Enlightenment is possible with a simple shift of perspective. I guess that’s really the only thing I want to say to people.
The logic loop involved in the whole this is so crazy.
First of all. If we stick to the popular definition of “enlightenment,” it is not possible… because it’s defined as something that you aren’t. That, then turns it into a concept, something in your imagination, an illusion. If the very idea of enlightenment is an illusion then it is not possible to attain.
The illusion that people are trying to create in enlightenment—that’s not possible.
But enlightenment itself is totally possible. As a matter of fact, it’s your birthright, my birthright, the birthright of everyone.
What’s really crazy is that, if you just step back from it a little bit, it’s obvious. We’ve all embraced this Eastern religious story of attaining nirvana without having the fundamental cultural background necessary to understand it. We’ve taken our Western cultural background and we’ve put it on enlightenment.
I have listened to many of people talking about enlightenment as a thing they don’t believe is possible. I’ve read books by western Buddhist scholars who basically say they don’t believe in enlightenment. This is putting a Christian twist onto a culture that they’re not understanding at all.
Enlightenment isn’t something that you believe in or don’t believe in; it’s just a reality. Like the sun’s going to come up, gravity constantly works—it’s that kind of reality that’s so intrinsic to all of life, to the human experience, that it doesn’t need to be believed.
Here’s another way to look at it, to see how silly it is. If a person is living their life with Eastern spiritual concepts and doesn’t believe that enlightenment is possible, it’s like being a Christian who only believes that hell is possible.
Like, what kind of a religion would that be? To believe that heaven’s not even possible, only hell is possible. Would you take up that religion? Would that be appealing to you at all?
No.
In any culture it’s the whole picture that matters. The full idea of the spiritual story makes a religion enhance people’s lives. In order to be in a Christian culture, you have to believe in heaven. You just have to. And you also have to have a basic assumption that heaven is for you, and hell is for those few horrific murderers out there.
Otherwise than that, people turn really mean.
Modern Christianity has become slanted towards sending everyone to hell, except for maybe you and your few friends. It pits neighbor against neighbor. Look at how changing just the percentages of heaven and hell has really destroyed our society.
If you’re thinking that most everyone is bad, then there’s an us and there’s a them. Same thing with enlightenment studies: if you are studying these Eastern religions that have enlightenment as a basis, and you don’t even believe that enlightenment is possible, you’ve just created hell. That’s all you’ve created.
Then we’re trapped. We start doing all sorts of techniques to try to make us feel a little better while we live our lives in hell. That’s what psychotherapy is, and mindfulness is, and affirmations are—just trying to feel a little bit better in the hell that we’ve created for ourselves. That’s nuts. That’s completely nuts.
So if you’re going to be studying any sort of religious Eastern philosophy at all, you have to believe that enlightenment is possible. It has to be the basis of your understanding, and possible for you.
Look at how that perspective changes everything. All of the sudden, if you decide that enlightenment is possible and enlightenment is for you, that completely changes your trajectory.
With that simple little change, what you do matters. With that little change, finding the now moment, and the here place is possible. In fact, it’s already happened.
So drop that silliness. Enlightenment is real. It is for you. It is available and possible for everyone. And so, if I have any message at all, it would just be that. And I should just make the same video over and over and over, because, once you change that one idea, everything changes.
YouTube Live – Ask Questions
Monday April 21, 1:00 PM Mountain Time
Let’s do an experiment! I’ve never done YouTube live without a Zoom interface. So let’s give it a try. I’ll be live on Monday, April 21st. Click on in with me and ask questions.
Also this week: