Enlightenment

Enlightenment is like the monkey with a hand on the apple in the jar, frustrated, the monkey tries everything it can think of to get the apple out, including trying to bust the jar, but all to no avail. Finally, the monkey gives up and lets go of the apple as the monkey lays the jar down; the apple rolls out and the monkey receives what it wanted all along. That's the key, "letting go.” It's not the same as "giving up", no, it's letting go, and there’s a huge difference between the two. Letting go is just being the I am. All you need to obtain enlightenment is within you, just as you are within the All, the All is within you. Ego is the belief in the illusion of individuality; and out of this illusion comes fear which is the basis of all strife and suffering. Scarcity is fear-based, while abundance is love-based, but these are only two such examples out of many countless of which we may compare. So what is the answer to enlightenment then? The closest I can compare it in words is this: A Knowing and feeling at the soul level of your inter-connectedness to and as part of the whole of the All That Is and The Source from which it is, resulting in an inner peace and comfortable beyond intellectual knowledge.

A good saying I read was “Before enlightenment, chopping wood and carrying water. After enlightenment, chopping wood and carrying water. Enlightenment is a subtle process, whereas the process of becoming Awake can be rather jarring for some people. It can be very sudden, or such as it was in my own case, very subtle. Being Awake and being Enlightened are two entirely different things as well. One may be Awake, but not Enlightened; but all who are Enlightened, are Awake. Comparatively for example, All who have knowledge are not wise; but all who are wise have knowledge. Even when one is Enlightened, one does not say “That is it. I have achieved it. I am Enlightened.” No. If one does that, then one must question if they are indeed Enlightened or just merely Awake. When one is Enlightened, one asks “This is what I know, but what do I know not?” Enlightenment is often perceived as something to achieve, a destination, linear, but it isn’t that at all. Yes, it’s a milestone of sorts, but really it’s just a stepping stone on the journey. I’d like to use the concept of the before Enlightenment/After Enlightenment quote from above, and say: Before Enlightenment, seeking; After Enlightenment, still seeking. This is not to say that when you become enlightened that you won’t find answers to some of your questions; but you’ll also find that you’ll have many more questions than answers.

So what’s the difference between being an unenlightened and an enlightened then?

I can’t answer that for you with a blanket statement or answer; but I can answer it for myself and how I relate to it in my own experience in the hope that it will help you with your own experiences.

So what’s the point of becoming enlightened?

I think this question can be answered a multitude of different ways, just as the question “What is the meaning of life?” can also be answered in multiple ways; so I will answer it from my viewpoint as concisely as I can, lest I try and be all-inclusive and write a book about it vs. an article:

To grow, to change, to provide better service to others and to leave this World a better place for me having been in it.

…and so the journey continues.

Copyright © 2009 Ron Schreiner All Rights Reserved