The final primary pit of “active enlightenment” into which Zone 2 individuals frequently fall is the delusional belief that embodying Enlightenment requires a journey thereto – and a difficult journey at that. To help clarify (&/or free yourself from) the same, feel free to humbly ponder (& courageously pro-act) the following illuminations thereof …

*Whereas some Zone 1 advocates are certain that Enlightenment is a myth (a state of being abjectly impossible for any human to experience) and thus make no attempts to enliven it at all, Zone 2 acolytes believe that it is indeed attainable, though they also see the realization thereof as an arduous journey – one that requires extended time & disciplined effort to fulfill. The few who seem to “succeed” (i.e. those who attain a greater measure of mental tranquility while still remaining far from the Bliss that only comes from actively serving another) claim that their achievement is due to personal perseverance. In stark contrast, champions of the Zone 3 alternative know that real Enlightenment actually only comes to those who have released all strife & strenuous effort – those who see life not as an extended opportunity to “progress” or “grow” over various periods of time but rather as a series of instants that are both truly independent & intricately interconnected. These people choose to replace their learning with their doing, their self-help with helping others, and their self-improvement with improving their communities – doing so not by gradually increasing the proficiency of their “inner peace” over longer periods of time, but rather by fully & completely immersing themselves into each moment’s opportunity to actively Care. They do so not with struggle & strain in order to one day “manifest” what “should be,” but rather with joy & fluidity – to simply bring an enhanced experience of Harmony into each Here&Now.

 

 

“Enlightenment is neither an arduous process nor a destructive one; neither a desire to “become better” as a person nor a need to let go of that self; neither a building up of the Soul nor a crumbling away of the ego. No, to be truly Enlightened is simply to powerfully Be – to humbly see through the facades of all preexisting knowledge &/or current convictions about others, in order to boldly & lovingly reach out to them despite all fears or concerns.” ~ inspired by Adyashanti

*While other Zone 1 affiliates think that Enlightenment is mere happiness (i.e. the emotional uplift felt during experiences of physical pleasure &/or mental distraction) and that happiness is relatively easy to attain, Zone 2 disciples believe that it is found in “wisdom,” a state of deeper peace that is difficult to achieve – indeed one that requires disciplined practice &/or persistent effort to know at all (much less maintain over any length of time), and one that therefore inevitably leads to regular bouts of fatigue, sadness, &/or frustration (while striving to consistently “remain calm” or “be better” or “do the right thing” or “return to the Now”). These individuals also tend to believe that emotional pain is “part of the process” – that the journey to Enlightenment inevitably includes times of anger, sadness, or fear; times when one is encouraged to give in to these emotions by accepting their presence, indulging their inclinations, and waiting for them to pass before continuing onward. Zone 3 enthusiasts, on the other hand, experience life in a very different way. These people know that Enlightenment has nothing to do with personal happiness or inner peace and everything to do with bringing the same to others; that Enlightenment is neither physically strenuous nor emotionally challenging; that it actually harnesses times of physical limitation &/or emotional difficulty instead – consciously using them to empower subsequent choices; choices that are caring instead of callous, selfless instead of self-helping, and generous instead of gathering. In this way, Zone 3 participants comprehend that life is not an arduous journey after all, but rather a scintillating series of individual moments, each filled with wondrous potential; that even though there are no shortcuts on the path to real Peace, the route thereto is an incredibly short one; that even though bold steps must indeed be taken to arrive at any destination worth attaining, there is only one such step – the courageously kind step – that needs to be made to land fully therein. In truth, the Soul (a.k.a. the supra-consciousness, or the conscience) of every single person knows full well that the Cosmos is a single whirling Whole; one that is steadily flowing towards a state of ever-greater harmony. And as such we all innately understand that we are all crucial facets of this greater Oneness, just as we all innately know that we can (if we but choose to exude the humility to clearly See others nearby, and then embody the courage to boldly Care for them) all smoothly fulfill our own small-yet-significant roles in assisting the manifestation of that greatest of Ends.

 

 

Filed under: Enlightening Enlightenment by Scaughdt