Many people talk about living in the matrix – the idea that our everyday world is not quite what it seems. It’s more than just a film reference. Spiritually, it describes the sense that we are caught in an illusion, distracted by routines, roles, and expectations that hide our deeper truth. To live fully is to notice the illusion, step outside of it, and reconnect with who we really are.
We all know that feeling – the sudden spark when you realise the world is not quite what you thought it was. It might come through a book, a conversation, a meditation, or a life experience that shakes you awake. Suddenly, the curtain lifts. You see beyond the surface. You know, deep down, that you are far more than just a body moving through time, or more specifically, this body moving through this particular time.
That’s your ‘red pill’ moment — the awakening of awareness.
In the film The Matrix, Neo is offered a choice: take the blue pill and return to the comfortable illusion, or take the red pill and see reality as it really is. When he swallows the red pill, he awakens into a world that was hidden behind the everyday illusion — a much harsher reality, but also one where he can eventually discover his true power. This is a great analogy for the soul’s choices in this life. Do we want to remain living with our ego running the show, or do we want to awaken to the true reality and see the world for the illusion that it really is?
What Does “Living in the Matrix” Mean Spiritually?
“Living in the Matrix spiritually means you’re awake, but still reacting to ego-made illusions, not consciously aligned with your Source energy. True embodiment happens when you recognise the illusion and choose to live from your spiritual essence.”
Spiritually speaking, many of us have already taken that red pill. We’ve glimpsed the truth: that we are more than these temporary roles, more than the stories we’ve been told. But here’s the catch — awakening isn’t the same as embodiment. And many of us, after glimpsing the truth, keep living as if we’re still inside the very illusion (matrix) we’ve just seen through.
This may play out with us having an intellectual knowledge of our true selves: we watch podcasts, read books, go on course after course to support our gathering of information. But what we haven’t done is to put those teachings into practice and we are still no nearer connecting authentically with our Higher Selves and All That Is, than before we read the books. This is the entrapment of the ego, which likes to think that it is making progress (because after all, look at all that knowledge we have accrued and books on our bookshelf!) However, we are no happier in our lives, are still controlled by the environment we perceive around us and are as far from manifesting our dream life as the family cat! (Although that is a disservice to the cat who is absolutely manifesting the life they chose!)
Awakening Without Embodiment
Taking the ‘red pill’ is only the beginning. You’ve opened your eyes, but are you really living as the infinite being you now know yourself to be?
- You might still find yourself caught up in the daily grind — chasing money, attention, or approval
- You may feel weighed down by fear, comparison, or the belief that you’re not enough
- You might even talk about spiritual truths but still react to life in the same old ways
It’s like Neo watching the Matrix code stream down the screen… but then going out to buy groceries as if nothing had changed.
Awakening shows you the illusion — but embodiment is the moment you are able to step outside of it – like at the end of the film when he stops the bullets in mid-air, watches them fall and then bends the ‘reality’ of the matrix using his infinitely superior power.
Living in the Matrix vs Embodying Spiritual Truth
The ego-made world is persuasive and powerful. It pulls you back with constant noise: the endless news cycle, the lure of possessions, the subtle pressure to prove yourself. This is its purpose – to disconnect you from your true self by taking your attention and focus away from the real things that empower you.
These things we have created aren’t “bad” (*see note) in themselves — but when they become the centre of your attention, you lose sight of your true source of power.
The ego thrives on distraction. It wants you to believe that peace, fulfilment, and love come from outside of you. Yet the truth is the opposite: everything you seek is already within.
The matrix isn’t just “out there.” It’s recreated every time we allow the ego’s voice to be louder than our own soul. And for many of us, that is every second of every minute of every day in this time-space reality.
*Note – things are never inherently ‘good’ or ‘bad’ but we give things meanings according to our programming, beliefs and ideas. See more in my article on the neutral universe here and also our article, “Judge not“.
How to Stop Living in the Matrix and Start Embodying Truth
So how do we move from awakening into embodiment?
It’s not about rejecting the world or escaping society, although if that is what you choose, that is what you choose. To me, embodiment is about living in the world while no longer being of it. The phrase in metaphysics that is often used is, “Be in the physical, but not of the physical“, and reflects the biblical phrase:
“Be in the world, but not of the world.”
— John 17: verses 14–16 (Christian New Testament)
Both are expressing the same truth here.
Knowing who you are and living who you are are different – one is a passive activity, one is the active embodiment of it. It’s like the difference between a person who has read every book on how to run a marathon, the food, mindset and training they need, compared to the person who is on the ground running it!
Embodiment means choosing to align with your higher self, moment by moment, for eternity.
What Embodiment Looks Like
Embodiment is:
- Awareness of who you really are — remembering, at all times, that you are an eternal soul temporarily playing a role in this incarnation
- Focused attention — refusing to let yourself be distracted by the noise of the world and the chatter of the ego
- Self-discipline — committing to your own spiritual practice instead of letting it slip away when life gets busy
- Presence — sitting with your true self each day, even for a few minutes, until the stillness beneath the noise becomes your home
- Integrity — making choices from love rather than fear — even when they go against what the “matrix” expects of you
- Connection — remembering your link to Source, not just in meditation but in the way you speak, act, and create
- Meditation — a daily anchor to remain connected with Source Energy and hear the guidance of your higher self. Some say that when you truly embody your Higher Self, then your life is the meditation because you are constantly there
Embodiment is not a one-time event. It’s a continuous practice — a forever remembering and returning.
A Simple Reflection To Try
The next time you feel caught up in the busyness of the world, pause and ask yourself:
- Am I acting from my ego, or from my essence?
- Am I letting the matrix dictate my reactions and thus my reality, or am I consciously creating from Source?
- Who is really getting upset here – my ego or the real me?
Close your eyes, take a breath, and feel the truth of who you are: limitless, eternal, unconditionally loved. That is your anchor.
One technique you can use is to try detachment and disassociation from the situation. When people are in a difficult situation, they are usually present and connected/attached to the outcomes and events playing out. If you imagine that rather than being IN the situation, you are watching a film of the situation happening as if you were observing it as a member of the cinema audience, you add a level of detachment and disassociation from the event. You start to notice the other people in the situation, their behaviours and actions and how they have come about.
If you take another step back and now imagine you are the projectionist in the box, observing you in the audience watching the events on the screen, you can gain an even deeper perspective that is closer to the awareness you are as Source energy. Now you can see the results of the situation/event, the feelings it evoked and the learnings for everyone involved.
This technique is based on a Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) technique, but I have always found it useful in understanding where my motivations and actions are really coming from.
Focusing inwardly on the awareness you gain from your Earthly life is reconnecting to the Source inside you.
The red pill is only the beginning
Awakening is powerful, but it’s just the start of the journey. The real transformation comes when you embody what you know, when your daily life begins to reflect the truth of your being.
You are not here just to peek outside the illusion. You are here to live beyond it, to create from your soul, to bring heaven into the everyday.
So ask yourself: have you only swallowed the red pill, or are you ready to step fully into your true power?
Because the matrix can only hold you if you choose to keep playing inside it.
As soon as you stop playing by taking your attention off it, it ceases to have power over you.
You can metaphorically ‘stop the bullets’ and direct the whole reality as you see fit.
You are free. You are infinite. You are the creator.
What a compelling reflection on awakening—and the journey beyond it! Your writing beautifully traces the shift from spiritual awareness to full embodiment.
“Awakening isn’t the same as embodiment.”
So true—it’s one thing to understand spiritual truths and quite another to live them in everyday life.
I love how you distinguish that true embodiment isn’t about escaping the world, but living in it with presence, integrity, and connection to a higher self. Your metaphor of Neo pausing reality and bending it to his will captures that transformative power perfectly. Here’s what stands out to me:
Embodiment as a daily practice, not a one-time event.
The emphasis on awareness over ego distractions.
Simple but profound tools like meditation and self-observation to stay anchored in higher purpose.
It makes me wonder—what practices have helped you stay embodied amid the “noise of the world”?
Hi Leahrae. Thanks for your kind comments on this article. It’s great that you found it enlightening and useful. This is a topic I think about a lot and just having the ‘knowledge’ is useless unless you actually put it into practice. In my own life, I really try to meditate daily – sometimes more than that and I try to detach myself as much as possible from the ‘noise’ by always stepping back from the raw emotions, and trying to exercise emotional intelligence. I also ask myself often, “What would love do in this situation?” and that helps give me a clearer perspective on a lot of things. Another thing I try to do is not worry about what other people think because that says more about them than it does about me.
I think you might like a post I wrote on What is enlightenment?, which is all about living joyously on Earth rather than some esoteric concept.
All the best. Gail
The Matrix analogy is, to me, the best analogy for understanding spiritual awakening. I’ve read so many books and watched videos, but sometimes I actually forget to practice them. This post reminds me that embodiment is about practice, presence, and love rather than fear, even when the world is noisy. Definitely gives me a new lens to view life in simple consciousness.
Hi Israel. I’m so pleased to see you on the site and I’m happy that you liked the article. I love The Matrix films just for the reasons you mention – it explains a lot and has so many layers that we could write a book. Knowledge in and of its own right is nothing unless you put it into practice. It doesn’t have to be difficult, but consistency and commitment are key. In the same way that Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars films needed to let go of his targeting computer, and trust the force (his inner strength), we all need to do this to find our own inner peace.