eat in the winter. They saved us from hunger, and we were able to push through the winter months.

Life was really hard. This is one of the many reasons why so many people decided to emigrate. However, I would like to say that the more challenges a nation goes through, the more easily adaptable and flexible that nation is. In other words, Bulgarians are very capable, smart, and talented people, and the hardships we went through made us even stronger. This applies to every nation that faces any kind of difficulties. However, for everything to go smoothly, we need to learn to unite. Together, we are stronger, and we can create a better present and future for all of us. If we care only about our own selves, we will not be able to prosper as a civilization. There is a legend about one of the khans of Bulgaria, Khan Kubrat, who was born around AD 585–600. He was the father of the founder of Bulgaria, whose name was Asparukh. Before Khan Kubrat died, he ordered his sons to bring a bundle of sticks and to break the bundle in two. None of the sons could break the bundle. Then the khan took each stick out of the bundle and started breaking them. The message that the dad was trying to tell his sons was that united they were stronger and their strength depended on their unity. Kubrat wanted his sons to remain together after his death. However, they didn’t listen to their father’s advice; they separated and ruled independently.

This explains why many centuries after Khan Kubrat’s death there is still poverty, war and suffering. The moment we realize that we are all one and depend on one another, we will be able to experience true peace, true happiness, true love. It may sound simple, but there is a lot of internal work that needs to be completed by each and every person on this planet before we, as a civilization, reach that kind of awareness and start creating a better now.

I hope this digression helped you better understand the living conditions in Bulgaria and what many people like me had to go through in order to survive.

In grade seven, I was studying really hard. This was a very important year in my life as I didn’t want to miss the chance to move to a better school and get better education. I applied at several schools and chose a program where I would learn several languages, which would help me achieve my goals. I moved to a school, which was about forty minutes walking distance away from home. This was such a happy moment in my life because I attended a school where nobody knew anything about me. I had a fresh start. This motivated me so much that school became my life. It was a place where I felt safe, where I could reveal my potential, and where I became the person who I knew I was, not the one that others thought of me. I devoted my life to studying. I graduated with excellent marks in every subject. The moment I started performing well, others around me started noticing how capable I was and started believing in me. Many years later, this made complete sense to me. I was open for a change, I made the first step, and everyone around me started seeing in me what I had already known about myself.

At the end of grade eleven, I was preparing to apply to university. I applied at two universities far away from my hometown. I was accepted at a well-known university whose diplomas were recognized worldwide. I chose to study Mathematics and Computer Science as I loved Math, and it changed my life for the better. It was a big challenge as I was coming from a school where the main focus was languages and social sciences. Many of my colleagues were people who went to different Math contests and won medals for great performance. However, I was at that point in life where nothing could stop me, and no one could convince me that I couldn’t do it. I believed in myself, and I knew that no matter how hard it was I could still perform well. I registered in the program. I completed my Bachelor program. In the meantime, I was tutoring students in Math, and I also received a scholarship every month for excellent marks.

During the summer months, I went to USA to earn some money and cover my expenses. My family couldn’t afford to pay for all that I needed so I had to start saving. This was a great experience as it was an eye-opener. My dream was to live in USA, and this was a great opportunity to connect with people who live there and learn more about their lifestyle, traditions, and beliefs. I spent there three summers and earned enough money to pay my tuition and school expenses for the entire year. This was a unique experience, for which I am grateful, no matter the many obstacles I had to face and the problems I had to overcome. This was a one-of-a-kind experience in my personal journey that I would never trade for anything else.

At the end of my Bachelor degree, I decided to complete my Master’s in Mathematics. In the meantime, I worked one year as a Math teacher in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, and I was studying French. I needed this experience and knowledge because that helped me accumulate more points as these were some of the requirements for immigration. I moved to Canada with my boyfriend. This is where my journey of connecting with my true Self started. I was very excited about this new beginning. I had no idea what would come, but I knew it was a new start that would allow me to realize my potential. I am very glad I made that step into the unknown. It revealed new horizons and opportunities.

CHAPTER 2

The Awakening Journey Starts to Reveal Itself

I lived in Montreal for a few months, and then we moved to nation’s capital - Ottawa. I knew with my heart that I would love to work as a teacher. There were people who tried to discourage me as they hadn’t had much success in becoming teachers. However, life has taught me that with patience and perseverance everything is possible, no matter how hard it is. I set up a goal, and I followed my dream. I started as a volunteer at one elementary school where I helped a girl who had difficulties in Math. I worked at a Bulgarian School where I met with many amazing people, who are still my friends and who helped me discover what life is all about. I also gained a very valuable experience there.

It is important to mention that, in the meantime, one of my friends, whom I met at the Bulgarian school, introduced me to a yoga teacher, who opened my eyes to look at the world around me through a different lens. The yoga teacher shared information that made so much sense. As if that wisdom was sleeping deep inside of me for ages, and right at that moment it started to wake up slowly. Since that moment, I have started practicing yoga. I am so grateful to myself for taking time to practice and for being patient with myself. I attended a Yoga Sivananda course for a long time. I learned different poses, including a headstand. At the time, I was the only one within the group who didn’t know how to balance on my head. However, I knew that I could do it, and it was just a matter of time to stabilize myself into the pose. Meanwhile, I was building skills, such as gaining confidence, being present, and focusing on breathing, which helped me later in life. I was working at a deeper level. I started to realize that I was not the person who I had thought to be.

During that period of slow transformation, I joined different yoga classes. I wanted to gain as much experience and have better understanding what life is all about. I will never forget when I went to an evening yoga class at a local studio in Ottawa, and the teacher shared with us that Dalai Lama would be in Ottawa on the following day. I came back home so excited from that class, and my boyfriend helped me find a ticket. The next day—it was Saturday, right after my Bulgarian classes were over—I headed to the stadium where I would meet Dalai Lama. I was so happy. I knew I was on the right path. The main message of Dalai Lama felt as if it was directed to me. It is a message that I will never forget: it is time for teachers to start teaching students not only academics, which is the main