enlightenment, the simplest way to put it...

I find the various definitions still vague...(not being enlightened in science, math, or other subjects, mind you)

Probably its because those of us who haven't experienced it yet don't, rather, CAN'T understand it. We have no point of reference. We have nothing to compare it to.

We know its got something to do with the spiritual and/or consciousness but, again, what the heck are those?

So, I decided to share something as a point of reference; something we all can relate to, to compare to.

enlightened has a synonym which is actually less confusing and is a step in the right direction: awakened.

I know you know that...but, wait, there's more.

awakened, wtf?

we've all had dreams. yes, we've all experienced it. I've seen a couple threads on here about lucid dreaming BUT I didn't read any post making the connection to enlightenment.

You see, when you are lucid dreaming you are awakened INSIDE the dream. You are not pulled OUT of the dream.

The dream continues with you in it but you don't let your dream carry you away with it. You know its a dream AND you are able to do your OWN thing in it.

In that dream, you are an AWAKENED being, i.e. ENLIGHTENED.

Its different from knowing and/or wishing it was a dream while frantically trying to escape something, ok?

Dreaming is just another form of thinking. "For most people, they don't think; thinking happens." -Eckhart Tolle

Just like dreaming, they have no control over their thinking; its an egotistical incessant stream of compulsive thinking that just carries them away with it like a tsunami would. Most of the time, they are not even AWARE they are thinking.

So, there you have it. That is the closest way to describe being enlightened or awakened.

non-thought & The separation of thinking and awareness are the first steps towards it.

Its easier said than done.

[edit on 11-7-2010 by reject]

This is some really thought provoking stuff.

These enlightenment threads just keep getting better and better.

I'll have to mull all this groundbreaking info over for a while before I respond...

Nice thread.

There is a Zen saying, "Before Enlightenment chop wood carry water, after Enlightenment, chop wood carry water."

This one always summed it up for me.

Sometimes I think I've gotten really close but they are just flashes of peace/understanding/happiness, etc.

Most sources I've read explain 'enlightenment' as a tremendous explosion of light and instantaneous understanding of the universe, and that it is almost life-changing.

Some compare it to being hit by lightning. Some say it's like dying. Some are taken by surprise and it's terrifying, like the Kundalini crisis experience.


I have no doubt there are those here on ATS that have gone through that but I can only imagine what it's like.

Here's what I can't wrap my head around.
People refer to lucid dreaming as though it's some great accomplishment. As though it matters, and is important and relevant and bears significance to a great many things.

Perhaps it is, but it's still just a dream.

Albeit lucid; it's still just a dream.

A Dream. That's all it is.

eta: If anyone can pleeze pleeze show me any different, I would appreciate it.

[edit on 7/11/2010 by ladyinwaiting]

The most asleep are the ones with the most predictably linear thought patters..

linear in the sense that instead of allowing the feeling you truly have behind each thought to guide the direction of where that thought leads, and the very way in which this journey occurs (internally), your mind has a set pattern of thinking in order to maintain the ego you beleive to be "you", mostly driven by all kinds of subconscious desires and beliefs. Getting from A to B is completely automated in such a state.

And as such, your experience of both A and B are somewhat detatched, and therefore there is less awareness surrounding each thought. But if you slow yourself down and really consider each thought as having its own gravity, naturally, associations and the awareness of all these associations will incrementally build in proportion to your ability to concentrate purely and objectively, unhindered by the shallow drive and direction of what we call the "ego".

Not that i have been able to deprogramm myself so that my awareness is free, just that i think ive finally understood the stepping stones one must overcome before finding the tranquil garden of enlightenment on the other side.

Peace.

reply to post by ladyinwaiting


yes, but if you could be awakened inside your dream then just maybe you could be awakened in this here, OUR dream

Originally posted by reject
reply to post by ladyinwaiting

 

yes, but if you could be awakened inside your dream then just maybe you could be awakened in this here, OUR dream

I see. Then please explain what "our dream" is? Are you saying there is a collective dream, in which you meet others who are dreaming the same dream? And if so, how do you know you aren't just dreaming?

Many masters have said that the enlightened have to control their dreams; that is an attribute of the enlightened station.

“Enlightenment, awakening, is when the energy configuration in the soul is optimum and the organism experiences all positive energy that flows through the soul.

We are now unenlightened, or in a state of “fall” because our inner energy configuration is out of line and we output to ourselves negative energy.

Buddha called it the adjective Nirvana-cessation—that is cessation of negative energy. . . . The cause of its rising is extinguished in the consciousness.

When that is done [extinguishing the cause of negative energy arising in the soul] through metaphysical practices of a high order, the human can be nothing but enlightened.

The Sufis call it Fana [annihilation]. That is the complete erasing of the trace of the negative aspect of personalities into nothingness where they no longer leave impressions [negative energy] on the consciousness. Then one lives in Baqa according to the Sufis. That is living with enlightenment but still having the outward appearance of ordinariness but inwardly one is at the throne of God.

So the key to enlightenment is the erasing of the impressions of experience on the mind through the erasing of the effect of personalities on the heart or consciousness.

Then one sees reality as it is--light, and feels reality as happiness, and knows reality as peace.

[edit on 11-7-2010 by inforeal]

If a woman loves her opportunity to be a positive contribution to the lives of others, and yet has never taken the time to be aware of her own self to the extent of even realizing whether she is or isn't enlightened, then what do we call her state of being? She lives to serve others and lighten their load, but she doesn't even know that she has a third eye or chakras or even that she may or may not have an ego that is ruining her chances of ever becoming properly aligned with the positive flow of the universe. And yet, there she is, doing wonderful things within the lives of those who find themselves within her sphere of influence.

Then, we have a man who has pulled deep within himself, and has focused his life on the intense study of himself. He can see through his third eye and his chakras are all properly massaged and tuned and whatever else you do to those things, and he's whipped his ego into complete detachment from all the distractions that are or could possibly be available to bring his enlightment down by way of physical access to him.

She cleans his room and makes sure he's fed, and when he gets sick, she tends to him - even though she really doesn't understand any of what causes him to isolate himself and request that she keep the sweaty rabble away from him at all costs.

How is he more enlightened than she is? And if he is, then why would anyone want to be enlightened?

Perhaps we worry about it to much? Just put your attention and focus on whatever it is you want to achieve and persevere. Enlightenment can be defined and gaining more light and knowledge then you previously had whether it be on spiritual matters or mathematics.

You will know when you make some break through, but also know just because you have made some break through doesn't mean you have arrived so to speak. There is always another level and higher understanding.

Edgar Cayce says dreams are communication's from 3 different sources. One is your body if you are neglecting or in danger of illness etc. Next is the higher or computer mind that helps you solve problems in your life. And 3rd is the the soul and higher lives that urge you toward your lifes mission.. So I am not sure what the advantage is to lucid dreaming unless you have reached a point in you spiritual evolution where you are fully in charge of your lifes and mission and need little counsel from you counsellors.

Someone made a good point about what good is enlightenment if it does not serve humanity. However there is more to service then just physical things like the women mentioned in the scenarios. Thoughts are things and there is much work to be done on the mental plane before we can manifest and more peaceful and brotherly society on the physical plane. many of the masters work on this level.