How Do We Become Enlightened?
Hello everyone! In this post, I’d like to talk about the enlightenment process and the way this actually unfolds over time. Obviously, I am not enlightened yet, but I am actively engaged in this journey everyday and I’d like to offer some thoughts about the things that really need to take place in order for us to progress. Of course, this must be an experiential journey, but it always helps to have a clearer idea of the process!
You can also watch my video about this by clicking below or scroll on to continue reading.
It all comes down to a deeper experience of who you really are.
We are eternal, cosmic beings, endowed with unlimited power and ability to create, but we BELIEVE ourselves to be limited. This basic misunderstanding (avidya), will be gradually replaced with knowing as we move deeper into the experience of our own internal essence. Progress on the spiritual path means allowing more of your higher self (purusha) to flow through you, more of the time.
Progress on the spiritual path means allowing more of your higher self to flow through you, more of the time.
So how does this happen?
Enlightenment unfolds as your limited concept of self gives way to the unlimited essence flowing through you. As you begin to have a direct experience of the life force within you, and as you allow this energy to flow with total trust and surrender, you will be carried to a deeper experience of truth.
This happens mainly as a result of two things:
Releasing resistance
Increasing sensitivity to the flow of energy (prana)
What is resistance?
Resistance refers to all of the thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs that prevent the full power of your soul from flowing through you. All negativity, all belief in limitation or lack, all thoughts or feelings of powerlessness; these create resistance. By preventing ourselves from receiving the full flow of who we are, we develop many limited ideas about ourselves and the nature of reality. This basic misperception holds us in an unenlightened (limited) state.
It’s important to note that all of these resistances are created in our mind. As we move along the journey of meditation, we naturally learn to transition from a state of constant mental output to a state of receptivity. This is the shift that allows our resistances to begin fading away.
As we learn to cultivate feelings of gratitude, receptivity, and surrender, we begin to release our blockages through our practice, and we allow ourselves to receive an ever-increasing portion of our unlimited nature. This creates a much smoother, more stable, and more harmonious flow within us, which helps us to express more of our infinite potential. The mind also becomes fit for deeper and deeper meditations, due to the lack of mental/emotional tensions within us.
The yogic term for allowing this unrestricted flow of Self is Isvara pranidhana: surrender to the highest. The more deeply we experience our eternal nature, the more fully we can surrender to our higher selves. By bringing this attitude into our practice, we can dramatically improve our ability to strengthen this connection and let our unlimited nature shine through.
If you think of a Master like Jesus or Buddha, they did not have a single thought, attitude, or belief, anywhere in their consciousness that prevented the full flow of their higher self. They simply WERE their higher selves, fully embodied in the physical dimension. They both came to serve as powerful examples of our own true nature. We will be as they were as soon as we let go of who we think we are, and experience fully who we really are.
Increased sensitivity to life force (prana)
In addition to all this, we are also becoming increasingly sensitive to energy. We are learning to move beyond the physical senses and to experience our internal essence directly. We direct more of our resources inward.
It is considered normal in our society to have our senses and attention focused externally all day long. Many times this is often applauded and rewarded! If we wish to deepen our experience in meditation, we must learn to invest a greater portion of these resources into our inner experience. This process of internalization is known as pratyahara.
Since our prana is developing and growing within us, AND we are becoming increasingly sensitive to and aware of energy in general, we can start to have a greater experience of who we are beyond the physical layer.
This takes us deeper into meditation and we could say that we are learning to experience ourselves in a deeper, less restricted, and more accurate way.
We have started to open ourselves to an unfiltered experience of Truth.
How does meditation lead us to enlightenment?
Meditation means gathering our mental/emotional forces and concentrating them towards our inner experience. With some of our blockages out of the way, our mind becomes calmer and more stable. This makes concentration and positivity take far less effort to sustain. Instead of remaining distracted by our desires, shortcomings, or problems, we are able to maintain concentration on our internal energies for longer periods of time.
With an increased level of prana flow, we can tune in more easily. Over time, we quite literally “turn up the volume” of internal energy, which makes it much easier to focus upon. By focusing on these deeper layers within, we begin to release the limited ideas and misperceptions we have about ourselves, and the true nature of reality can be experienced.
A word of caution here: increased energy often means decreased stability. It is paramount that we work to improve mental/emotional stability FIRST, and begin to increase energy later. Only when you are able to easily hold yourself in a state of calm, clear, brightness (sattva), would it be appropriate to increase the intensity. There is no benefit to having more energy if you cannot control yourself. Just look at someone who has taken a heroic dose of drugs; they have ZERO control! They are at the mercy of an experience they cannot control.
Enlightenment is the process of learning to have an UNFILTERED experience of reality.
Your true nature is constantly being filtered and restricted by your thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs. This leads to a misperception of who you really are and prevents you from having the full, unlimited experience you are designed to have.
By focusing internally in meditation, with an attitude of receptivity, we can allow this inner flow to take us to a deeper experience of Truth. The more deeply we experience who we really are and the true nature of reality, the more enlightened we become. Quite literally, enlightenment is the result of learning to experience who we really are, without all of the filters, judgements, or biases we normally project onto our life experiences.
Let’s make it simple
As we relax and release our mental/emotional tensions, our internal energy flow becomes stronger, smoother, brighter. This makes the life force within us easier to connect with. By repeatedly focusing on these internal energies, with an attitude of allowing and surrender, we begin to experience the source of life directly, and all the limited ideas and misperceptions we have about existence fall away naturally as a result. This then paves the way for the process to repeat at a higher level, until we attain the state of conscious unity (samadhi) with Life itself.
A daily practice is the key
I hope this article has gotten you excited to meditate every day and I hope you have a clearer picture of how to allow this process to unfold naturally. Just make sure to bring your awareness inwards and observe without any feelings of judgment or any attempts to control anything. Any and all judgements about yourself, your experience, or your progress will only serve to hold you in a state of resistance. Simply trust, surrender, and allow your higher self to flow through you. It is YOU, after all :)
I wish you all the best with your practice and in your life. If you enjoyed this article, I hope you’ll come say hi on YouTube and Instagram! You can find my info below. Cheers!
@ https://www.youtube.com/c/johndennery
@ https://www.instagram.com/enlightenedgardener/
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