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Articles
Enlightenment: What it is and What it Isn't
by Rusty Stewart, Ph.D.
I'm not sure any one of us can adequately describe what enlightenment is. The main problem is when somebody becomes enlightened, they will tell you they are not enlightened. So common sense tells us that if somebody is saying they are enlightened, then they most certainly are not! All we have to do is peruse through the lives of the great masters like Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, and Mother Theresa. I don't think any of them would have said they were enlightened. I still remember Ram Dass speaking on Grit and Grace as he said something like this, "When I was being stroked I was not having a spiritual near death experience. I have more work to do here." We all have more work to do. All we really can do is move along a continuum closer to enlightenment. When we are truly there not only will we not know it, it will no longer be valued as important.
Let's get clear then on what enlightenment is not. Enlightenment is not of the ego, plain and simple. That being said I would be weary of anybody selling you the idea that they have the inside track on enlightenment. Or I can teach you how to become enlightened because I am enlightened. Red Flag! Where is the humility? "Before enlightenment chop wood carry water. After enlightenment chop wood carry water." Enlightenment is not something you attain; it's a way of being.
Enlightenment is being present with no judgment, no valuing, no comparing, non-attachment, just total acceptance of what is. In The Lazy Man's Guide To Enlightenment, Thaddeus says, "There is nothing you need to do first in order to be enlightened. All potential experiences are within you already. You can open up to them at any time, faster than instantaneously, just by being there" (Golas, 1972). So it's in the process of being. There are many different ways we can practice being (ex., meditation, breathing, Yoga, Tai Chi, Chi Gong, being in nature, sweatlodge ceremony, etc.). The idea is to expand our consciousness and to have more and longer experiences of being. And when we are in an experience of being totally present and expansive, nothing else matters because we are everything else. There is no separation. We are one and we are everything. Good and bad disappear. There is only isness. "Enlightenment is any experience of expanding our consciousness beyond its present limits" (Golas, 1972).
Enlightenment is letting go of valuing. This means letting go of both bad and good. This is not exactly what the ego wants to hear. Most of us want to let go of the bad and keep the good. This is attachment. And attachment is fear. Fear of losing it. So another way of defining enlightenment is letting go of fear. In Journey Beyond Words, Jeshua says, "It is absolutely certain, whether you know it or not, or believe it or not, that every single thing, to the last detail in your life, is created by you, desired by you, valued by you, clearly chosen by you. And in your freedom, when you CHOOSE to let go of fear, your life will truly seem to be turned upside down. And the world will call it a miracle" (Haskell, 1994). And I call it Love, God, Enlightenment. For these are all the same and we are all of these and one.
So let your Self experience enlightenment. Practice being. Slow down. Enjoy the ride. It's all about the process. There is nowhere to get to. You are already there. You've always been there. Just remember, enlightenment is not of the ego. You will not know if and when you are experiencing enlightenment. And when you do it won't matter anyway. Because you will realize that you are everything. And when there is no separation there is no need to value anymore. In the absence of fear there is only Love. All that is left is Love. That is Enlightenment! Bless all of you! I have a lot of work left to do here!
Yoga Living, March/April 2006
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