The nature of enlightenment

If your curious you may want to read Aldoux Huxley's The Doors of Perception. There are numerous recognized spiritual person's such as Ram Dass (Richard Alpert) and Huston Smith who have experienced lsd, mescaline, ad psilocybin and have written on psychedelics as they relate to conciousness.

It's time we stop thinking of plants as drugs and drugs as bad and start recognizing that without plants there would be nothing alive on this planet. Thay are more then simply food and they could be one of the keys to not only feeding this world but saving it from the unconciousness we live in today.

 

Enlightenment must always be realized internally. It is transcendent of all external conditions and can therefore never be induced by reliance upon external means such as psychotropic drugs.

That being said, when approached with the correct mentality, psychotropics are the most expedient means of experiencing glimpses of one's true nature, and as a result can act as a catalyst for the pursuit of a spiritual path for some individuals. Dependency on psychotropics for the experience of higher consciousness, however, is without doubt a spiritual impediment, as Kaminoishiki has mentioned.

Travis

 

Thank you for your kindness
In my experience, there are different stages of awakening. There is the stage of coming to self realisation, the stage of shedding ego, the stage of shedding thought and then the stage of awakening/being/wholeness. My physical circumstances don't allow me to maintain being for a long period of time, and there is a difference between knowing and being. Because I know my true nature, and because the ego has been shed (as well as all emotional bonds connected with the physical world) i'm constantly shifting between states of thought and beingness. Like now, I am thought. Perhaps in time I will be able to maintain wholeness despite any interference from the physical world, perhaps it is something which can be trained. I'm still very new to this, and perhaps despite reaching my goal the road still goes on. I think when my physical circumstances are better, when I have money, when I have a place to retreat to, I will completely abandon all thought and so become whole. It's quite ironic that I am dependent upon the society which I know to be an illusion and have no connection to, atleast for a moment. This seems to me to be the great injustice of society.

And now i'm forced to go to art college, because the false self is still real in the eyes of my family,friend and tutors.

 

Going back to the bit about the 'on/off' switch-- I don't think that it's a switch, but it does involve an absolute point wherein you are no longer engaging things the way that most people engage them. Siddhartha Gautama described it as 'the flames of desire being put out'. I don't think this means that 'everything is exposed as an illusion'... there's a difference between being enlightened and viewing the physical world as a prison of lies that must be escaped.

The former is rarely achieved, the latter is very common... mostly among those who are afraid or confused by the world they are living in. It's so much easier to give up than to try... and western youth culture nourishes and glamorizes the notions of 'the dreamer' or 'the outcast' to the point where most people are actively seeking to separate themselves from their society in the quickest and easiest ways possible-- drugs, music, sex and daydreams.

I forget who said it, but the best way of describing it that I've ever heard was that it can only be described in terms of what it is not... maybe to distance one's self from the things we accept as fact, not because they aren't real, but because once you accept something as true it becomes like a weight that you carry.

But of course, distancing yourself from the phenomena around you is not enlightenment... because once you start interacting with things again they begin to have weight and you start to bear them.

Maybe if you are enlightened, then you can interact with things without bearing their weight?

 

I'm able to go interact in the physical world. However, since I dont have any attatchment to it I don't feel any emotion inside. The things that happen to the false self don't occur to me any more. You're right, there is no weight there's simply a calm empty feeling inside of me. However, in my experience there is a difference between this state and the state (or unstate) of being. The ties that never existed exist in the minds of my family and my friends. Because of those circumstances I feel I should remain here, in this state of mind that is neither ego nor purely being.

I already let go of ego, I experienced pure being by staying still and thinking until I could think no more, and then I stopped grasping, stopped trying to explain what I was feeling and simply experience. I was aware that the universe and myself as consciousness were operating together, like a machine, to create reality , I was channeling it and I was it. The whole universe and everything within yet simply energy all at the same time. I can ascend to this state of mind at will now, however it is incredibly difficult to sustain for any long periods of time when i'm still obliged by the ties that don't exist to stay here amongst friends and family.

I told my mother how I felt about this and she accepted that i'm not the same person I used to be . However, I promised her I would stay here until I made her happy by finishing art college. Therefore, for now, i'm neither here nor there. I know myself as consciousness, others know me as Joe Bloggs the 19 year old art student. And that's the way it's going to stay until I fulfilled my duties to those around me.

 

Exactly.

My thought is that we cannot hope to attain enlightenment in our life time, though the pursuit of enlightenment can elevate us to a higher state of consciousness, which serves as a means with which we can be more content and at peace with ourselves, nothing more.

I'm not sure how the use of psychotropic drugs has anything to do with the quality of the experience, given that it is merely an experience, whether drug induced, meditation induced, or manifested in some other way, such as a revelation. Either way, it's brought on by some physiological chemical reaction in our brain, which is merely a lump of cells.

 

what about little kids ? seems the sense of un-enlightenment gets imposed upon them . stupid little kids . i think it's a social enlightenment rather than a personal one that is of concern . how did you ever become un-enlightened ? how may the enlightened treat children ?

 

"enlightenment" and peace and Being are Here Now. Ego, and mind fixation on time, past and future, keeps us from realizing our True Self.

To place mind and Being together is similar to thinking that we are our bodies. The mind is a tool just as an arm or our eyes ae tools that aid in ourexperience.

To seek these so called heightened states is to not find them. The only time we have is Now so it is here for you.

 

Every spiritual aspirant should strive to attain enlightenment in this lifetime. If they are not, then some form of self-deception is operating, usually relating to a false belief in some illusory future attainment.

Another point about higher states of consciousness that many people don't understand is that they are not exclusively positive experiences. As ego-identification is gradually relinquished during the process (of no-process ) that is the upliftment of consciousness, one must now apply the awareness that previously existed in an unconscious state in the form of ego attachments to more subtle aspects of their being. This requires greater impeccability and devotion of one's being to this process of self-purification. Thus, the path towards enlightenment becomes simultaneously easier and harder as one ascends towards the final realization. The only true liberation is the attainment of enlightenment.

Please don't tell me you're a reductionist: reducing all mystical experiences to mere chemical reactions in the brain.

The brain's chemical reactions to our experiences are a byproduct of that which compels this process: The existence of spirit (or tao or love or god or beingness or consciousness -- whichever label you prefer ), which is incorporeal and entirely responsible for the existence and sustainment of the material realm. Take away the interconnecting energy, and all that remains is lifeless matter.

Travis

 

the spirit is distinct from the body-if the individual ba identifies with the other parts of the spirit,it will forget it is connected to the universal ba-if it forgets (overcome by worldly desires and ingnorance), it will live a life of mortality,thinking it will die when the body dies- horushood is being connected to all parts of the spirit all the time by remembering that you are not only connected to the universal ba ( god,cosmic consciousness,universal soul),but that you are the universal soul deep inside-to attain this state of mind is to achieve- christhood,horushood,enlightenment,ect.
the universal ba and the individual bas form a circuit,where energy is given and then returned to the source in an endless cycle-to be conciously connected with this,our true essence,is the coveted goal,the epitome of our existence and the reason for it- humans partake of both qualitys of the spirit and those of matter-to master both is termed: the highest good-
all humans can potentally become masters of the universe by becoming one with the universe- hetep

 

you were born un-enlightened , dis-connect from the universe ? there's nothing but human-centric myth to support that idea .

 

We as human beings, are divine in nature. This is why.

 

I think in some cases, people are born enlightened, but ofcourse they are unaware of this and are in a "sleep-mode". This is what awakening is about, realizing the enlightenment you've always had.

 

This is false, there are many enlightened beings on earth already! Many of them already coming into this world with enlightenment.

 

What does this mean, "divine in nature"? We are neither better nor worse than the rest of our world, we are one with it, part of its fabric, and therefore we are merely a cog in its machinery, an insignificant cog at that.

Yet somehow mankind has this arrogant delusion that we are somehow god personified, and that has caused huge problems.

No, mystical experiences are more significant than that. They are the manifestation of higher consciousness, like the sense of sight or smell, only more advanced, and more elusive, presenting themselves only when we are quiet and ready for them, but I don't equate these mystical experiences with enlightenment, because they are still subject to our personal perceptions and interpretations. Therefore they are merely our portal to our reality, nothing more.

 

This is not to say that the pursuit of enlightenment is a waste of time. The more we are able to turn on this higher consciousness, the more we are one with our world, which is healthy for the soul.

My theory is that we are enlightened when we die.

 

1) Realizing that the world/reality is illusionary in nature, but paradoxically, not unreal either.
2) Not taking life seriously - Enjoy it as you would a very complex virtual game - Experience all that you would like without feeling/being forced to experience what you don't.
3) Realizing that love is the answer to everything, and not worrying about how corny that may sound.
4) Stop over intellectualizing simple concepts. Doing so will only delude you even further.
5) Love is the answer, but love may never be fully understood in its entire, perfect, form. Instead, keep asking yourself what you can do that is most loving in every situation - Love is not static, and can mold to anything, just how water can mold to the shape of its container.
6) Truth goes beyond logic, and logic, ironically, may lead you astray from the truth. Although, logic can be very useful, having two horses is always better than just one.
7) We are deciding beings - Realizing this is important, but whats more important is action and action doesn't have to be external - What can I do to change myself (attitudes, intelligence, etc).
8) Whatever situation, no matter how grim, we are able to always maintain our last freedom: The freedom to choose our attitude - People can transcend their situations and choose how to react to it - Change your thoughts, change your life, change the type of person you are.
9) Realizing that there is more than one way to finding truth. Truth doesn't only exist outside of yourself, but inside of yourself as well.

Example of over intellectualizing: LOVE ISN'T REAL. LOVE IS A DISEASE FOR THE WEAK MINDED. No... just the opposite is true. I have actually heard people say that family, and friends and girlfriends are things that you must avoid in order to 'succeed' in life. Although there MAY be some truth to that because not everyone is born into a loving family, or have a great friend, or have a girlfriend that truly cares about you... in either case, none of these things should be avoided. They add richness to your life and whats the point of life other than to being content and happy with your life? - Many people, unfortunately, never realize the potential that a friendship can aspire to, and it's a shame. People begin to believe that cynicism = most rational approach to life and that anything that sounds too good to be true, probably isn't. This isn't the right approach to life and can actually prevent you from realizing that great relationships are possible... It can actually keep you from those types of experiences because they have convinced themselves that it's all "fake".

Over all, I don't think any of that is what being enlightened is about. But based on personal experience, I feel those are the steps TOWARD enlightenment, and it doesn't necessarily have to be the same for everyone. Although, there is a core of it that never changes - It's mostly semantics.

 

I may be crazy but Im going to go ahead and assume that there is no actual such thing as enlightenment, other than the potential that physical death itself holds for all of us, and that anyone who attains to any permanant state of fixed awareness is out of sync with the continuous changing nature of, well, Nature, and that the state of constant revolution both internal and external is what brings profund truth, rather than simple acceptance.

 

Enlightenment is the permanent state of alignment with the perpetually changing nature of reality.

Travis

 

I like that.