What Spiritual Awakening Is NOT?
Spiritual awakening is not a state, experience, or goal to reach in the future. As the Buddha taught, it is not a superhuman achievement or attainment. You don’t have to travel to India to find it. It is not a special state of perfection reserved for enlightened beings, the lucky or the privileged few.
It is not an out-of-body experience, and it does not involve living in a cave, detaching yourself from the realities of this world. It cannot be transmitted to you by a fancy guru, nor can it be taken away or lost. You do not have to become anyone’s disciple or follower.
What Is Spiritual Awakening?
It is a constant and ancient invitation – throughout every moment of your life – to embrace yourself exactly as you are, in all your glorious imperfections. It is about being present, coming out of the epic story of past and future (“the story of my life”) and showing up for this precious moment, knowing that even your feelings of non-acceptance are accepted here.
It is about radically opening up to this extraordinary gift of life, embracing both the pain and the joy of it, the bliss and the sorrow, the ecstasy and the overwhelm. Knowing that you are life itself – vast, awake, alive, free – never separate from the Whole
Awakening is Not a Destination – It Is your Birthright, Your Nature.
As Spiritual Teacher, Eckhart Tolle says, Spiritual Awakening is your “natural state” of feeling oneness with your being (soul) and staying in that state of feeling oneness with your being. You are not feeling your being because your mind is making too much noise.
Spiritual Awakening is absolute cooperation with whatever happens in the present moment.
Spiritual Awakening is Very Ordinary and it is Nothing Special.
“Do not think that enlightenment is going to make you special; it’s not. If you feel special in any way, then enlightenment has not occurred. I meet many people who think they are enlightened and awake simply because they have had a very moving spiritual experience. They wear their enlightenment on their sleeve like a badge of honor. They sit among friends and talk about how awake they are while sipping coffee at a cafe.
The funny thing about enlightenment is that there is no one to claim it when it is authentic. Enlightenment is very ordinary; it is nothing special. Rather than making you more special, it is going to make you less special. It plants you right in the center of a wonderful humility and innocence.
Everyone else may or may not call you enlightened, but when you are enlightened, the whole notion of enlightenment and someone who is enlightened is a big joke. I use the word enlightenment all the time, not to point you toward it but to point you beyond it. Do not get stuck in enlightenment.” – Adyashanti
(Credit – Jeff Foster and Eckhart Tolle)
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