Why being enlightened is a better way to live.

wylo

I thought Id share my blogs final post, Im taking it down soon as theres alot of nonsense that people probably shouldnt reading.

Admittedly this post is a bit self indulgenty and show offy, but its my attempt to really encourage people to not settle for second best when it comes to simply living life and give this an actual go.

Mods, not sure if you dont like the idea of other links there, but I dont have an affiliation with them other than the fact that I post in them, (with the exception of the basis crunch one)
http://theselfisfalse.blogspot.com/2012/04/why-being-enlightened-is-better-way-to.html

Why being enlightened is a better way to live.
1 year on, and this will be my last post. Ill be taking the blog down in the next few days. While I believe its got alot to offer, its also got a lot of nonsense running through it. Thats fine, I wrote it to keep a blog of my experiences. But I just dont want people stumbling across some stuff on it and reading bad advice, considering I know so so so much more now about this perceptual phenomenon that is labelled enlightenment.
I may set up another new blog soon, but we'll see. Its almost a case of , the more you learn, the more you realise you have to learn, and thats fine.

This post will basically be a bit of encouragement of why I think absolutely everyone should pursue this.

THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD BOTHER

Around this time last year, maybe a few weeks before that, I was completely unaware that experiencing life like this was possible. I had maybe read an article or two on enlightenment years previously, but it had no more of an impact on me than reading any of the other possibly 1000s of articles Ive read over the years, be they online, in the newspaper, or in a book.
While I believed what I was reading, and I did believe enlightenment was a real thing, I just associated it as something you can only achieve if you are a Buddhist monk who practices for 12 hours a day for 20 years. And even then only the rare few experience it. Basically I didnt have a clue, AT ALL. And as a result had no interest at all.

Just to put things in perspective, if someone had asked me "Am I happy?" before this, I would have probably said yes, and I would have probably meant it, or believed I was meaning it at least. Id probably have said something like "Well maybe once I get my career in order, or get married, etc, etc, then Ill be properly happy". Im writing that just to point out to people that they dont need to be depressed or suffering from anxiety or anything close to that to want this.

However, I think the difference between me and people around me seemed to be that I was always chasing something, I always wanted to do something new in terms of career, I was often obsessed with hobbies, I was always down and unhappy in jobs, moreso than most people around me. I always had a massive imagination, far too big, almost child like. I was a bit of a Walter Mitty in hindsight,and then not always achieving or following through with the things I dreamed.

What I didn't know was I lacked inner confidence, and had very turbulent self esteem. Sometimes high , sometimes low. I sometimes felt above or below people. And even though I seemed chilled out, I would get stressed quite easily. Its really important to stress that I did not know this. It was very subtle. Im pointing this out to remind people that are reading this and saying "ah yea , but Im not like that" to not make such a quick assumption about yourself. Beliefs run deep and you just mightn't realise your own reactions until they are scrutinised.

All this changed, On April 14th 2011 I saw there was no self and was mostly liberated from it. During a period about 5 days in mid March 2012 I hit another path and broke down even more beleifs and began to stop experiencing even a sense of self.

Warning: What Im about to write may annoy some people, be it liberated or not. Because when you make claims and stop pointing out instructions, you create a distraction. This post is not about instructions. There is also a taboo with making some of these claims because people believe you are just selling junk. Whats been achieved here wasn't through a golden ticket of simply seeing "no self". It was achieved through diligent practice, hard work, painful painful honesty , a complete exposing of my ego so I could admit to myself and others that I needed to learn more. Its also worth pointing out that due to my short experience of this, just 1 year, I dont know will this be abiding for the rest of my life. By all accounts it will, but Im not going to put my feet up:

So what changed?

Well , it turns out , life/existence, by default, is an exceptionally amazing experience. From waking up in the morning to going to sleep at night life can be absolutely ridiculously happy and content, more so than you ever considered. A drug wouldnt touch this.

The clarity that can be harnessed after waking up, if approached correctly is stunning and if you work hard on it is exceptional and unimaginable. This clarity is both visual and conceptual. As in , stuff, i.e. everything around you looks so ridiculously clear that simply sitting out in the garden in silence can be a deep and profound experience, and yet funnily enough, a completely obvious and simply fun experience.
But also , regarding performing anything or doing anything, it is just so much more clear and focused.

You are no longer locked in by your sense of self at all. I was afraid to talk about "oneness" a year ago. I still dont like talking about it because it doesn't point directly to no self. It creates a distraction, but this particular post isnt about instructions or pointing so Ill go ahead. A sense of "being at one with everything" (I even cringe when talking like that) is a very real experience, there is no centre, no central controller or owner whatsoever, so what's left is a completely even mutual connection of everything, and simply the experience of a part of that in this tiny corner of the universe.

Life becomes ridiculously short. Im not sure why this phenomenon is occuring. My priorities have been completely realigned and readjusted, and fixed basically. While I haven't dropped ambition to do well for myself, and while my drive to be at least somewhat successful is still there. Deeply inside it is of very very very little importance. Its just this thing Im working on to keep me occupied. Thats about it. Friends, Family, laughing, enjoying myself, even being responsible for the sake of my own happiness. Thats the stuff that means most to me now. Ironically I think as a result I think I am achieving more in my conventional life because Im not investing so much emotion into it.

Suffering stops, all that stuff I listed above, completely gone! Certain phenomenon dont stop, but they become purely impersonal physical experiences. And once you get better and better at understanding these cycles and this phenomenon they have no more of an effect on you than the physical sensation of rubbing your hand off the wall. Thats what equanamity is.
You dont get numb, you just experience the experience as you should in its rawest form. Its a freedom to experience these emotions and not resist them in the slightest. Would you believe I used not have the confidence or the stability to embrace something like sadness? I used resist it. I used make it painful.

Any ill will just falls and falls away. Unfortunately it takes honesty to realise when you are doing something of ill will in the first place before it goes away.

Overall, it is simply a completely better way to live, its how you should be living, its like the universe was to feel good, and humans got caught up a level of insanity that made it unenjoyable to some degree.

Are you a fit happy person? Do you beleive that a very overweight unhappy person that is always down in themselves because of their weight is living life as good as they could be? I presume not, thats my analogy. Thats how it feels.

Why settle for less when there are clear instructions waiting for you to get something better out of life.

This is not about conventional life or personal success, its not about using this to achieve stuff in your conventional life. I used to think it was, even after liberation. You may look at my life and think "But he hasnt succeeded in this area/that area/etc etc, how is this benefiting him?". You are looking at it wrong if thats your view. Its not about anything to do with that , its about personal fulfillment and being really really happy with simply living. I actually dont even know if my life , in terms of job etc, would be any different today had that not happened.

I still have certain inhibitions, and still have a few fears that need to be dealt with. And overall Im still not fully done with this but im on the right road. And even though the experience here of having no control over life is quite a strong one, you dont start using that as an excuse not to clean up whatever is going on in your life that is stopping it from being a fantastic experience!

Here are resources to achieve this so far.
If you've a better way, cool!
http://liberationunleashed.com/nation/index.php
http://www.truthstrike.com/central/
http://dharmaoverground.org/web/guest
http://www.interactivebuddha.com/
And this book will help you learn whats actually happening as you go through the different stages, learn the cycles and learn that they are a consistent occurent and then you will stop beleiving any crap that goes on in your head :http://www.interactivebuddha.com/mctb.shtml
and a site that talks about no self in more detail: http://basiscrunch.com/

dyer

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I have found myself on quite a similiar path in my life so I can relate to much of what you have said. I also acknowledge that I have much work to do but am content and happy with the progress that I've been making, and the way in which my life has changed in recent years.

Good luck on your journey

You may enjoy reading this : http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/selvesnotself.html

wylo

thanks dyer,and best of luck to you too, Im going to check out that link now:)

gillad

Nice post wylo.Im on a similar path and not long on it.What i find amazing is the sycronicities of events which lead to more learning and a clarity and calmness but a lot of emotional pain too(and some physical pain too).Iv a long way too go but i enjoy every day good or bad because its important to feel everything to be free:)

Starokan

great post wylo. cheers for the links , some excellent reading there

issem

I never had to 'become' enlightened as such, it was born so that I was born enlightened.

I could see what the forbidden group have been doing since I was about 6 years old; all the sick perversity around me. I'm going to do it; I'm going to crack the scientific code to our enslavement. When I have the formula, we can all be free.

Irishwolff

Yes I try to forget about enlightenment because sometimes enlightenment can be built up to be something perfect. I find it better to ignore it because if I trying to be enlightened, then I am trying to attain a certain state of mind and I am trying to block thoughts urging myself to get to a blissful state. Of course it is silly to chase englightenment, its abit like a dog chasing its own tail. I believe we are already enlightened. I have wasted many a time trying to come to a state of enlightenment. Thinking it was a place of bliss and pure joy but of course it is not and even if you feel a sudden joy and overwhelimg happiness in mediation , the moment dosnt last. And then the next time you try to meditate and end up been unhappy because you cannot attain this place of pure joy.

Irishwolff

Yes I try to forget about enlightenment because sometimes enlightenment can be built up to be something perfect. I find it better to ignore it because if I trying to be enlightened, then I am trying to attain a certain state of mind and I am trying to block thoughts urging myself to get to a blissful state. Of course it is silly to chase englightenment, its abit like a dog chasing its own tail. I believe we are already enlightened. I have wasted many a time trying to come to a state of enlightenment. Thinking it was a place of bliss and pure joy but of course it is not and even if you feel a sudden joy and overwhelimg happiness in mediation , the moment dosnt last. And then the next time you try to meditate and end up been unhappy because you cannot attain this place of pure joy.

wylo

Hi IrishWolf, I actually take a different view, perhaps not if talking to someone with a great deal of insight , but in terms of pointing and directing someone else that wants to become enlightened, I dont see the point in thinking about stuff like "we are already enlightened".

Effort is required , even if in hindsight it is realised that no-one/no self was ever in control of the effort, its still required, its still a cause-effect phenomenon.

I think it is unfair for a teacher , who has probably put in alot of time to get enlightened, to turn around and give bad advice and tell people they are already enlightened.

The phenomenon thats being witnessed is already there and has always been true, so yea in a way "we are already enlightened", but a human still needs to learn how to witness it.

The label "enlightenment" is basically a description used for experiencing reality as closely as possible 100% of the time, the closer its experienced the more obvious its seen that there is no self, no experiencer,no seperation, no state of mind, nothing permanent, that wanting anything other than what is going on right now will cause suffering, and that all there is is just a continuous flow of changing experience. Even the concept of "your life", or a location in the world starts to fall off.
But you cant force these things by hearing one liners like "you are already enlightened", or "accept the present moment", these are things that arrive upon effort doing the right practice.


My advice is to you is to find a good model to work off, a model in which you are confident that the teachings are actually working, i.e people are actually getting enlightened and results are clear and obvious. Some maps, teachers and models leave people in limbo for much of their life, other maps,teachers and models are very specific in terms of what needs to be done to attain that experience.

Dont get me wrong, you're right not to hold onto the "goal of enlightenment", and to totally focus on what is going in your experience right now, all the time. HOWEVER , there is nothing wrong with acknowledging to yourself that you are doing that so that in the future , insight and realisations will begin to occur.


What I say there isnt really too popular an approach in the spiritual scene. Mainly because
a: People assume Im not experiencing deep enough insight because I am not describing the "result" and still playing to the idea that there is someone in control of whatever is happening.
and
b: It challenges cool sounding dogma that spiritual people love!!

Irishwolff

wylo wrote: »

The label "enlightenment" is basically a description used for experiencing reality as closely as possible 100% of the time, the closer its experienced the more obvious its seen that there is no self, no experiencer,no seperation, no state of mind, nothing permanent, that wanting anything other than what is going on right now will cause suffering, and that all there is is just a continuous flow of changing experience. Even the concept of "your life", or a location in the world starts to fall off.
But you cant force these things by hearing one liners like "you are already enlightened", or "accept the present moment", these are things that arrive upon effort doing the right practice.

Well I guess they are many words for "enlightenment" like "Buddha" would be another word. Actually as I understand it, most spiritual people would consider this to be God becuase it is everything, it is nothing, it is all inclusive and undescribeable in words. So arriving from this you are probably asking where are you in all of this, can you pin point where you exist, is there a certain part in your brain where you are. So I believe that you are that nothingness (enlightenment) that is aware of the mind constantly talking, aware of how your body feels etc., you are the awareness. So really you are everywhere and nowhere, this enlightenment can be referred to as God as well. So thats why we can say that we are God.

So for me the mistake I made when starting out meditating as such, was that I believed I was the mind. I was the mind observing the nothingness. So this was a big mistake and a classic mistake for people starting out meditation. Because when I heard about enlightenment, I was like how can I get to this place, what do I have to do to get there. And of course after a long time of this I realised that I was already there, I was the enlightenment, the nothingness, the buddha etc.

So once I understood that I was not the mind but nothingness, oneness, enlightenment... been aware of the mind. As a oppose to before where I was the mind been aware of the nothingness. So understanding this simple concept I think helped alot. After this the mind did not have as much strength as it had before, questions like if I stopped thinking was I going to die. Of course I wasnt going to die because I was the nothingness already. This also helped to clear my view of death, because I think when you die, the body and the mind mind will die but the nothingness (which is what you really are) will persist.

So I think in meditation if you really know who you are, that you are the nothingness then this makes you believe less in the thoughts that seemingly drop from the sky. When realising this in meditation, I was listening to my mind ramble on, as if an outsider listening to it but soon after a while it (the self talk) would die down but then come back again. Also a tip for anybody meditating is never to try and block thoughts but simply observe them and after a while they will go away or fade away and your attention will pick up on the finer deatils in life like you hear sounds outside more clearly, taste food better, see things more clearly and in detail but still remaining unattached

Northclare

I think it can be just as enlightening to come to a conclusion their is no God as it's enlightening to come to the conclusion that there is A God or HP.

To come to the conclusion "There is no God" can give a person total freedom to drop all their religious beliefs.
They just get on with their life without the fear of getting burned for all eternity in hell or having to live life according to a holy book.

To come to a conclusion that "There is A God or HP" is a personal thing but I have my own concept of spirituality which is my own no one else's

I know non believers who live a better life than believers.....
And that's not a superficial or self indulgent life it's just a simple life of living by wisdom and common sense.

And there are believers who have that in common with non believers.

It's the holy book thumping that gets to me

wylo

fwiw, I dont believe in a God or HP,

I think they are 2 different subjects, even though yes, the word is overlapped alot.

Despite all the insight, all the phenomenon, all the freedom, all the understanding, ive little doubt that enlightenment is no more than a human tweaking his brain to experience reality in a different way, a much cleaner fresher empty way with no blockage!

The rest is dogma, sometimes useful, sometimes not.

Northclare

Exactly my good man your onto something there

tune4yourhead

Thanks @wylo for this post, well articulated, it's not an easy process to describe

WilliamMelmoth

Wylo wrote:

You are no longer locked in by your sense of self at all. I was afraid to talk about "oneness" a year ago. I still dont like talking about it because it doesn't point directly to no self. It creates a distraction, but this particular post isnt about instructions or pointing so Ill go ahead. A sense of "being at one with everything" (I even cringe when talking like that) is a very real experience, there is no centre, no central controller or owner whatsoever, so what's left is a completely even mutual connection of everything, and simply the experience of a part of that in this tiny corner of the universe.

With respect, I would be curious as to how you define the Self and why you are so keen on obliterating it instead of refining / defining it? If I was an acorn I would prefer to fall far from the tree so I can grow and become a might oak, not fall in its shadow and be absorbed back into its root.

Xeper

Will