Forward to Enlightenment
“When the stories of our life no longer bind us, we discover within them something much greater. We discover that within the seeming limitations of our form – our maleness and our femaleness, our parenthood and our childhood, our conservatism and our liberalism, the gravity that pulls us to the Earth and the changing of the seasons that ground us in time – reside both the freedom and the harmony we have sought for so long. Indeed, in that brilliant moment of awakening we discover that our individual lives are potentially perfect expressions of the entire mystery, and that with the requisite courage we can all rest in the center of its whirling; we can all become the hub of all worlds.” ~ via Jack Kornfield
For the past 15+ years of my life (since late 2003), I have been purposefully (and indeed somewhat radically) experimenting with the concept many call “Enlightenment” (and which I tend to call “practical selflessness”). And it was during this time that I happened upon some remarkable rediscoveries; illuminating not only a few simple yet extremely effective ways for folks to know whether they are truly walking through life as an “awakened” human being, but also uncovering many of the myths & falsehoods that characterize those who have chosen the more common and much broader route – a route that seems “enlightened” to those walking it, and yet a route that actually prevents those individuals from ever fully experiencing true Enlightenment – namely, the deep-seated Peace & unbridled Joy that all sentient beings ultimately seek. Near the very beginning of this journey I quickly noted that almost all of the tomes that fill the shelves of every bookstore &/or library’s “Self Help” & “Spirituality” sections (not to mention most if not all of the words that comprised the presentations, sermons, & speeches of all “New Age” preachers & gurus) were filled with falsehoods – offering advice that actually prevented people from experiencing the same Enlightenment they promised. Indeed, it is an almost certainty that you the reader have succumbed to a number of these misconceptions during your life, and thus that you too are in effect keeping yourself from enlivening the far greater experiences of Bliss & Meaning that await you.
And it is with this Truth in mind that this book took shape, with the simple intention of illuminating these “enlightenment impostors,” replacing them with legitimately effective alternatives, and thereby enabling your own Enlightenment to become far more pure – and thereby your lives, far more Joy-full.
Amen … Let it be so.
“It isn’t by getting out of the world that we become Enlightened, but rather by fully diving into it; by getting so attuned to what is available all around us that we start to ride the waves of our existence – never getting tossed, because we have become the waves.” ~ via Ken Kesey
“Enlightenment is not the filling of a vessel that has seemingly been emptied or the learning of wisdoms rarely known. Enlightenment is the rekindling of a flame that has been ever-smoldering – the uncovering of a light that has been but temporarily hidden behind the mountain.” ~ via Socrates
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