FROM A SITE VISITOR: You mention “Realization,” “awakening,” “liberation,” “Full Realization,” “Awareness,” “Enlightenment,” all sorts of terms that I thought meant the same. Do they or not? And what about self knowledge, self realization and self actualization? I’ve seen those too. Thank you. Greg
F.: Today and for the two days following, the term “Enlightenment” will be discussed. “Enlightenment” does not point to a happening along the “path to a complete understanding.” The word points more toward the condition of the consciousness which exists following its re-purification.
As in the case of a “Full Awakening,” there is really no one to be “awakened” or “enlightened.” There is a process that shifts the status of the consciousness from a state of being bastardized (by programming and conditioning) to a condition of having being re-purified. The shift results in a change in the way that the consciousness functions for the remainder of its period of manifestation.
Rather than “one” having been enlightened or “one” having become enlightened, the case is simply that light has been cast on the darkness of the “mind” that was storing a plethora of lies, deceits, misperceptions, concepts, beliefs and ideas that shared the common trait of being false.
Via the light—the light that comes, for example, in the form of pointers offered by an Advaitin teacher—misperceptions are seen to be misperceptions. Onto the sources of the darkness which encumbers the consciousness (deceits, concepts, etc.) the light shines, removes the miasma that had obscured the witnessing of Truth, dissipates the fog and eventually lifts it completely, and facilitates the differentiation between false and true.
Rather than trying to pinpoint an “Oh my gosh” moment or a “Eureka/Aha!” moment or the moment when a “state” was entered into and then labeling that "the moment of enlightenment," focus more on the condition of the consciousness that results after the functioning of the totality becomes understood post-completion of “the journey.”
Understand, too, that enlightenment has not happened if one claims, “I am now enlightened” or “I now exist in a state of enlightenment.” Post-enlightenment, there is no one claiming anything. If enlightenment has really happened, the consciousness is merely aware of its originally pure (pre-programming, pre-conditioning) status, its corrupted status, and its re-purified status.
When the darkness that resulted from the accumulation of ideas and concepts is lifted by a light having been cast upon them, a new fear-less and desire-less “condition” follows. After one enters a dark room and mistakes a coiled rope for a snake, the resulting fear is lifted when the light is turned on and the reality of the mistaken identification is seen. Similarly, a shift happens when enlightenment exposes all of the mistaken identities which drive persons to experience either fear or the frustration of unmet desires.
The “condition” that exists when the consciousness is purged of all concepts (and is thus re-purified) is marked by a sense of lightness for the remainder of the manifestation. Enlightenment can be said to have happened if a sense of having been “lightened” comes about. At first, a sense of presence only manifests.
F.: Today and for the two days following, the term “Enlightenment” will be discussed. “Enlightenment” does not point to a happening along the “path to a complete understanding.” The word points more toward the condition of the consciousness which exists following its re-purification.
As in the case of a “Full Awakening,” there is really no one to be “awakened” or “enlightened.” There is a process that shifts the status of the consciousness from a state of being bastardized (by programming and conditioning) to a condition of having being re-purified. The shift results in a change in the way that the consciousness functions for the remainder of its period of manifestation.
Rather than “one” having been enlightened or “one” having become enlightened, the case is simply that light has been cast on the darkness of the “mind” that was storing a plethora of lies, deceits, misperceptions, concepts, beliefs and ideas that shared the common trait of being false.
Via the light—the light that comes, for example, in the form of pointers offered by an Advaitin teacher—misperceptions are seen to be misperceptions. Onto the sources of the darkness which encumbers the consciousness (deceits, concepts, etc.) the light shines, removes the miasma that had obscured the witnessing of Truth, dissipates the fog and eventually lifts it completely, and facilitates the differentiation between false and true.
Rather than trying to pinpoint an “Oh my gosh” moment or a “Eureka/Aha!” moment or the moment when a “state” was entered into and then labeling that "the moment of enlightenment," focus more on the condition of the consciousness that results after the functioning of the totality becomes understood post-completion of “the journey.”
Understand, too, that enlightenment has not happened if one claims, “I am now enlightened” or “I now exist in a state of enlightenment.” Post-enlightenment, there is no one claiming anything. If enlightenment has really happened, the consciousness is merely aware of its originally pure (pre-programming, pre-conditioning) status, its corrupted status, and its re-purified status.
When the darkness that resulted from the accumulation of ideas and concepts is lifted by a light having been cast upon them, a new fear-less and desire-less “condition” follows. After one enters a dark room and mistakes a coiled rope for a snake, the resulting fear is lifted when the light is turned on and the reality of the mistaken identification is seen. Similarly, a shift happens when enlightenment exposes all of the mistaken identities which drive persons to experience either fear or the frustration of unmet desires.
The “condition” that exists when the consciousness is purged of all concepts (and is thus re-purified) is marked by a sense of lightness for the remainder of the manifestation. Enlightenment can be said to have happened if a sense of having been “lightened” comes about. At first, a sense of presence only manifests.
Later, there is an awareness of “complete and limitless freedom” after even the sense of presence only gives way to a sense of absence. (Any savvy director of human resources could verify that presenteeism can cause more problems for a business than absenteeism when sick employees show up and infect an entire workforce.)
There is an awareness of the absence of a formerly heavy load of false identities that were being “carried about” in the fictitious “mind.” There is a sense of absence of a formerly heavy workload (since all of the effort required to maintain those false identities has ended).
What a burden it is to no longer have to believe…to no longer have to conceptualize…to no longer have to adopt ideas and then fight about them with those whose beliefs are different. Imagine the peace that could have manifested on this planet during the last few millennia if dogma-less consciousness had been the norm. Imagine the peace that could manifest now in “relations,” relatively speaking, if the consciousness functioning in those situations were concept-free.
Such freedom and peace will not be the norm because dogma and concepts have too strong a foothold in the warped consciousness that prevails. One means by which such freedom and peace could manifest in a few specks of consciousness, however, would be to complete the Advaita-guided enlightening process.
It is via that seven-step process whereby dark ideas and murky beliefs and dim concepts and shadowy knowledge—all formerly held in such esteem as a result of programming and conditioning—can be dissolved when exposed to the light of questions and to the illumination of reason. That is enlightenment. Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued with more on enlightenment tomorrow)
NEW PACKAGES CURRENTLY BEING OFFERED TO SITE VISITORS ONLY UNTIL NEXT WEEK:
The Entire Advaita Collection (all twelve items in all three of the packages below): $187.00 + S&H
“The Advaitin Beginner’s Package”: The Meditation CD, two Meditation Guides, Bullshit, and Spiritual Sobriety $62.00 + S&H
“The Mid-Level Seeker’s Package”: Peace of Mind, Liberation, What Happens When I Die? and The Essence of the Teachings $54.00 + S&H
“The Advanced Advaitin Seeker’s Package”: From the I to the Absolute, Consciousness/Awareness, and From the Absolute to the Nothingness $45.00 + S&H
To order, go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm , complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in the name of the collection or package(s) being ordered.
There is an awareness of the absence of a formerly heavy load of false identities that were being “carried about” in the fictitious “mind.” There is a sense of absence of a formerly heavy workload (since all of the effort required to maintain those false identities has ended).
What a burden it is to no longer have to believe…to no longer have to conceptualize…to no longer have to adopt ideas and then fight about them with those whose beliefs are different. Imagine the peace that could have manifested on this planet during the last few millennia if dogma-less consciousness had been the norm. Imagine the peace that could manifest now in “relations,” relatively speaking, if the consciousness functioning in those situations were concept-free.
Such freedom and peace will not be the norm because dogma and concepts have too strong a foothold in the warped consciousness that prevails. One means by which such freedom and peace could manifest in a few specks of consciousness, however, would be to complete the Advaita-guided enlightening process.
It is via that seven-step process whereby dark ideas and murky beliefs and dim concepts and shadowy knowledge—all formerly held in such esteem as a result of programming and conditioning—can be dissolved when exposed to the light of questions and to the illumination of reason. That is enlightenment. Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued with more on enlightenment tomorrow)
NEW PACKAGES CURRENTLY BEING OFFERED TO SITE VISITORS ONLY UNTIL NEXT WEEK:
The Entire Advaita Collection (all twelve items in all three of the packages below): $187.00 + S&H
“The Advaitin Beginner’s Package”: The Meditation CD, two Meditation Guides, Bullshit, and Spiritual Sobriety $62.00 + S&H
“The Mid-Level Seeker’s Package”: Peace of Mind, Liberation, What Happens When I Die? and The Essence of the Teachings $54.00 + S&H
“The Advanced Advaitin Seeker’s Package”: From the I to the Absolute, Consciousness/Awareness, and From the Absolute to the Nothingness $45.00 + S&H
To order, go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm , complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in the name of the collection or package(s) being ordered.
YES, WE SHIP INTERNATIONALLY. New rates by the USPS went into effect in May 2007. You may visit http://ircalc.usps.gov/ to calculate rates and view options. (Select your country, then in the “weight” box, estimate 1 pound per each book ordered.) Add $5 to cover package preparation, the assistant's trip to and from the PO, and the time for completion of international shipping forms.
