What Makes All the Difference (Quote of the Week)
We cannot know how many of us are actually going to succeed in becoming enlightened in this life. We can never predict these things. But the question of how many of us are going to come to that point in our own evolution where we are willing to do anything that we possibly can in order to succeed is a very different matter. The power to go that far lies in our very own hands. And in the end, there is nothing more that any of us can do than want to be free more than anything else and be willing to back it up with action and with sacrifice. From a certain point of view, whether or not we actually succeed in becoming fully enlightened doesn’t really matter. It doesn’t make any difference. But what does make all the difference in the world is whether or not we are truly willing now.
Please note: While we upgrade our current email system, we will not be sending our Quote of the Week email. We will resume sending in the near future. You can continue to read a new quote each Monday here on the EnlightenNext Editors’ Blog.
Filed Under: EnlightenNext Editors’ Blog • Evolutionary Enlightenment • Quote of the Week • Spirituality
So true Andrew…Age doesn’t always bring wisdom/enlightenment….sometimes age comes alone…
Its all in our resolve/determination..single minded, yet flexible..to keep moving with love and purpose towards ones destination.
Making ever so small changes in our lives we build new foundations for the creation of large developments to take place here and now. Looking forward into the unknown beyond all expectations we are able to become this positive force of life with such potential and empowerment to make choices consciously with a step in the right direction towards enlightenment.
in other words ” are you ready to lose your individuality ?” not me – says the mind
Hi Ramesh, re: “..are you ready to lose your individuality ?”
If you speak about spiritual progress and Awakening, it seems it would be necessary somewhat but the egoistic individuality is different from that of a spiritually Awakened one in that the Awakened Ego is attempting to minimize that egoistic individuality, more concerned with one that works for a more expansive interest that benefits many rather than the personal ego.
Anyone: Is that acceptable to your thinking or not?
yes, the individual becomes the universal
hi frank,
this may be the person you are looking for
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Katie-Davis/22822024157
Hi ramesh, TY for your response and reference to Judy. She speaks of inquiry focusing on yourself and of being spontaneously awakened. Is she a teacher for you? I would have liked to ask what she would say about being Awakened. Also what objective she would say is the inquiry on yourself? Can you comment on those points?
Aloha,
hi frank,
i am neither a guru nor a disciple, just sharing my understanding or point of view
” all are struggling towards the goal, some knowingly, some unknowingly “
Hello Ramesh, re: ‘all are struggling towards the goal, some knowingly, some unknowingly.”
You point out the difference between those who are spiritually Awakened, who have experienced a transformative event personally and are committed to consciously acting in spiritual ways concertedly. This recognizes that there are those who have not had this experienced. They can be very good people who do good but not in the same committed way Awakened people do. The experience is a step toward Enlightenment. As we know many don’t have a clue, behave without consciousness and even in evil ways.
How do you stand personally re: being Awakened, if I may ask?
Namaste, Aloha,
hi frank,
i think i have already answered your question in my previous comment, the second comment is not my quote but which i believe to be true, some power is trying to express itself…..
Hi ramesh, re: “i think i have already answered your question in my previous comment”
Rereading your comments, I seem to be unable to find a response to my query of your personal experience with becoming Awakened. I would appreciate your sharing this, if you would?
Here is something to consider … enlightenment begins when we own the moment, consciously. As we allow our “willingness” to choose behavior, congruent with best Self flowing, ‘doing’ fades away… we embrace our ‘being’ qualites to co.create, re.create, and pro.create.
Can we choose to ‘BE’ free of need and want; attentive 2 choose our intentional creations 4 what we would like to have occur in our life’time’?
Within Quasi-science, Theosophy, and Neuro.genesis call “IT”, now… a Choice Point… Respectfully,
Enlightenment is a love affair between you and God and as in any love affair, there is no need for “we”, for the crowd “to know”. Enlightenment as love needs special atmosphere of intimacy and secrecy for it to flower. Enlightenment is the most intimate experiencing of your being and there is no “collectivity” alternative for it. That is why the collective living attributes are not applicable to enlightenment – we cannot speak of succeeding in enlightenment or planning it or scheduling it. Even the desire for enlightenment is not a guarantee for enlightenment to happen. Vice versa, more we desire, less we have the chance to get it. Enlightenment is such a natural phenomena, as sleep, and it comes on its own accord. More you push yourself towards it, more it eludes you. Not the superficial desire of the mind, but the longing of the heart is the fertile soil, which prepares the sprouting of the enlightenment.
Enlightenment is not a doing, not an achievement. All doing and hankering for achievement is from the mind. Enlightenment is when all doing stops, the doer has disappeared, dissolved into the Ocean of existence. For the mind, it is difficult to understand, because the ego of the mind can exist only through doing, through struggling. Ego has to die out for the enlightenment to come, doing has to stop and then in the beauty of the present moment now and here, enlightenment suddenly is. Enlightenment is your last experiencing as you, an ecstatic you. Then even this ecstatic you disappears and only the Whole is. The drop has dissolved into the ocean. Enlightenment has a beginning but no end; it is a journey. Mind has a beginning and has an end. You are eternal, no beginning and no end.
All willing is from the mind thus has no substance. What really matters is your enlightenment, your rebirth as a new man, a completed being.
Sun also is ray of the ray of that of light which can be
known only by ray not by Sun.
be ordinary to be extra ordinary.
Hi Aliya,
May I ask if you speak as a guru or from personal experience? The tone of your comments are always as if you are teaching others what to believe, think and see and wonder if you can verify your truths from personal or second-hand experience? Learning from teachers and books is fine and good but I think where it really matters is to experience the truths in personal ways from your life. I realize what you speak about are mostly abstract concepts which are time-honored but as we today question everything I bring this up to discuss with you and would appreciate your thoughts.
Aloha, Frank
We are God; there’s not two. Clinging to duality, you speak only out of the side of your mouth.
Please, Caroline, do not project yourself, at least not on God! God is love and you want to scrap “love” from this blog, you want to scrap God! The same way as you want to scrap enlightenment and instead introduce brain evolution.
Yes, you are right, enlightenment is not about brain evolution, mind evolution; enlightenment is when mind is no more. Enlightenment is about Being in Love with God, Tao, Brahman, Shunyata, enlightenment has nothing to do with your mind projections.
In discussing these metapysical issues like who, what is God, it’s OK to state your concept but I wonder if the insistence on that view can be justified? Aliya has her view and you yours. Then there are atheists and some other views as well. Do you honor their insistence of their concepts or not?
God reveals to be the most misused word ever. People keep projecting on God all their mind inhibitions and conditionning.
There is only one way towards God and this is through the heart, not through the falsifying mind.
God is love! If somebody wants to scrap “love” from this blog, this body in fact wants to scrap God Himself! Ego never feels at ease with God, God is annihilating all egos. The same way ego wants to scrap enlightenment and instead introduce brain evolution. Ego feels threatened by the whole enlightenment thing, because then ego will be effaced, no more.
Enlightenment is not about brain evolution, mind evolution; enlightenment is when mind ego is no more. Enlightenment is about Being in Love with God, Tao, Brahman, Shunyata, enlightenment has nothing to do with any mind projections and ego trips.
Message
MESS = Material Energy Speak Science.
AGE = Ambition Green Economy
to
S = Serenity
AGE = Alive Graitude Essence
Sage = ANDREW COHEN
Message
MESS = Material Energy Speak Science.
AGE = Ambition Green Economy
to
S = Serenity
AGE = Alive Gratitude Essence
Sage = ANDREW COHEN
Hi Aliya, re: “Enlightenment is a love affair between you and God and as in any love affair, there is no need for “we”, for the crowd “to know”.
I wonder if you’ve had that impulse when you’ve fallen in love where it’s too good to keep to yourself and you feel you want to shout it from the rooftops, this grace and miracle that’s granted to you. I feel this is what happened to me and I can imagine to many others experiencing spiritual awakening. Yes, it does seem like a love affair and you may imagine it being between you and God or some higher power.
As for not needing or having it be a private matter that doesn’t need others, I think there was also the need to have my experience be confirmed as the real thing and wanted others to compare notes with. By now I don’t need that kind of confirmation but coming in contact with others to compare notes with gives me reinforcement and some sense of finding there are others who have Awakened, not just me. I think many find pleasure in describing and talking about love, in this case the spirituality kind.
Namaste, Aloha, Frank
Dear Frank,
Exhibitionism is not love, even less so Divine Love. All exhibitionistic tricks are ego trips.
Enlightenment is when your ego has died.
Exhibitionism is not love, even less so Divine Love. All exhibitionistic tricks are ego trips.
Enlightenment, Awakwning, Satori, Samadhi is when ego has died.
Hi Aliya, re: what you have posted elsewhere:
“I don’t try to project beliefs, I know.” or words to that effect.
____
It seems to me you put forth your beliefs based on what you have had revealed to you in your self-knowing.
I can accept that you are so steeped in the culture of traditonal spiritual teaching that you have absorbed that teaching and spiritual orientation through mental osmosis. Thus what you post in your messages seems like you are posting your view of what truth is and therefore protest, contradict and seem to be unwilling to entertain or respect other opinions of what others believe to be truth, what any blog is essentially about.
You also seem not to take much stock in the message of Enlightenment Next’s message and seem held more by traditional spirituality.
If we try to teach or persuade others, it seems to me we can only present material as best as we’re able and then allow those ideas to percolate by themselves, hoping they will find fertile ground to take root and grow. Other than that, it seems like proselytizing and evangelizing, which are somewhat outmoded on this blog.
Dear Frank,
Please bear in mind that you do nothing more but interpreting your own mind stuff. That is how mind does – it sees things the way it wants them to be, the way it comforts the mind things to be; mind is not capable of seeing the reality directly, the way Reality Is.
Andrew,
I wonder if there’s any word that has as little meaning as the word “enlightenmnent.” Please, let’s scrap it. The Earth is our body, so let’s care about it; we are all suffering, so let’s care about each other as though the other were ourself. That’s it!
The human brain needs to evolve but don’t go calling that enlightenment. And “love” is another word that should be scrapped. Let’s speak of tolerance and caring, attitudes that mean something, rather than just sounding pretty.
There isn’t a choice made by any human, or other life entity, then, now or henceforth, that is not in accordance with that entity’s perceived self-interest. We can go so far as to say “enlightened” self-interest when speaking of more inclusive choices, but we need to understand the nature of evolution, which is, in part, the maximization of potentials for growth.
These potentials are synergistic, so all this talk about “ego” and “enlightenment”, is really besides the point. LET’S GET OUTSIDE OF OURSELVES, instead of focusing on our individual navels.
Thank you.
Hi again Caroline, re: “I wonder if there’s any word that has as little meaning as the word “enlightenmnent.” Please, let’s scrap it.”
I also have a reservation re: the use of the word “Enlightenment” but differentiate it with small (e) enlightenment. I now prefer the term An Awakening to mean a transformational personal event (satori in Zen)that brings with it a higher consciousness and understanding connection with Being. There may be Enlightened individuals among us, living beings who have attained such a high level of consciousness. I believe anyone who claims to be Enlightened is egoistically self-proclaimed. I think even the Dalai Lama would disclaim being Enlightened, though he is on a high level of consciousness and a great teacher with great wisdom.
Regards, aloha,
The Buddha taught: “Rare is to be born human; rarer still is to have heard of Enlightenment; and most rare is to pursue Enlightenment.” The Buddha also is claimed to have said that once a person has heard of enlightened truth, he or she will never be satisfied with anything less. If one accepts the concept of retrocausation, explored by researchers such as: Dean Radin, Edwin May, Richard Shoup, Russell Targ, and Thomas Etter, then it is possible that the pursuit of enlightenment is the result of one’s ultimate realization of the Self.
Hello Elizabeth, re: “The Buddha also is claimed to have said that once a person has heard of enlightened truth, he or she will never be satisfied with anything less.”
Have you personally yet had that disclosure of enlightened truth? The Zen folks speak of satori, we in the West speak of The Awakening. Where do you stand in this regard, if I may ask?
Aloha, namaste!
Dear Frank,
A few things come to mind (1) I’ve heard it said that one can only go as high as one has gone low. I’ve experienced some high states, siddhis, Divine guidance/intervention, and frequent non-local NDE/OBE experiences. These experiences often pull up dark night experiences/ stacks of karma to be transmuted. I’ve let go of attachment to the high states and just feel determined to learn and love as much as I can in this life. (2) I’ve also heard it said that contact with an enlightened teacher is carried within one’s aura. I’ve had the grace of experiencing proximity to a teacher and others who’ve been touched by enlightened ones. (3) Karen Armstrong describes the Sufi mystics and their claim that once one has had an experience of God, he or she will feel at home worshipping in any man-made church. I feel called to the Christian mystics and the Christ devotional path. I feel regular intimacy with the Divine, as all is God. I love Sufi poetry treating the Divine like the Beloved. What’s your path Frank? I’m delighted to meet like-minded friends!
Hi Elizabeth:
TY for your response and sharing. As for my path, I once took the Bodhisattva Vow from none other than the Dalai Lama, along with others in the auditorium. I was hesitant not sure I was able to vow to do something so heavy but I said the vow nonetheless. But lo and behold, I seem to have taken it to heart and like those who ask What would Jesus do, I began to ask what would a bodhisattva do and then trying to do that. By now after several years of doing that, I feel I’m a bodhisattva, not in any grand way but just doing what I understand to the best of my ability, attempting to raise the conciousness of myself and others to attain higher consciouness toward eventual Enlightenment.
Best regards, Aloha, namaste!
Hi Elizabeth:
Are you familiar with “Speaking of Faith” radio show? I heard such a delightful interview that I share here with you:
(July 1, 2010 show)
Shane Claiborne is a leading spirit in a gathering movement of young people known as the New Monastics. Emerging from the edges of Evangelical Christianity, they are patterning their lives in response to the needs of the poor — and the detachment they see in our culture’s vision of adulthood. With virtues like simplicity and imagination, Shane Claiborne and his community, The Simple Way, are taking on the gap between the churches they were raised in and in what they perceive as the essence of Christianity.
Visit the Web site (Speaking of Faith)
Enjoy! Aloha, Frank