Conclusion: Putting it All into Practice
Before summarizing the information that has come before and concluding this tome’s analysis thereof, a few crucial disclaimers bear mentioning – a few tidbits of truth to keep in mind during your own uniquely brilliant journey to Enlightenment. First and foremost, it is important to remember that – no matter what any trendy teacher or gregarious guru1 might say to the contrary – Enlightenment is not about becoming a “better” or a “more advanced” or even a “more aware” person, but rather is about fully embodying the Kind & Caring person you already are and always have been. Similarly, real Enlightenment is not about learning any new &/or special information, nor is it about following any particular pre-approved path. Rather it is about fully enlivening the Truth of Oneness you even now already comprehend; a Truth you have known since your earliest toddlerhood. Finally, it is critical to remember that Enlightenment is neither a “one and done” voyage to be completed nor a singular “merit badge” to earned & donned. Varying intensities of pain & various forms of dis-ease are intrinsic parts of what it means to live a sentient life. They cannot be permanently avoided, and will continue to inflict themselves on your life no matter how “enlightened” you might become. That having been said, it is precisely these ever-reoccurring challenges that repeatedly allow us to transcend the same (by choosing to Care boldly for others despite the same) – and thereby repeatedly re-experience what it means to be truly Enlightened.
Of course, real Enlightenment can only be comprehended while it is being purely experienced, and it can only be purely experienced while it is being radically put into practice – while it is being boldly reanimated. And this is the singular goal of this work – not to provide you with a mere better understanding of real Enlightenment, but rather to inspire you to set forth and re-enliven the same. With this all-important purpose in mind, feel free to humbly ponder (and courageously pro-act) the following tenets of Truth …
*Enlightenment has nothing to do with dressing a certain way or believing a certain dogma or following a certain teaching, and everything to do with caring for others lovingly.
*Enlightenment has nothing to do with attaining new information or gaining “greater clarity,” and everything to do with reanimating the moral Truths already known.
*Enlightenment has nothing to do with attaining “inner peace” or mental calm, and everything to do with bringing peace to times of conflict & calm to moments of fear.
*Enlightenment has nothing to do with “waking up” oneself via wiser thoughts, and everything to do with reawakening others with one’s caring deeds.
*Enlightenment has nothing to do with “waking up” or “becoming conscious,” and everything to do with reawakening one’s conscience by becoming ONE.
*Enlightenment has nothing to do with protecting ourselves from strangers or erecting “healthy boundaries” against our enemies,2 and everything to do with dismantling the walls of greed & fear that keep us from any semblance of real courage & true intimacy.
“Those who seek the Light for themselves are merely covering their own eyes. For the Light is ever within us all – and can shine forth whenever we wish. Indeed, there is no need to learn about the Light or get better at beaming it or wait for it to burst forth at some point in the future. There is but the choice to open up and let it flow forth –the choice to let its Love enter & brighten the lives of any & all nearby.” ~ inspired by Helen Schucman
Enlightenment is nothing more nor less than the full-on experience of one’s innate Oneness with the Cosmos – one’s inherently intimate interconnection with everyone & everything nearby. And this experience is fully available – with no need for any additional learning or diligent practice – to each & every one of you in each & every moment of your lives. It is an experience that is (for self as much as others) both Bliss-full and transformative – one that goes far beyond mere feelings of happiness or ease or pleasure or comfort – one that willingly shoulders others’ burdens and brings peace to their suffering – one that Joy-fully shares one’s own blessings and revels in the victories of the community.
In-deed, a profound experience of true Enlightenment means feeling deeply intertwined with one’s surroundings (especially the wonders of Nature witnessed &/or the beauties of strangers encountered) – and then acting accordingly. It means feeling an overwhelming sense of gratitude for being consciously alive at all – and then acting accordingly. It means a loss of worry coupled with an increase of joyful anticipation, and a loss of anger coupled with an increase in gentle acceptance – and then acting accordingly … Enlightenment maintains a steadfast refusal to criticize, condemn, or even analyze self or others, and instead manifests the wholehearted ability to Care for those nearby (without wanting or expecting anything to be given in return). It defines “success” in terms of sufferings lessened or joys enhanced, and always errs on the side of lending a helping hand instead of letting others “figure it out for themselves.”
Enlightenment stand up for others behind their backs and makes them feel special & loved to their face. Enlightenment feels itself honored while giving anonymously to friends, and feels itself privileged while unabashedly caring for strangers and enemies. Enlightenment maintains a positive appreciation for life while striving to lessen pain or hardship, and a compassionate disposition towards the perpetrators of cruelty while combating their oppression & injustice. Enlightenment recognizes & embodies the simple truth that all sentient beings – human and non-human alike – have the same inalienable right to live their lives free from unnecessary abuse, suffering, &/or hardship.
So my dear ones, please all know in closing – regardless of how your own unique unfolding of Enlightenment appears or where it seems to lead – that you will always be able to let the same shine forth whenever you wish. These is indeed a glorious Light within each & every one of you – a Light that shines forth every time we choose to set our own fears & hopes & dreams aside in order to courageously Care for another. And nothing major or magnificent need be done to relight this wondrous beacon. For pure & transformative Enlightenment (see “In-Light-In-ment”) is fully reborn every time you are tempted to condemn an enemy and yet choose to forgive them anyway, every time you are tempted to wait for a “better time” and yet choose to serve your community anyway, every time you are tempted to “prudently” save your money (&/or safeguard your possessions, &/or conserve your energy) and yet choose to give anyway, every time you are tempted to complain about trials & tribulations and yet choose to announce gratitude anyway, every time you are tempted to gossip critically about another and yet choose to defend or compliment them anyway, and every time you are tempted to turn your back on a stranger and yet reach out to them with Kindness anyway. These are the choices presented to us in each & every moment of our lives, and these are the choices that allow us to repeatedly – and ever powerfully – allow us to manifest our latent great Enlightenment again & again. These are the choices that can let us shine forth who we truly are – the choices made to bring Peace &/or Joy to others, come what may to ourselves.
You are all brilliantly beautiful beings, my Friends …
May you all shine forth today accordingly.
“People will do anything, no matter how absurd, to avoid accepting the summons of their own Soul. Of course, one cannot become Enlightened by merely imagining figures of light, nor can one do so by merely making the darkness conscious. No, true Enlightenment only comes from witnessing the darkness nearby, and then doing whatever is at hand to make those shadows recede.” ~ inspired by Carl Jung
“For true Enlightenment to take hold, we must first remember that the only way to positively change ourselves is to boldly set forth to positively change our world. Indeed, we can only attain the best that life has to offer after we stop yearning for the same. Instead, let us remember not that we are loved, but that we carry Love within us; not that true love is waiting to be found, but that we have been called to recklessly & joyfully spread the same.” ~ inspired by Karen Hackel
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1It also bears noting that I consider myself to be neither a teacher nor a guru, and that I myself lay no claim to being in any way an “Enlightened One.” Indeed, anyone who openly claims to to have attained any significant measure of Enlightenment quite certainly has not done so – seeing as how anyone who has experienced true Enlightenment knows full well that it is an innately transient state of being; one that only exists during one’s chosen acts of self-sacrificial Love, and one that requires neither diligent practice nor exceptional intelligence to be realized. While I claim no special access to “the Truth,” I have indeed radically tested all of the information offered herein. I have regularly immersed myself in Zone 3 living – and thus do in-deed know that real Enlightenment is a viable alternative for each & every one of you, my sentient brothers & sisters.
2Setting boundaries, saying no, not letting others hurt you, &/or walking away from dysfunctional relationships is what our far more primitive “reptile brain” (home to the ego) wants us to do (constantly bombarding us with friend or foe, fight or flight, friend or foe, fight or flight, etc). Ironically (and quite tragically), all four of these choices are drenched in fear, and as such all four of them are ultimately counterproductive. Quite verily, it is the establishment of “healthy boundaries” in our relationships that isolates us from real Love. It is saying No in times of challenge that prevents us from doing any real Good for others. It is refusing to let others get close enough to harm us that is is a recipe for loneliness & despair. And it is in walking away from uncomfortable interactions that prevents us from ever knowing the ultimate Power within our own Soul — a Power that ever shines forth when our Love is given in moments of fear or difficulty, and never in times of safety or ease.
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