Experience is Not the Rx for Enlightenment

Stories of enlightenment experiences are incredible and get shared and retold. People beginning the spiritual quest read these stories and believe they are looking for an experience.

However, trying to reproduce someone else's experience is a big problem. As a unique human being, what are the chances that you can reproduce someone else's experience? Seeing this issue many assume that the experience they will have will be so powerful, so beautiful, so intense, that they will know they are enlightened. When that doesn't happen they feel lost.

When people realize their true nature they have a variety of experiences, often blissful, intense, and sometimes debilitating. It is easy to see how the intensity of the experience is taken for realization. This is a problem because no two experiences are the same.

Experience is not the bottom line for enlightenment. There is a reason that enlightenment is called "Realization." It is the realization "I am That." It is the understanding  at a deep level which causes the variety of experiences to arise. When the understanding and truth of non duality is seen, any sort of experience can ensue. Don't mistake the experience for enlightenment. It is always the realization "I am That," which is key. 

Presence in Time

Time is just a construct to measure change. No matter what time scale we use, presence is. Can presence change? No, so it is out of time.

Suffering

My understanding is that from the Absolute perspective everything is perfect. There is harmony in the whole. But, to claim that there is a state on earth where no harm comes to individuals, or that there is no suffering, seems a fantasy. Heaven on earth is to take one's perspective as the Absolute. I know perfection, but it does not preclude suffering on the relative level.

The Other Side Of Paradise

This is a post is in regard to the Esquire article  The Other Side Of Paradise

A very well written and informative article. Rick Archer in his interviews often mentions that most people do this work in a progressive manner whereby what is discovered is integrated in a manageable manner. If you view the process as a ladder (even the picture shows steps) and you progress slowly those aspects that are frightening and disrupting can be managed. A seven day silent retreat as described in the article as a "jump" is sometimes too much. 

Through personal experience with a Gestalt therapy group, I can report that psychosis can be brought on by therapy that is beneficial to most. When more than can be psychologically absorbed is experienced, severe psychological disruption can occur. It was a joke in our group that participation was hazardous and it was common that people lost their relationships, homes, and jobs. It was a joke because we were all committed to unravelling the suffering we harbored, despite having material security. In other words, the risk was worth it. 

There is a fine line between mystical experiences and psychosis. The mystic is simply able to absorb the blows of seeing what most avoid. Those who cannot absorb the intensity, collapse. The ego simply is overwhelmed and cannot take in the view. This is why I appreciate the joke that goes: "What's the difference between a mystic and schizophrenic? The mystic knows when to keep his mouth shut."

If you want a more complete view of the process I went through, check out my interview on batgap.com.

475. Maury Lee

Enlightenment Isn't Something You Get

Enlightenment isn't something you get. It's an understanding that comes from knowledge. The knowledge will not get you anything other than "the peace that passeth understanding." Then, of course, money and a big house are irrelevant. Being free of those needs is very satisfying.

Teacher Student Relationship

The teacher should treat you like a friend. That's key. A true teacher knows that any student is 100% the Self, just as he or she is. There can be no superiority in that. The friend simply has knowledge the other doesn't have. That knowledge correctly shared does not come with superiority or requests for servitude. The teacher only has the authority of knowledge and understanding. He or she is due respect for that, but nothing else.