There are no steps to self-realization. There is nothing gradual about it. It happens suddenly and is irreversible. You rotate into a new dimension, seen from which the previous ones are mere abstractions. Just like on sunrise you see things as they are, so on self-realization you see everything as it is. The world of illusions is left behind.
Sri Nisargadatta MaharajThe mind exists in two states: as water and as honey. The water vibrates at the least disturbance, while the honey, however disturbed, returns quickly to immobility.
Sri Nisargadatta MaharajThe consciousness in you and the consciousness in me, apparently two, really one, seek unity and that is love.
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj