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The Holistic Mystic: |
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Enlightenment In Our Time
by Lonny Brown, Ph.D. |
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What is Enlightenment? The holy grail of knowledge? The Unified Field Theory of all philosophies, religions, and sciences? Christ Consciousness? Buddhahood? Awakening?
What does enlightenment mean to you? There is tremendous power in just asking the question. Is it relevent to your life, your family.. your everyday concerns? If human enlightenment is possible at all, where does it fit in today’s high-speed world?
It seems that all philosophies - from primitive myths to esoteric cosmologies, are attempts at addressing the insistent perpetual conundrum, What's going on here? All religions try to record and codify the "answers," and preserve them for posterity.
The object of our universal aspiration has been conceived throughout the ages in a variety of ways. Salvation. Godhead. Nirvana. Absorption. Illumination. Deliverance. Union. Perfection. Grace. Understanding. Wisdom. It is not a belief, but rather an experience. Ultimately, the Truth of all religions is One, and there is no disagreement. Call it the Perennial Wisdom.
The very act of conceptualizing and discussing the illusive prize of Enlightenment is a paradox. We (partially-evolved, self-centered, over-intellectualized, 20th Century humans) are prone to mistake words for reality, concepts for knowledge, ideas for insight. This leads to all sorts of confusion and suffering.
Yet there is no stopping the attempt at using symbolic language in our search for understanding and Truth. Our only hope as communicating beings lies in acknowledging the limitations of labels, even as we use them in the attempt to express the ineffable
Enlightenment? It is how we die and are reborn and die again and are reborn, again and again, in little ways, subtle ways. Each time shedding another layer, gaining insight, growing a soul.
I used to think enlightenment would come quickly, instantly, with the right attitude or correct breath, or mantra. Now I hear enlightenment in the city's roar - slow, steady, waiting for me when I am ready to relax the defenses that keep me holding on. - Eric Linter:
Life is a heroic journey. We are all pilgrims on a soul-quest, and Enlightenment is the Holy Grail we seek. We can stray, trip up, or get lost, but ultimately and inevitably, every soul must somehow come home to the heart of existence, the realization of Who we really are. Then, seeking ceases, and we perceive a reality we somehow must have known was here all along, but which is surprising nonetheless.
Here is what enlightenment means to me: A glimpse of a moment in which one becomes connected with the very source of collective intelligence. At a moment of Enlightenment, the truth can be seen clearly, and many questions find their answers. Enlightenment is also remembering or realizing our true, authentic nature, because the whole reservoir of life experience, from past, present, and future already exists within us. All we need is a quick ray of light to bring it back to our conscious mind. - Orna Benshoshan
The trouble with enlightenment is no one can tell you what it will be for you. Yet you are supposed to want it. It is devastating for the person you thought you were, yet it is the goal of much spiritual striving. It's a grace, it doesn't come just because you've paid your dues. Like bodies of water, it comes in various depths and has different qualities. Drink a little each day until you get oceanic, until the ocean is in you. Christopher (Briggs) Ember:
Enlightenment is not what you think, no matter how much you think about it. "It" is real, but intangible. It is the most valuable "thing" in the world, but it exists nowhere, and cannot be owned, kept, bought or sold. Its realization is both simple and utterly profound. It cannot be an object of striving, but rather an innate state of being which can only be allowed. It is closer than your own breath, yet it may take a thousand lifetimes to discover. Once realized, it transforms you, though few casual observers may notice any difference. It will save your life and release you from it at the same time.
The great teachers spoke of its virtues. Every religion promises it. The mystics sing its praises. Deep down in your heart of hearts, you know it's There. Enlightenment is possible. This very suspicion, hardly justified by our everyday experience, indicates that what we seek is yet innate, inborn. To look elsewhere amounts to what the contemporary writer Ken Wilber calls "wave-jumping in search of wetness." All we really need is a way to truly know ourselves.
(.. to be continued.. )
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Lonny Brown,
HHC.
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Lonny J. Brown, HHC is the author of "Self-Actuated Healing" (Naturegraph, Publ.), and "Enlightenment In Our Time," (BookLocker.com/
LonnyBrown).
His writings on holistic health have appeared on AOL's Alternative Medicine Forum and in Alternative Health Practitioner, Yoga Journal, and many other progressive publications.
Lonny Brown teaches holistic health, mind/body healing, and stress reduction courses at hospitals, schools and businesses throughout the US. His Web site also features essays, tapes, books, and links to a variety of integrative health sources.
Lonny J. Brown, HHC is also the author of " ENLIGHTENMENT ONLINE - The Newsletter for Spiritual Cyberspace.
holistic.com/lonny
lonny@holistic.com
lonnybrown@aol.com
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