The second major distinction between the three possible states of human being has to do with how much (or how little) awareness is available to each, along with how those varying degrees of clarity are perceived &/or processed. With this in mind, feel free to humbly ponder & then courageously pro-actualize the following …

*Whereas the awareness of Zone 1 advocates remains essentially asleep (with their perceptions severely blurred by the emotional constructs of political divisiveness, religious zealotry, nationalism, greed, fear, indignation, condemnation, retribution, punishment, rejection/criticism of the downtrodden, various manifestations of bigotry, &/or fixating on the material to determine what is “real”), the awareness of Zone 2 followers has awakened slightly by recognizing & focusing upon the consciousness of self (characterized by advocating political reform, falling into spiritual dogma, treating the downtrodden from an emotionless distance, establishing “healthy boundaries” vs opponents or enemies, insultingly or angrily condemning “the ignorant”, &/or fixating on the mental to determine what is “real”). In noted contrast, the awareness of Zone 3 participants is fully Awakened in every moment of courageously chosen deeds of caring kindness. This “greater Knowing” of the Whole (by acting as a selfless agent thereof) allows them to be calm in times of chaos, forgiving towards the cruel, giving in the face of fear, joyful (or at the least peacefully compassionate) during times of sadness, grateful in times of “lack”, humble after instances of personal “accomplishments”, faithfully determined in times of failure, and active in times of fatigue or illness or injury.

*While the personal identities of Zone 1 proponents are essentially calcified in alignment with how their cultures and their teachers &/or their preachers &/or their

parents indoctrinated them to be (essentially demanding that they become agents of themselves; a la “my will over thine”), the identities of Zone 2 minions tend to become “fuzzier” – tend to get “lost to the world” by being passive observers more than mere moving members (believing that they have been somehow transformed thereby, and that they need to share that transformation with others as agents of wisdom; a la “my will for thine”). Contrastingly, the identities of Zone 3 enthusiasts are repeatedly & purposefully set aside in favor of living as agents of the Whole &/or as ambassadors for “the Divine” (a la “Thy will not mine” – be that divinity God or Buddha or cosmic consciousness or quantum interconnection etc). Praise is deflected onto others in times of personal success or victory (“I couldn’t have done it without …”), responsibility is accepted (without self-criticism) in moments of failure or defeat (“I accept & apologize for my unintended role in this setback”), and pain is taken on & known in times of others’ suffering (“I literally feel – & thus have heartfelt compassion for – your loss &/or sadness”).

 

 

*Though the moral compass (or conscience) of Zone 1 servants is normally quite crystallized (with them often believing that their own ethical precepts are the sole correct ones, with them claiming that their own particular views on Right & Wrong are binding on all others, and with them justifying their own failings as being either deserved or proper), the conscience of Zone 2 disciples is felt to be abstract & subjective (with them often claiming that morality is malleable based upon upbringing or circumstance, with them believing that there is no such thing as an objective Right or clear Wrong, and with them excusing their own failings as inevitable slips into selfishness). That having been shared, the conscience of Zone 3 supporters – again in clear contrast – is known to be tangible and consistent (whatever brings Joy &/or Peace without harm is Good; whatever intentionally causes pain or discord is Wrong), and yet is never forced upon others. The truly Enlightened know that the moral compass residing within all human beings is real because they regularly enliven – and therefore directly experience – the same. Slips into “sin” are accepted as probable, but never excused as inevitable, just as elevations into acts of selfless Virtue are accepted as challenging, but never abandoned as impossible.

*Insomuch as Zone 1 satellites become mired in self-absorption (entrenching the subconscious selfish instincts of the ego) – engaging in regular acts of self-advancement that thicken the “veil of duality”¹ that keeps them separated (indeed, psychologically isolated) from those around them, Zone 2 lackeys become similarly lost in their search for “Self-awareness” (the equally self-centered drive to awaken one’s own consciousness in order to find enlightenment or inner peace or personal salvation). It is true that the members of this latter group make choices that seem less selfish than their Zone 1 counterparts, and yet said choices also serve to distance themselves from others – by in effect merely replacing the flagrantly selfish Zone 1 sludge (that was applied & accumulated during their pre-Zone 2 lives) with with self-furthering concepts &/or dogmas &/or practices that are more subtle yet just as Soul-smothering. Zone 3 adherents, on the other heart, regularly pierce their inner “duality veils” with acts that intentionally harmonize with the Whole (as opposed to those that instinctively honor the self) – acts that reawaken the supra-consciousness (what some call the Cosmic Consciousness, and others the Heart Brain); the “place” where personal whims disappear and personal identity becomes completely unimportant – where the Joy & Peace of others fully supersedes one’s own.

 

 

*Whereas those enacting Zone 1 lives tend to see what they are conditioned &/or programmed to see, Zone 2 devotees are mostly just as blind – and yet do clearly See others in fleeting fits of brilliance; perceiving Oneness whenever they themselves happen to be residing in a “good place” &/or whenever “good things” are happening for their benefit. In contrast, Zone 3 enliveners lucidly experience a sense of Oneness in all their selfless moments – recognizing the same Golden Core that resides within all their sentient cousins, witnessing the wonderment that rests within both things familiar as well as those mundane, feeling the exuberance at play within all encounters otherwise considered banal or boring, and deeply experiencing every interaction with another as if it were both their first (with innocent amazement) and their last (with heartfelt gratitude) with them.

*While Zone 1 advocates grasp at & cling to things familiar while fearing the new or the confusing (they know what they know), Zone 2 followers explore concepts fresh &/or complicated – and yet they do so safely (intellectually & unfeelingly) and thereafter insert their “discoveries” into belief systems that have already been established, accepted, and adopted (they discover what is comfortable to discover). On the other hand, Zone 3 participants remain as open-minded as they are open-hearted – continually gathering information both humbly & courageously. They repeatedly immerse themselves into the unknown – not to collect more facts or “have a better understanding of life” for themselves, but rather to become more proficient with their kindness and more potent with their caring. They are open-minded to the new while honoring the still-functioning old – testing the potential Truth of the former against the tried & tested merits of the latter; melding together from both whatever enhances their ability to further Peace & Joy.

 

 

*Though Zone 1 servants see seemingly interconnected happenstances as manifestations of mere coincidence or fate, Zone 2 attendants uses the same as tools for the enhancement of personal knowledge or well-being. Zone 3 champions, on the other heart, know full well that all entities are quite literally interrelated, that all of them shift & evolve in each encounter with each other, and that the visible expression of this beautiful dance of Oneness (known as “randomness” to those of Zone 1 and “synchronicity” to those of Zone 2) is nothing more than the portion of the Cosmos nearby offering an exuberant summons to serve.

*Whereas Zone 1 proponents tend to fixate on their future to perpetuate the good from their past and Zone 2 members tend to fixate on their past in order to hopefully enhance their future, Zone 3 adherents soak solely into the present moment – and thereby fully transcend the discord in their past and inevitably create a far more harmonious near-future (for others, and thereby also themselves).

*Insomuch as Zone 1 backers feel there is no need to further awaken their awareness (“I already know enough”), Zone 2 disciples believe that a more awakened mind is both desirable & attainable – if one is willing to find the “right teacher” &/or undergo years of disciplined study &/or practice.² Again in stark contrast, Zone 3 enthusiasts know that an “awakened mind” is essentially irrelevant to the Meaning-full embodiment of a truly Enlightened life. Indeed, these people understand that a mind focused on its own well-being or advancement cannot by its very nature perceive anything close to the innately profound Oneness (or the “pure emptiness” or the “infinite expanse”) of its surroundings. In truth, they know full well that the environmental Whole can only be truly experienced during conscious acts that embody the same – willing deeds of humble service (a.k.a. practical selflessness or radical kindness or sacrificial generosity) that are solely provided for the benefit of others.

 

“This life is not what it appears to be. For beyond the brittle myth we have been given – the one where we daily experience the dances of pleasure & pain, success & failure, life & death – there is a far deeper life; a life that knows only Joy & Peace; a life that staunchly refuses to ‘go within’ and instead immerses itself in all nearby. This is the one true Life – the life that can only be known by truly living it.” ~ anonymous

 

*Whereas Zone 1 patrons believe that it is the mind that perceives reality and that it is the mind that should be trusted with that task, Zone 2 attendants tend to adhere to the belief that the opposite is true – namely, that the mind cannot ever hope to clearly perceive an innately illusory Reality, and thus that the mind must actually be “cleansed” & “released” & “eliminated.” Zone 3 enliveners, on the other hand, are fully aware that – while an objective Reality does indeed exist around us – we human beings are completely incapable of objectively perceiving the same. At the same time, these individuals have come to realize that the objective perception thereof is essentially irrelevant; that living in a state of real Enlightenment is actually made both more accessible and more potent by the fact that we do not possess the biological equipment necessary to objectively know anything of certainty about our surroundings. For in truth it is our choice to Love others unconditionally (via deeds of selfless generosity) that allows for the experience of real Enlightenment, and it is our innate & inescapable uncertainty related to our surroundings and our interactions with the same that makes that most noble of choices powerful. Zone 3 participants know that it is the mind that enables us to choose to “Love anyway” – to be kind to others when we are least inclined to do so. And these people also have come to understand that such loving “leaps of faith” are not possible in times of comfort or certainty. Love only becomes truly potent (and thereby allows us to deeply feel Reality) in those moments that we realize that we cannot be sure of its success, and yet we choose to give it anyway. Zone 3 people know that the mind is neither to be worshiped, nor is it to be abandoned. Rather, these individuals have come to comprehend that the mind is to be harnessed – used to willingly engage acts of goodness, especially in those moments it is least certain of or confident in the same.

 

 

“Enlightenment is simply a waking up from the most fundamental delusions of our mind – the delusion that we are each individual beings fundamentally separate from the whole; the delusion that our lives &/or the lives of our loved ones are somehow more worthy of attention than the lives of associates or strangers or enemies, the delusion that human beings are somehow superior to other non-sentient life forms and are thus licensed to enslave & abuse & commodify the same, the delusion that political problems can be somehow solved by the same political system that sustains them, the delusion that our version of God is absolutely & concretely correct, the delusion that a disciplined mastery of unconditional Love must be attained before our selfless caring bear fruit, the delusion that some of our deeds of kindness are ineffective or insignificant, etc. Most importantly of all, of course, is the fact that this waking up is actually a very simple affair – alongside the fact that it is not possible to effectively dismiss one’s mental delusions using the same mind that created them in the first place. Indeed, it is not enough to merely realize where we err in our thinking to truly awaken – and yet all that is required hereafter is to go forth and ac accordingly.” ~ anonymous

 

“To find that most elusive Enlightenment, we must do so much more than by merely aspiring to escape from our morose fixations on prior failings or our hopeful focus on a more fanciful future. No, to know that greatest of missing harmonies we must choose to live in this moment, and do so fully – to live with a water-welling gratitude for ever-present wonders, an unreserved honoring of all we encounter, and a unbridled joy at being alive at all. For the only way to know a life of Peace is to live a life of Love, the only way to live a life of Love is to live a life unburdened by fear, and the only way to live a life unburdened by fear is to go forth each day and live that life as an embodiment of bold kindness that is flagrant, even reckless. This and this alone is how we can come to glide smoothly through our days free of disenchantment & full of Joy. This and this alone is how to truly embrace the floating world and all the wonders within & above & upon it.” ~ inspired by Kilroy J. Oldster

 

………………………………………………………………..

Filed under: Enlightening Enlightenment by Scaughdt