Here is another classic blog that I wanted to bring to your attention. It will deepen your understanding of what is enlightenment.
On Tuesday at our meeting I was asked, what is the experience of enlightenment? This is a great question that I thought I could address in this blog. People who I talk with tend to put enlightenment way up on a pedestal, fit for Jesus and the Buddha but not for me.
If someone declares that they are enlightened it is like declaring that they are God, and you know what happens to people who think that they are God. For this reason, instead of talking about enlightenment, I often talk about self-knowledge. Since even now we are the self, for most people self-knowledge seems more normal and obtainable. As it turns out, enlightenment is finding reality; reality and your identity are one.
Your sense of reality comes from where you are centered
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Give the gift of enlightenment when you give Making Your Wisdom Come Alive. This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center. Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory.
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The reason it is hard for most people to fathom their identity is that their sense of reality depends on where they are identified. For instance if they are centered in their bodies, then the objects in the world seem real. If they were to develop a spiritual practice based on the assumption that they were centered in the body, then they might want to develop the body, making it more flexible or stronger. Also they might want to do something to the things that they have. To them this would be the path to perfection.
If you were to tell them that it is not the condition of the body that is important but the condition of the mind, they may not be able to grasp what you are talking about. However, if they were centered in the mind, then reality would seem like a state of mind. A spiritual practice for someone centered in the mind might be quieting the mind, thinking only good thoughts, or obtaining the correct understanding. To this person perfection would be a state of mind. The condition of the body would be less important.
Now if you were to tell these people that reality was not a state of mind they would have trouble comprehending what you were talking about. That’s because they would attempt to understand what you were saying with their thinking, the reality that they know. But their thoughts would never reach reality, which is closer in than the mind.
So the first step to finding enlightenment is to just notice that reality might be greater then what you are seeing right now. That’s when you get curious and wonder, “What is enlightenment anyway?"
You see limitation and that proves you're beyond limitation
The answer is that you are the seer of limitation, not the one stuck in limitation. Enlightenment is returning home, to the place where you can rest at ease. When the mind and the world appear, it is your identity that makes them seem so real. Indeed the world that you thought was out there is really in here. Its substance is the Consciousness and Bliss that comes from you.
You know freedom directly without the need for another sign
From here you will see that the condition of the body and mind are not your condition. Enlightenment is a state that has no sign. You know it by the freedom that you feel on the inside. In enlightenment you die to the limited sense of ‘I’ and all of its attachments like a mind and body.
And when the world disappears like in sleep or at death you remain at home, just as you are. You get to see that the feeling that I will never die, against all perceived logic, makes perfect sense. That’s because changelessness comes from what you are, not from what you see. When you die to limitation you will never die again.
The surprise of waking up
Since this is beyond what you can think, waking up is a real surprise. Things are different than you thought and the same, both at the same time. You were always here but just looked right past it. Standing here as the perfection that you are, everything makes perfect sense.
If this seems like a description of something that is very far away, just remember that even now, you are what you are looking for. Although you can’t see your identity as a separate thing, it is closer in than you can imagine. If you take the challenge and look within, you will find the beauty that makes all of life shine. Being reality will be as normal as being a man or woman. Who would have thought that the highest enlightenment, attributed to Christ and Buddha is just who you are.
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Question everything
Here
I always encourage questions. People take too much for granted about
the world, their body, mind, and their nature. Questioning encourages
you to take a fresh look. Looking afresh, once again life becomes fresh
and a real adventure. Without changing a thing, everyday experiences
become completely new. If you need help with your questions you can
write me at
michael@light-up-your-life.com.
Please join us
Every
Tuesday we hold a meeting here in our house in Los Gatos California.
All too often it is only my wife and I that attend. But we still have a
wonderful time. If you find yourself in this area and would like to
attend here is a link where you can find more information
www.light-up-your-life.com/talks.html
Other resources available to you
Another resource that we offer is the book, Making Your Wisdom Come
Alive, a step by step guide taking you from your everyday experience to the
highest wisdom and truth. To find out more, click on the link below:
To join our mailing list go to: http://www.light-up-your-life.com/join.html
Please tell you friends.
Although we don’t have an advertising budget, we hope that everyone who wants
to can find out about and wake up to this wisdom.
Michael Gluckman
