We see a lot of inequality in this world. Some of us are richer than others, thinner than others, and some are more confident than others. I've been on the other end of all of these throughout my life, and I always used to put it down to the family I grew up in and my lack of privileges. They seemed to explain and justify my plight.

Seven years ago I came across an understanding that made me see things differently - I discovered that the person I thought I was and experienced was actually all made up by me and had very little to do with my family of origin. And I discovered that if I really wanted to feel confident, creative, and abundant, the power to be all of that resided within me. I had full access to those invisible powers regardless of my circumstances.

That's when I discovered the teachings of Sydney Banks - the three principles.

One of the things I love about Sydney Banks is that he was an ordinary, working-class man who had a mystical experience. Just knowing this fills me with tremendous hope.

I’ve been on a spiritual search all my life, and I used to think that mystical experiences or enlightenment only happened to other people – the smart ones like Oxford-educated, Eckhart Tolle or people who had dedicated themselves to an ascetic, monastic life and who lived in India – it’s the reason why I traveled to India six times going to the foothills of the Himalayas where the Beatles meditated with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. I was hoping that some of that enlightenment would rub off on me.

I come from the same working-class background as Sydney Banks. We were so poor that we had to share an outside toilet with four other families, and our bathroom was comprised of a sink in the kitchen (which was in the living room). And like Syd, both my mother and father were factory workers – their lives were full of drudgery, insecurity, smallness, and not much else.

And so I grew up feeling NOT very special and I was convinced that the odds of success, happiness, or spiritual enlightenment were never going to come my way. That only happened to the privileged people – the chosen ones, not people like me.

This is why when I heard that Syndey Banks was an uneducated, insecure factory worker, who had an enlightening experience – a once in a blue moon miracle – that’s when I realized that maybe I could too. It suddenly became possible.

Despite Syd’s background, something very profound happened to this working-class welder. A power came through him that left him un-mistakingly self-assured, confident - he was able to get a glimpse of who he really was.

So many of us get caught up believing we’re small and insignificant – we get seduced into believing that this form we have with all of its limitations is the sum total of who we are.

Thank you, Universe for choosing Sydney Banks. Thank you for allowing this simple man to have his awakening experience and for passing on to all of us the truth that none of us have been left out. We are all much more than we realize. We all have this wisdom inside of us.

For this working-class girl, I just love knowing that.