What is your path to ‘Enlightenment’?

Let’s talk now in this space about “Enlightenment”—this elusive magical mystical experience for which everyone seems to be reaching and for which everyone seems to have a yearning, and for which every one seems to be searching.  And I understand the reasons for the search, because if we all were enlightened one presumes that our lives would be better than they are now, when we are presumably unenlightened.

In addition, it occurs to me that if all of us were enlightened relatively quickly, the whole world would be different and we would experience life in another way.  Presumably with less turmoil, with less stress, with less conflict, for sure, I would imagine, with less sadness and anger and less violence and much less of all the things that make our lives sad and disjointed and unhappy in these days and times.

So humanity searches for Enlightenment and we have been searching for Enlightenment from the beginning of time, ever since we became consciously aware of the fact that it was possible to be Enlightened—whatever that is.

We have not only been searching for Enlightenment, we have been searching as well for a definition of Enlightenment, because we can’t get to that destination until we know where we are going.  And so the first step for most human beings has been to try to define what Enlightenment is, or what it looks like, or feels like, or tastes like, or what it is like to experience that.  And then, after we have that clear, after we know what our destination is, then we can try to figure out what would it take to get from where we are to where we want to be.

And there is this rush to Enlightenment that I observe that humanity, or a portion of humanity, is engaged in. And many say that they know how to get there and they know how to get you there. And so we see many, many “Paths to Enlightenment” that are suggested, recommended, created, expressed, experienced, shared, and put into the space of our collective lives. Masters of every shape and size and color have been creating a way to be enlightened for millennia.

Paramahansa Yogananda said that he knew a way to Enlightenment.  The Buddha said that he knew a way to Enlightenment.  Maharishi Mahesh Yogi says that he knows a way to Enlightenment.  Sai Baba says that he knows a way to Enlightenment.  In their own way, Jesus the Christ and Abu Al-Qasim Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Abd Al-Muttalib ibn Hashim—Muhammad—said that they knew the way to Enlightenment.

Now the interesting thing here is that the followers of all of these Masters have insisted that their Master was right about that, that their way was the best way and the fastest way. Maybe not the only way, but the fastest way and, therefore, you needed to take that way. There was a great urgency. You needed to become Catholic or you needed to take Transcendental Meditation or you needed to learn Tai Chi, or you needed to raise your vibrational rate, or your needed to change your brain, or, for heaven sake, change something.  And not some time, but right now, immediately, this month.

You needed to join this group or do that process or read this book or be baptized or be un-baptized or do whatever it is that you have been told by your particular master or monk is the fastest, quickest way for you to get to where all of us want to go—which is the place called “enlightenment,” “awareness,” “higher consciousness,” or “vibrational harmony.”

The brain is now the latest path, the latest route, everyone is talking about. It is about moving your energy, your focus, your awareness, your presence, your essence, the vibration of Who You Are, from the brain stem to the frontal lobe. Many people are teaching this now. Many people are talking about actual science, physical science, brain chemistry, as a path to this thing we call Enlightenment.

All of that is wonderful. That is just terrific, and it gives me great hope for humanity. But there is something we have to look at here. There is a pitfall here, a detour, a time-waster.  And even a danger, if we choose to damage others with it. The danger of this business of Enlightenment is two-fold.  The first danger is thinking that there is something specific that you have to do in order to get there, and that if you don’t do that, you can’t get there.  The second danger is thinking that your way to get there is the fastest, best way to do it.

And I want to pick up on that in my next entry. For now, what is your path to Enlightenment? Have you tried any particular path? What has been your experience?

 

 

Comments

46 responses to “What is your path to ‘Enlightenment’?”

  1. politics Avatar
    politics

    I once read that:

    “A true Master would never admit to being one”.

    Because if he did then he would be just as guilty as the one that does.

  2. Laura Wilcox Avatar
    Laura Wilcox

    My path to enlightenment is listening to the still, small voice in my head when it attempts to give me direction. I identify this voice as the “I AM” part of my being, the “Christ consciousness” if you will. In every case, if I listen and follow these hunches, it leads me to a better place than I would have thought was possible. Sometimes it’s difficult for me to obey; it gently reminds me that a certain behavior no longer serves me, or that I really should take time to stop and read to my children, for example. I trust my inner voice, I just don’t always want to listen. 🙂

    With all of the confusion in the world exacerbated by questionably-intentioned information available 24 hours a day, I find this inner voice is the only reliable source of information for what is really important in my immediate day-to-day life. I really feel that if I listened to this still, small voice, and trusted it absolutely, that my path to enlightenment would be achieved very rapidly.

    Problem is, sometimes I just don’t want to listen. And right now, I’m ok with that. 🙂

  3. Laura Wilcox Avatar
    Laura Wilcox

    @politics: I agree with you. Masters should lead by example, not by coercion or claim of some title. If we see people who embody mastery of something, then we should pay close attention to their behaviors, not their words, if we wish to learn the lessons they have to teach.

    This is a miraculous notion you bring up here…to think that literally *anyone* we encounter from day-to-day could be a master and they just aren’t proclaiming it?! Wow! We better pay attention 😉

  4. Erin/IAm Avatar
    Erin/IAm

    Hmmm…”path to enlightenment”…Can you say “birth canal”, boys & girls? 😀

  5. politics Avatar
    politics

    @Laura,

    Thanks for understanding and just keep on listening, you’ll know.

  6. andres Avatar
    andres

    I am terrified of enlightenment, in spanish there is a saying “estar entre la espada y la pared” which mean being stuck in between a sword and a wall, as in there is no more space to back away and simultaneously if you go forward you´ll walk into the sword, or death. That´s how I feel about it.

  7. brad vw Avatar
    brad vw

    to me enlightenment means holy moment- moments when we feel so good about everything, at one wth our higher self, peaceful and overjoyed- you get the drift.
    and i have experienced some of those moments in my life and and hope that i
    have plenty more and more often! thanks for always being an uplift in my life NDW and bringing me closer to All That Is!

  8. Richard Avatar
    Richard

    This subject has interessted me for some while now. I also sometimes think I have to get to enlightentment. However when I contemplate on that thought then it occures to me that I focus so much on the future and that I’m not present. It’s like in this short movie of Alan Watts: Music and Life (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERbvKrH-GC4)
    Recently, during an exercice which is called ‘best possible self’, I felt that my path would include to make contact with my joyous side of myself as often as possible and to express this..This makes me present en feel joyfull, and that is what I am 🙂 From there the rest will come…career, money, good relations…
    If I can’t be the one I am, it’s harder for those things to come to me…That’s what I think at the moment.

  9. nicole Avatar
    nicole

    There wasn’t a path, there were moments when i have willingly gave up the driver’s seat, and just let things happen for a change… and i was not doing that all the time during years, not like: oh, i must get to enlightenment… i wouldn’t even know what that is, i wouldn’t even know that is really what i want

    I have one prayer, most of the time: “God, please help me, so that with every second, with every step that i take, i will get closer to You”… i found this prayer fair enough, that would express everything i could possibly ask.

    Some major events were:
    – when i first time decided to fast with water only – no food and was amazed that the noise in my head stopped… mainly i wouldn’t curse while driving anymore… so that got me curious: where are all those thoughts coming from? i started to willingly pay attention to my thoughts and managed to stop my mind at will, in time, over years
    – i had a trip to Egypt that changed me on the inside… for the first time i could see with my inner eye, flashes, smells of the places, feeling of a tremendous familiarity
    – a trip to Israel, a certain place, a spring of St. John the Baptist, a moment when i dig my hands in, and in a split second i saw all my life so far, had a profound feeling of repentance; i released a few stones from my chest, major ones…

    – then a book (S.N. Lazarev)… was just reading a book, in my house, when a wave came in my heart, for a few good minutes i saw reality with different eyes, i can say i could feel reality more than what i could see it with my eyes open; days after, i could still hear more than normal, louder.

    It’s just my understanding of that moment: that we never left the so-called “Paradise”, we just see it with the eyes, of the self, a very limited consciousness that perceives everything as duality.
    I saw everything as made of this energy of love, and we have our senses to experience it, to smell it to see this love in colors, to touch it, taste it… all we have to do is to love it back.
    when you hold a flower in your hand, think that is made of this energy of love, it took shape and color and a smell, so you can experience love also like this, as a colorful, perfumed – shape… what else can you do but to love it back? love the Creator?
    It should be a circuit, but we stopped it in self-consciousness, because we see ourselves as separate; so, as a consequence, we started to fear and need… so we started to take pleasure in things, no longer to see their true nature and source, to love back.

    Now, that i experienced it myself, there is an inner yearning for this moment… to live it again, maybe all the time live in this “view-point”; it really is wonderful, like you just landed in your body for the first time and you’re in a continuous wow! that was just a “preview”, i know what is like, how it feels, how reality really is, i guess now there is a path to follow… the path of becoming Love, not just being loving here and there… being Love, in action, in thoughts, in words.

    my fav quote of all: “in the beginning you share from what you have, then there will be a time when you share from what you are” (Arsenie Boca). I believe he is talking about this path… from sharing some love that you have until you become love, you share from what you are.

    I know one person which showed us the way back, and not only that, He created a door for all of us, from self-consciousness to God-consciousness, thru Resurrection. I am not a fanatic, but just think for a split-second: is this a human potential? is the Shroud of Turin real? A body was transformed into light that left marks on a shroud, like a photo.

    Why Jesus said: I am the path, the truth and the life?
    my opinion: He was talking about the same thing: Love is the path, Love is the only truth and Love is the life, i guess we live eternally thru being Love (our love-rooted actions/thoughts/words).

  10. Inger Lise Avatar
    Inger Lise

    Nicole, what is truly yours cannot be taken away from you.
    ACIM says: The Miracle is an expression of an inner awareness of Christ and the acceptance of His Atonement.
    Further it says: “When you return to your original form of communication with God by direct revelation, the need for miracles is over.” Beacuse there is no longer any split mind that has to be linked back with God.

    And that`s of what you have experienced I`ll guess(me too, and supposingly many of us), and longing for to keep all the time.

    Thank you of expressing it in the way of you have done.

  11. Petra Avatar
    Petra

    Hi,
    i am from germany. I read the book in two days, i end it today in the evening.
    I learned breathing and healing with the elements by Leonard Orr.
    I love it and this is my path to enlightenment.
    Your book brought my back to the essence, thank you.

  12. Laura Pringle Avatar
    Laura Pringle

    Hey, Thanks for asking, Neale! 🙂

    Nicole, yes, thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences, reading what you wrote really affected me, made me think. I could use a fast, I do curse in traffic at times! Ha ha! I like your attitude!

    Funny that Neale mentioned Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and TM, because I just stumbled upon his book, Transcendental Meditation, and I don’t even know where it came from. (When something like this happens, I always take it as a sign.)

    The reading’s kinda laborious, and I find myself re-reading what I just read because it is so verbose, and repetitive, but it intrigues me. (I much prefer Neale’s style of writing, it’s so much less work for the brain!)

    This theme of regular meditating keeps recurring in my readings and travels, so I figured it must be a pertinent part of staying in a Godly mindset and feeling whole.

    I checked into becoming trained in TM (apparently only trained people can be privy to knowing and sharing this method,)– and found that a course costs @$1500. Grrrr.
    What about us poor folks who struggle to pay our utilities and rent? Don’t we need it the most? (Ha ha)

    Anyway, my inner voice seems determined that I don’t NEED any formal training, or special techniques. Meditating in any way that works for you seems to be key to keeping your equilibrium.

    I am being told, all that is required for me, is a regular rapport with my own inner voice. (Unfortunately, I tend to check in only when I am feeling torn or somehow off-kilter. 😉

    So, apparently, meditating in some way, (whether it be connecting with your own inner being, or some other way,) is key, as is a regular dose of gratefulness for the many things we are allowed to express, experience, and process.

    AND- Refraining from judgment of all things- keeping an awareness of our own limited perspective, and keeping the faith that everything is for our own evolution, even if it feels shitty:)

  13. Natacha Friedman Avatar
    Natacha Friedman

    When it comes to Enlightenment, I believe that one has to be willing and wanting a better life for themselves. For me, Enlightenment was the answer to all of the pain and suffering I ‘d experienced early in my life. As a child, at the age of 10, moving away from my family and my way of life to a foreign country and not speaking the language. Adjusting to the culture and way of life in a new and very different environment. Then, undergoing a rare life threatening Kidney cancer which required the removal of my right kidney and partial of my left kidney. Soon after, going through my parents Divorce which came unexpectedly which left my brother and I in total shock and anger. All of this happening before reaching my 15th Birthday.
    And then, at the age of 31, I was diagnosed with a severe case of endometriosis which left me bed ridden for 5 years before I was told that I had to undergo a full hysterectomy and told that I had uterus, cervix, and ovarian cancer. At this point, my life had become a complete nightmare and thought that why was I being punished. And when was this suffering going to end. I certainly did not have the answer because I was too busy playing the victim and feeling sorry for myself.
    Until, one day I woke up and was tired of what I had become that I decided right than and there that I would change my attitude and start looking within myself in search of my soul and building a relationship with GOD. That willingness and wanting for a better life for myself and remove all of my anger and resentments, was when my life gradually started to look brighter. I also felt a deep connection to meditation that I launched myself right into the practice of Vipassana Meditation and learned from my great teacher and friend Ajhan Da. He has been my rock in teaching me the many aspects of the practice and giving me the tools to reach “Enlightenment.”
    I am very grateful for his guidance and friendship that after 3 years of intensive meditation practice and literature, I can finally understand the meaning of my life and what it takes to truly be happy. Enlightenment for me is already something that we are it is more about reminding ourselves how to be and how to let go. All the answers lies within ourselves and what I have found is that all things that occur is Impermanent. And as long as we do not attach and let go of our defilements than we free ourselves of judgments and expectations that we have of ourselves and of others. We just have to accept that we are here for one reason and one reason only and that is “to remember who we are,” and become that again.
    Life has a funny way of showing you the way Home but if you are willing and wanting than the sky is the limit to finding true happiness.

    -Natacha-

  14. nicole Avatar
    nicole

    Dear Inger Lise, the idea of ACIM was introduced to me just in december 2012 by a friend, had no idea what A Course in Miracles was, although i heard about it many times. I tried watching a youtube with the full movie, i delayed a few days then the movie was removed from youtube… still didn’t order the book, but i read a few posts by Nouk Sanchez; very interesting stuff!

    I thank you sooooo much for your quote: “When you return to your original form of communication with God by direct revelation, the need for miracles is over.” it helps me a lot to understand further: the moment i was talking about in my previous comment happened back in 2006.
    in 2011 august i had a very powerful dream, i woke up with a feeling of total bliss, the entire day I was like floating in a strange feeling of joy and comfort, as if an angel took me by the hand and comforted me.
    In the dream, i was with a friend, we were coming back from a mountain, to what we were calling home, a house; as we entered the house, i looked out the window at the mountain where we came from; it was like a perfect pyramid, navy-blue, with an orange cloud, like a ring, around the peak. I called my friend to see it, as she came, the cloud’s color started changing into yellow then white, then it started shining a strong white light, that was growing fast towards us taking a shape of a cross, when the cross of light became very large, right in front of us, there was a quick flash with Jesus face drawn from this white light and then i woke up.
    Now i understand better, I was expecting some kind of miracles after this dream… lol… almost got disappointed like: c’mon, now what??
    The feeling in that day was just unbelievable! (i had something similar when i exited the hospital, after birth, with my daughter in my hands, for a few minutes i felt literally overwhelmed of how blessed i was, an immense joy was flooding me) but after that dream, i was a full day feeling like that!
    so, obviously the mind kicks in saying: oh, you should expect something big… hehehe

    It was just a confirmation of where i was at the moment, there is a process of allowing to become a new me.
    I still have “problems”, family members that I argue with and then I also pray for, I have still things to forgive myself for, I still find myself sometimes, having thoughts of being disappointed at certain situations in my life, and so on… But I know a few things to be the truth for me, on my “path to enlightenment”:
    – it’s not a path, it’s a process of becoming anew
    – you do nothing actually, God does it all for you… (we wouldn’t even know what to do since we don’t know what it is)
    – setting enlightenment as a target is the best way to stop yourself from achieving it… (the target is to be able to see God’s love in everything and love God back and all Creation, as it is)
    – meekness is the best ground, where the seeds of Love will not perish; the hardest part for me, as i like philosophy more than prayer ;)…

    Meekness was, when i understood with my heart, that i cannot possibly know right from wrong, good from bad, while being in my limited duality-mode view-point… the consequences and the causes are wider than my capacity to comprehend.

    So while writing this, i understand, there is a need for a new prayer 🙂 “please help me God to become Love”.

    It’s happening to all of us, Inger, we are all, well on the path (i believe that my dream is a confirmation of this process), we just have to allow more and more God to be the one on the “driver’s seat”… literally ask for it!

  15. andres Avatar
    andres

    hello natacha i am glad you shared your experience, i don´t know why but something about it relieved me.

  16. Jim Clark Avatar
    Jim Clark

    Yes, for me it was understanding every sentence written in the CWG books. Taking the time to TRULY understand what is being said by either reading or listening to tapes & CD’s. I look at it as going up the STEPS OF LEARNING. Gradually day by day getting to the point where HAPPINEST just took over my life.!!!! NOW I REALIZE THAT WE HAVE ALL BEEN SURROUNDED BY LOVE ALL OF OUR LIVES BECAUSE GOD IS IN ALL OF IT !!! If that doesn’t interest you then you are obviously here for another reason. Good luck with what ever that is because — GOD LOVES YOU JUST THE WAY YOU ARE & THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP HIM FROM LOVING YOU !!! I’m mentioning this because if everyone knew what it’s like to live like this, they would do the same thing, IT’S BETTER THAN YOU CAN EVER IMAGINE !!! HOPEFULLY YOU WON’T MISS IT THIS TIME AROUND.

  17. Inger Lise Avatar
    Inger Lise

    Nicole, thank you of telling about the beautiful experience of yours.
    I`m with you fully my friend.

    It is about the same of to be in my understanding too, I`m a dreamer as well.
    To let God in “the drivers seat,” as of to be one of the old proverbs used by me often(admitting of sometimes to forget it, hopefully of not to become senile in the age of 67 years old?): “Let go and let God”(or to let The Holy Spirit/Ghost)work. And by listening to all of you have come to see how much of us to have in common.

    OOOPPS, now wonders how come the Alzheimer and Senility of to have arised in the Mind right now? Nobody in the own family or among the in-laws have had it!
    Wonders if of Neale to have an explanation about the same ?
    In fact, of never to have had any experiences with the case(s) at all, just watched the Health-programs on TV. And of to have a daughter-in-law to be a proffessional nurse. Of course of to have got “the facts” about it from her with “the typical” and the common, main-stream of the doctors views….
    Sometimes have wondered if the socalled illness`of Alzheimers will be a sort of to do “the withdrawal” of consciouness from the physical three-dimensional life unto another “aspect” of the conscience, as it seems to become “a slow process,” until all memories will be gone(at least seemingly)?

  18. Marko Avatar
    Marko

    If you are really happy. If you are really peaceful. If your are healthy, financially sound, have good friends & a fulfilled life, well, do you really desire or need to be enlightened?

    If you want to be enlightened, be enlightened.

    Act like you feel enlightenment would look like according to your current definition. Don’t be concerned about being & doing it imperfectly, be okay with being & doing it imperfectly & you will move more easily & quickly to that imagined state.

    Eckhart Tolle, Byron Katie are enlightened. They became so unconventionally. That is, it hit them like a lightning bolt. They just became so in a near instant.

    Neale is not yet enlightened by his own recent admission. Yet he is certainly in a very advanced stage of awareness! His spiritual growth is more like most people. It’s a more gradual process.

    I’m not enlightened, but I am a master.

    That is, a Master Appreciator. I wake uP & go to bed in deep appreciation & gratitude. I move and stay in that state for long periods of time during the day. I feel very peaceful & work or play to be even more so.

    In 2012 I realized something very significant. I was not thinking negative thoughts any more, or at least not much. Positive thoughts & feelings are now the majority. I also catch negative thoughts & feelings quickly. They do not slip & slide by unnoticed & I revise them.

    When supposed or apparent seeming negatives happen or appear to happen, I more often & more quickly move into wonder & anticipation.

    That is, I think or say “I wonder how this will work & play out in my favor.” Anticipating with much certainty, that while momentarily & temporally something appears negative or unwelcome, it will pass into something positive if I allow it.

    Is anybody out there experiencing the same or close to it?

    By the way: Negative thoughts have a very divine purpose & can be used very effectively for advancing & speeding uP spiritual growth. See:http://www.theglobalconversation.com/blog/?p=1827

    Magically,
    -Marko

  19. Inger Lise Avatar
    Inger Lise

    Marko ? I am fully aware of what you are telling of course, and thank you. But it seems of to be experienced “in the phases” throughout the life….The art is of to experience it all of the time. Byron Katie is a nice personality. Eckhart Tolle as well.
    To be living “in the now” (or in the know-how), seems to be a gift somehow.
    The balance is the key of to find when it comes to myself.
    But I do believe of us to have “the power” of our own thoughts.
    As you`ll know of the american veteran friends of mine(both in the U.S.Navy as in the U.S. Airforce)loves in of to send me the proverbs, and today have received another one such as: “There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that`s your own self.”—Aldous Huxley—1864-1963, english novelist.
    Hmm, others have walked the same path before me.

  20. mewabe Avatar
    mewabe

    If enlightenment means, as it seems to for most people, that we must reject our own humanity, rise above nature and attempt to become what we imagine a saint, a holy woman or man, an ascended master etc to be, then this pursuit is futile and self-defeating at best.

    Whatever enlightenment is, and the way there is different for each individual, it cannot be pursued, cultivated, chased, grabbed or grasped.

    It is not a task, and it has absolutely nothing to do with virtues and good deeds, or good, “positive” thoughts.

    We could say, in general terms, that enlightenment is a by-product of understanding and knowledge, as knowledge is light.

    So if anything should be sought, it would be understanding…which cannot be done without the equal participation and harmonious integration of the mind, heart, body and spirit.

    Enlightenment is also a gift, like love. Like love, it is not permanent..it fluctuates. The enlightened person is still human, and still has bowel movements.

    No one can rise above nature, including our own human nature, and no one should, as there is more light in a blade of grass or in one of our toe nails than in the mind of most people who are made to betray their hearts and souls in the name of false beliefs.

    Indeed everything is already enlightened, meaning imbued with divine energy and knowledge, except the human mind, because the human mind separated itself from all aspects of life.

    So what is the ultimate understanding, the ultimate knowledge? Simple…it is something all of nature knows and lives every day, something the human body still knows: ALL IS ONE.

    This knowing of the oneness of all life is a very good start, a prerequisite on the path to enlightenment.

    But this oneness of all life has to be felt…to be experienced at a cellular level…it has to become who we are, not just how we think, because it is much more than a concept, it is LIFE.

  21. Erin/IAm Avatar
    Erin/IAm

    If We are God-parts…is God not in the driver’s seat already?

    I have some folks in my realms who insist that “Let go & Let God” is how to live out their lifetime in ‘enlightenment’…Let go of what? Let God do what?

    Help me out here, Dears! I work with large beings & have found a huuuge difference between ‘Let’ & ‘Allow’ when seeking to build relationships within a herd mentality. Humans are ‘herdy’, for the most part, No?

    It is my current understanding, that ‘Let’ is not as functional…it shows little capability to others that one possesses leadership quality…whereas, ‘Allow’ is a way to guide with knowledge & desire for All to become grander. There is communication at work in allowance, but little, if any, in letting.

    Imagine guiding a child…Does one ‘let’ them do whatever, whenever, or would it be wiser to ‘allow’ them times to do so? ‘Let’ seems to be as an unsupervised, unsafe, way to go, whereas ‘Allowing’ gives them their freedom with watchful & caring eyes.

    Would really like to examine this “Let go, Let God” thingy a bit deeper…Can’t seem to get past the feeling that God is quite happy ‘being’ in process & ‘allowing’ Her ‘kids’ the freedom to be the same.

    Thanks in advance.
    Good Journey! 🙂

  22. nicole Avatar
    nicole

    I don’t know, Erin, when you are joyfully sharing something with your most loved one, are you “allowing” or “letting” that person have some of that which you are sharing??
    English is not my mother-tongue so i don’t really understand the difference…

    Same with me, when i find myself in an over-flowing joyful moment, i want to share it with God, as a means of thank you & love you (I know He is omnipresence, He is the context and the subject), but it’s just my way of sharing, i feel like sharing that moment.
    Am i allowing or am i letting?
    I am only acknowledging actually, for a moment, God being present in me.

  23. mewabe Avatar
    mewabe

    Erin, I think that the idea is to relinquish some control, perhaps because of a feeling/understanding that in a state of fear/control we stop the spontaneous flow of life, and therefore mess things up for ourselves and others.

    Whatever “God” means in this saying, it could be replaced by the words unconscious/subconscious, by the word Tao, by the word Soul.

    It could simply be about being “in the flow”. Letting it be…allowing it to be.

    In my opinion no one and nothing is “in charge”, life simply flows…or does not, as in the case of excessive fear/control, in which case there is a crisis, dis-ease.

    Like a person on a tight rope who would suddenly freeze in fear and attempt to grasp the air and falls. That’s what excessive control is like.

    To “let Go and let God” may be another way of saying letting life unfold…as when planting a seed and then allowing it grow of its own accord.

    But I am sure every individual has a different understanding of this, and should.

  24. mewabe Avatar
    mewabe

    From a book description on amazon.com, the book being “Eros Over Logos”:

    “Eros Over Logos postulates that through our proliferation of an ever-increasingly technological way of life, we have left something of our original nature behind, something of who and what we knew we were—which has now receded to some silent recess of our secret recognition. Our self-forgetting and forgetting of the earth are coincident; through forgetting where we came from—the planetary origins of our evolution—we have also forgotten the ancient and most meaningful portions of ourselves, our true soul nature that can only exist in the context of the earth environment from which we have emerged. The knowledge we have forgotten is not a collection of cerebral equations, nor can it be replaced by scientific inquiry or solutions; the knowledge we have forgotten is cellular, experienced in our bodies and our consciousness through an ongoing, direct, and experiential relationship with a living and interactive planet. True knowledge is not formed from the neck up; it begins in the soles of our feet and moves up through the entire body, bone by bone, organ by organ, circulating through the veins, the heart, the brain, the mind, and the spirit. True knowledge does not transcend or exclude the body; it is experienced through the body. However, true knowledge and meaningful experience are not the primary goals of modern industrial and technological societies. To the contrary, our current mode of society aims towards more abstract goals and ideals, envisioning a mechanically perfected human species liberated from all the old burdens of struggle and strife with an unruly planetary environment. More than extrication from an embedded, embodied engagement with the physical-spiritual matrix of the earth, our fragmenting social agendas advocate new laws, regulations, and restrictions every day that further impinge upon our personal freedoms and forbid us from enjoying our messy human condition. With the progress of society, ideas of wrong and right become more stringent and constricting, while our innate bodily pleasures become trampled by technological demands and the myopic moralizing of the mainstream.”
    _______________________________________________________________

    This perfectly describes my own path to enlightenment, through a total, intuitive, empirical connection to nature, that I perceive to be a divine creation:

    Specifically:

    “The knowledge…is cellular, experienced in our bodies and our consciousness through an ongoing, direct, and experiential relationship with a living and interactive planet”.

    “True knowledge is not formed from the neck up; it begins in the soles of our feet and moves up through the entire body, bone by bone, organ by organ, circulating through the veins, the heart, the brain, the mind, and the spirit. True knowledge does not transcend or exclude the body; it is experienced through the body”.

    This is a very unusual path in today’s world…it is a very ancient way. It was the way of some Native Americans (not all, not even most). It is something I have always done, since childhood, instinctively. It is simple, direct and powerful, and it is transcendent (of any language, concept, culture and belief).

    The divine creation is pregnant with life…a life that is at once physical and spiritual…a food for the soul that spiritualizes the body, a food for the body that grounds the soul.

    There are no separation, and all that is needed is to BE, here and now, as what Taoists call an empty cup, a vessel, what some Native Americans call a hollow bone, what I call a “sponge”, to spontaneously receive and absorb this physical-spiritual-cosmic food-knowledge-power from a living planet, a living universe.

    It is somewhat revolutionary to think that the cosmic energy that is present throughout nature is a medium of spiritual enlightenment, a means of spiritual knowledge, that does not come from the mind, but through our cells. Because of this, it is also a spiritual power, which resonates with our souls.

  25. Erin/IAm Avatar
    Erin/IAm

    Nicole…Thanks. When it comes to ‘personal space’…a boundary of respect, that many beings here acknowledge…mindful sharing of such is ‘allowing’, un-mindfulness would not actually be sharing…more like ‘letting’ those around you grab, bang into, & take what they please…step on your toes, so to speak. This is how I see the difference, anyway. 🙂

    mewabe…Your words always ring my Soul Sounds…Thanks for that…and yes, I can see that fear & frustration is what seems to bring this saying from their lips more often than not. Looove the piece about the cell knowing…I have noticed that many Peoples, other than human, hold this concept & they communicate with amazing depth…Previous to this moment, I did not understand where their pictures ‘came from’…tomorrow will be a much more in-sight-full day! 🙂

    Love you guys! <3

  26. nicole Avatar
    nicole

    i wrote on my page a note, somewhere back in 2011, it resembles to me, a lot with the “path to enlightenment”, in a funny but true way :
    https://www.facebook.com/notes/booklet-in-a-bottle/the-sea-of-love-story/304416346237355
    hope you will enjoy it! 🙂

  27. Shira Avatar
    Shira

    For now – 🙂 – my way to enlightenment is being in the moment. Listening to the signals of my body and asking what they mean. Meeting people on a plane that is non-judgmental, open-minded and loving. Allowing others to feel they way they need to feel and letting that be “their” business. Embracing my perfection and wholeness just as I am. I love forgiveness foregone. I spoke years ago about the magic of the moment when I realized no one or nothing needed to be forgiven. People looked at me like I was crazy. I was sooooo touched when I read that chapter in the book. Finally someone really understood. I meditate and sound daily. I’m a vibrational therapist/teacher and I use sound in treatment, so the sounding is a big piece of my meditation. I am willing to change and open to new things. I am blessed to be on the planet at the same time that you are Neale! What a wonderful time to be alive! I spend at least 1/2 hour daily with the earth. I have a small 5 acre farm in Lascassas, TN and I love to work with the land and experience the beauty of the earth. That connection is important to me also. My path is moment by moment. Much Harmony: Shira

  28. Marko Avatar
    Marko

    Thanks for sharing Shira. Few can deny the benevolent & auspicious effects of natures beauty & calm to help connect us.

    I would add that technology is also part of nature & it’s use or abuse is in our hands. It has the ability to further connect the entire world & expound on the idea that we are truly one in spirit & energy with multifarious variations.

    At it’s optimum technology blends with nature as well as protects it.

    Magically,
    -Marko

  29. mewabe Avatar
    mewabe

    Thank you Erin…
    It takes a while to soak up that “manna from heaven”, that cosmic “food” that permeates all of nature (it is not just Prana of Chi, or negative ions, it is more, much more).

    It takes some time, patience, presence…nature needs to clean us first, clean us of civilization…gently clean our hearts, minds, and bodies…center us…it can take weeks, months, of simple being, like Buddha sitting under a tree, except no meditation is needed, only being here now, being fully alive and conscious, loving the earth, feeling connected and reclaiming the full dimension of our soul, learning to do or seek nothing, learning pure being.

  30. mewabe Avatar
    mewabe

    Marko, yes technology is part of humanity, but there are two paths to technological development: the path that cooperates with nature, that is harmonious with nature, and the other way, that is antagonist to nature, toxic, exploitative and destructive.

    Western civilization has chosen the destructive way, because of a spiritual disconnection from the universe, from the cosmos and from the soul. There are very few technological developments today that are not highly toxic to the environment, even cell phones and computers.

    This is why we are in a crisis.

    We need to reconnect with life. Nature is much more than beautiful and peaceful…it is spiritually alive, it is pregnant with spiritual energy.

    Anyone who believes in some sort of God or divinity should understand that his/her/its creation is an ongoing process, and is consequently alive with divine presence, permeated with divine energy at all times.

    That’s a very easy and plentiful source to tap into, for enlightenment. God may be sitting somewhere in the clouds, but God is also in the trees, the grass, the mountains and rivers, in the ground below our feet, it is in all of life, and nothing and no creature has forgotten but humans.

    We simply need to remember and go back in order to go forward in a new way.

  31. Marko Avatar
    Marko

    “There are very few technological developments today that are not highly toxic to the environment, even cell phones and computers.”

    And too much sun, wind, rain can be toxic, kill & damage too.

  32. mewabe Avatar
    mewabe

    We are not talking about “Too much” here…the high toxicity of industries has nothing to do with too much, but with potent chemicals or elements that are extremely poisonous or destructive to life (such as lead, arsenic, mercury, radioactivity, etc, the list is very long).

    Please, I have no interest in debating you about who is “right” and who is “wrong”. I do know that the earth is not being poisoned by too much sun, wind or rain…this could literally be a Rush Limbaugh type of argument! I have to wonder how people come up with this stuff!

    The earth is poisoned by technological and industrial developments that are not in harmony with nature, to say the very least.

    If you choose to believe otherwise, then it must be because this belief serves you, and so I hope it does, until it no longer does, hopefully soon, because all of humanity will very soon chock on the global toxicity it is relentlessly creating with the help of denial.

  33. Marko Avatar
    Marko

    “I do know that the earth is not being poisoned by too much sun, wind or rain…this could literally be a Rush Limbaugh type of argument! I have to wonder how people come up with this stuff!”

    So let’s never use sun protection? Stay out in the sun too long & you risk damage. I’m saying that floods, tornado’s are nature too & they destroy & kill.

    To deny that could also be considered Rush Limbaughish.

    Nature is filled with toxic plants & bugs, reptiles etc.

    I think the agreement here is the abuse of technology rather than the use of it in concert with nature in a more benevolent manner is the issue.

    This has to do with our current primitive evolutionary status, & like spoiled but well intentioned but ignorant teenagers, we have yet to grow uP into responsible citizens of planet earth.

    But we will eventually.

    Magically,
    -Marko

  34. mewabe Avatar
    mewabe

    Marko, we may or may not agree, it’s not important, the main thing is communication, not agreement.

    The way I understand it, poisonous frogs in the Amazon jungle do not destroy the local ecosystem…neither do poisonous mushrooms, or poisonous snakes.

    They may kill us individually, but they do not destroy the ecosystem that sustains other forms of life and the future generations. Even a volcanic eruption, in the end, produces a rich ground on which life thrives, as in Hawaii.

    Nature is balanced and self-regenerating and self-renewing, perhaps because it is created and sustained by an intelligent being, a divine being? Could it be the reason?

    But radioactive waste does destroy local ecosystems for an extremely long period, as do, for example, the toxic by-products of the gold mining industry, of weapons research and development, of countless other industries and technological developments.

    Could it be, perhaps, because these things are created by not so intelligent beings, by human beings who arrogantly perceive themselves to be above nature, who ignorantly believe themselves to be separate from nature, and who consequently are reluctant to acknowledge simple causes and effects?

    Causes and effects such as, for example…you saturate your immediate environment with cancer-causing chemicals, the cancer-causing chemicals end up in your blood stream, and your chances of getting cancer are greatly increased.

    A four years old could get that. But adult denial is surprisingly very sophisticated and consistent.

    We are addicted to our toxic way of life, which began in our minds with a toxic belief in separation from nature, and as most addicts we will not change without facing a serious crisis, without facing global loss. I wish it was not so, but it appears to be humanity’s choice.

  35. Marko Avatar
    Marko

    Mewabe, while you make some good points, I’m less interested talking about these problems & pointing out solutions to them instead. Talk is good for awhile, pointing out the problems especially in a mindful way is also good. But too much & it can steep us into a problem centeredness rather than solution orientedness. Yet when the individual & collective focus is on solutions rather than problems we allow the mindset to work & play toward that intended focus. We don’t ignore, we focus on the solutions.

    An enlighten mentality is one that focuses on the solutions more than the problems. I’m not sure I’d use the word addicted as you have, but conditioned.

    Most of this stuff was not intentionally done to harm us, though it can sometimes be an unintended consequence. That’s a primitive collective doing it’s best at the early growth stages. Sure, some things are done in a deliberate non beneficial manner. Yet most people only desire good for their & all life.

    So in all things pollution, radioactive waste etc. I would vote to focus & discuss solutions.

    People more so than ever compost, recycle & go organic. It’s a small start, but that kind of grassroots mentality starts at the bottom smaller scale & catches on to the larger collective eventually. I believe those seeds are now becoming sprouts. May they grow to healthy completion.

    Life is perfect including our desire to change it.

    Magically,
    -Marko

  36. Kristen Avatar
    Kristen

    Hi there. I think the most significant part of enlightenment is a trigger of conscious awareness. The awareness that we are not all that there is, that the physical is not all that we are, that we are not solely in charge, that a lot of what the masters etc teach is ‘right’, that they have a point and that we can seek to genuinely understand their point or teachings. And that “when the student is ready a teacher will appear” which is often a wise old man guide or shaman to assess us, which we may or may not be aware of. It is surreal to think that a majority of people on this planet, especially scientists, still think we think with our brains etc.

    Neale – the brain thing is based on very old teachings, and we do know that all brains are different and function on different frequencies. Most of the time I function on the Di Vinci frequency which is a low stress, low drama frequency which means my spiritual teachers can access me, and I can communicate with them anytime expect when I am really deep in concentration, without having to meditate or still my mind. I find this frequency allows me to do anything from creative things like design, studying or the daily tasks, and if things get a bit boring like doing the dishes I just design clothes in my imagination. This frequency entails keeping your neck quite straight, and doesn’t seem to allow mood swings. There is a good book on the Di Vinci Gene that explains this frequency quite well, and from what I can understand it is the one Kabbalah guides and teachers try to switch students to as we are learning all the time.

    Re the environment, my policy I try to live by is if creator made it it’s ok, if we made it then keep it to a minimum!

  37. Kristen Avatar
    Kristen

    2nd post in a row – lame, I had to trot off to watch a dance on Glee. Sad! But part of enlightenment that I can acknowledge my own faults and laugh at the non negative ones. And at myself. What I wanted to finish saying that I think huge part of the enlightenment journey is to form your own learnings/policies/religion etc that works for you, if it is correct, honest and in conjunction with universal laws which most earthly teaching are BUT also to accept those of others, which I think I do. I am in camp Barbie and would personally like her re-established as a role model for girls, however I do also think that the Glee type messages which are very CWG are good for the youth of today.

    Can I also say Neale, that as a non reincarnated Israelite my views differ a lot from yours but you are from the Afterlife, I am not. This is my first life BUT the CWG and other new age, especially reincarnated related teachings have really helped me to understand people here as they are generally so different to my family and myself, especially with past life psychologically related scars and odd paths bought here. I have learnt to understand and be more tolerant. My sister-in-law committed suicide yesterday, not being able to cope with her husband leaving her, but her family also has bi polar and her 2 siblings have also died this way (jumping off our harbour bridge – gross). I think I’m probably the only person who respects her wishes, and I am genuinely happy for her and know she will now get the healing and peace that she needs. If I wasn’t aware of reincarnation, and learnt that it is everyones right to die and return to the afterlife when they choose, I would possibly be like the rest of a shallow minded family who do not understand and think she is pathetic and selfish. She waited until her youngest child was 22, and has tried hard to function for many years, this was just the final straw (and 4th attempt). She goes with my blessings and best wishes.

  38. mewabe Avatar
    mewabe

    Yes Marko, solutions are great. But in my opinion civilization needs a major, complete overhaul, not just a couple of tweaks here and there, such as recycling plastic.

    It’s a good start, no doubt.

    We need to create what Neale and others call a new cultural story, a new paradigm.

    The old paradigm was rooted in a belief in the separation of God or the divine from the physical earth (the “fall”), a separation of ourselves from all of nature and the divine as well, and a kind of “war” against nature, a desire to “conquer” and enslave nature.

    The new paradigm of oneness should make us all understand that whatever we do to nature, we do to ourselves and the future generations, that all life is one, that all technology must work with nature rather than against it.

    Society has a very, very long way to go, the mainstream is far from catching up.

    How much time do we have? We shall see…I am not optimistic, regrettably.

    Negative human behavior seems to change only when facing a very serious crisis, as long as consequences can be ignored, the behavior continues, every doctor knows this.

    When I am being critical, it is about the mainstream, not about people here or elsewhere who are aware of the problems and who work to implement solutions in spite of huge opposition from the mainstream, from government, from industries.

  39. mewabe Avatar
    mewabe

    Marko, this was an interesting exchange, thank you.

    But to get back to the subject, my original intent was to express the fact that I believe that, for myself, a very strong and consistent, patient, spiritual soul connection to nature is a very simple and direct path to enlightenment, as the natural world is not just an “environment” to me but is imbued with a vast, powerful, potent divine energy, with a transcendental energy that is at once spiritual and physical and is a source of spiritual knowledge or knowing, of awakening at the cellular and soul levels.

    I know that this cannot be understood by most Americans (or Europeans for that matter), who have been conditioned to perceive nature in exclusively materialistic terms, or in romantic terms.

    This approach is too mystical for the practically-minded American especially who needs a method, a straight linear path, who needs to know that he is going from A to Z in 15 or 25 steps, each precisely defined, measured and timed.

    One, two, three, four here comes enlightenment if you do as you are taught, preferably within 24 hours as time is money and if you are going to pay a teacher thousands of dollars to become enlightened, then enlightenment better happen sooner than later!

    My way is not this…it is a mystical, instinctual, intuitive, empirical, feeling, undefined way…it is a journey without goals…it is the way of paradox, when for example you loose it all to gain it all, when you make yourself empty to become full, when you walk through the darkness to meet the light, finding it precisely because not ever seeking it.

    I know this cannot be understood by most…and it’s good, because I love nature totally unpopulated, uncrowded, so I prefer that people seek enlightenment at the crowded Ashram or the crowded seminar, while I go in the mountains or the forests, alone in the wilderness, just me, natural life and the divine.

  40. Erin/IAm Avatar
    Erin/IAm

    Kristin…Nice to share your views on transitions…to allow people to move with blessings from their suffering.

    Marko/mewabe…You two are so funny…and both Magical in your ways. I’ve got a few little thoughts for yas: Perhaps even a ‘solution’, though I’m no rocket scientist or geologist, by far…Volcanos! Even though humans have come up with recipes that Earth Mother has not, are they not still of Her…each ingredient coming from this particular environment?

    So then, does it not make sense that She is quite a capable being in providing the resources of which to break down those mixtures…Volcanos!? Perhaps instead of burying our garbage & toxic waste, literally making mountains out of mole hills…Are these not perfect incinerators? Why are they not being used?

    Hate to put a kabosh on a good idea, but the recycle-age is done. The monies being made right now on the ash from man-made incinerators far out-weighs the costs of recycling…I know this, my fam is in the garbage biz up & down East side, USA & as far west as Detroit, MI. Everything goes to the same places…All stuff is burned in the same pits…and the smoke one may see from these plants is almost pure steam. The ash is predominantly being used in road & construction materials.
    I cannot imagine that Earth’s filters, churning magma, & super heat could not do the same of any garbage we could come up with.(?)

    The same with GM stuff…the ingredients are of here…but the one thing humans forgot in their recipes was to calculate in vibrational frequencies (the Love-touch Earth normally adds in), ergo, they don’t chime well with body vehicles of many sorts, including Hers. I’m sure if we delved a bit deeper into the Scientifics, there could be a relate-ively easy solution here, as well.

    Sooo off subject, but passing thoughts worth pondering…

    🙂

  41. mewabe Avatar
    mewabe

    It’s so funny Erin, I did think of this before…the earth’s magma could be the ultimate recycling plant, providing highly toxic gazes do not escape? It could be a problem.

    No worries, our global, world civilization will get “recycled” by nature sooner or later, one way or the other, as have all civilizations before, when humanity reached an impasse and could go neither forward nor backward because of having taken the wrong route in its self-created mental maze.

    All it would take would be one well-aimed meteor to force us to end this game and reshuffle the cards overnight.

    Indeed the more civilization seeks power over nature, the more vulnerable to nature it becomes, have you noticed?

    That’s predictable, as life operates in terms of paradox, and in this case will end up forcing us to face our inner feelings of fear and powerlessness, these feelings or perceptions that motivated us to seek power over nature and all life in the first place.

    Why did we seek brutal power over nature, rather than harmonious cooperation with nature? Many of our technologies, you might agree, are brutal and insensitive, reflecting the state of our consciousness, of our disrespectful view of nature. Look at a clearcut forest up close and you will see what I mean. Look at mountaintop mining.

    We sought this power because we believed ourselves to be separate from nature, from life, from the divine, and consequently became isolated in our psyches and afraid, and thus sought control and power over to attempt to no longer feel this fear, we sought outer control to overcome this existential, inner fear, a very symbolic and unenlightened approach in my opinion.

    As a specie (of sophisticated monkeys?) we have yet to understand that real, fearless power is the spiritual power that comes with a real connection to life, with an experiential acknowledgement of the oneness of all life, not the frightful power to dominate, subdue, exploit and enslave that is motivated by a sense of separation from everything.

    That’s the way I see it so far.

  42. Laura Pringle Avatar
    Laura Pringle

    https://www.rebelmouse.com/catalyzingchange/bruce_lipton_the_power_of_cons-112032516.html

    Anyone study this guy’s work? Bruce Lipton, author of “Biology of Belief,” and “Spontaneous Evolution”
    I wish we could get Neale and this guy in a room together- (or, has this already happened?)

  43. Laura Pringle Avatar
    Laura Pringle

    Erin/IAm,

    Thanks for informing us/me of the current state of recycling v/s incinerating. This is fascinating to me, I did not realize this is the way of things now… Does this mean that landfills will soon become a thing of the past?

  44. Marko Avatar
    Marko

    Thanks guys for the dialog. Time to move on & all these ideas will be further discussed I’m sure as time & topics come up.

    The TED talks (Technology Entertainment, Design) and other organizations are contributing to finding solutions both global & small & this helps bring viable solutions to the mix.

    Our good intentions, thoughts & ideas also contribute to the better collective we are working & playing toward.

    Magically,
    -Marko

  45. veronica brand Avatar
    veronica brand

    I feel that although there are many paths offered, part of the trick here is to choose one, then commit if you are getting good results. Surely enlightenment is a process of committing to SELF in some form or other ?
    When you operate from SELF rather than ego I feel you are well on your way.
    The trick here of the Ego is it keeps us searching so we never fully commit.

  46. […] the conclusion of Part One I said that the danger of this business of enlightenment is two-fold.  The first danger is […]

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