Realising
Spiritual Enlightenment - A Rough Guide
by Andrew Paterson
Countless teachers, gurus and books offer the secrets to spiritual
enlightenment. But few can get you there and even most of these
will not understand the multiplicity of enlightenment.
ANYBODY AIMING FOR ENLIGHTENMENT is on a trip to a mythical
destination. It is a journey that, however long and arduous, is
believed to be necessary only once in our lives (or once in all
our incarnations, if we believe in many). For when that destination
is finally reached, the traveller has arrived at a state of mind/spirit
believed to be permanent: the spiritual Rubicon has been crossed
and more travelling becomes unnecessary because the ultimate goal
has been realized. At least that is the theory, and it is an idea
that has driven countless seekers to all corners of the Earth,
following all kinds of teachers and practices in order to achieve
this prize. And the fact that so few seem to achieve it is no
discouragement; in fact, it only makes the jewel all the more
attractive because of its priceless rarity; it retains its mythical
status, and nothing is more seductive than a myth. (I am using
the term 'myth' in its deeper sense of a deeper truth of the collective
consciousness, as opposed to mere fantasy.)
The simple fact is that 99.9999% or more of people who aim for
enlightenment in this lifetime will not achieve it (according
to their own definitions), and in the process of not reaching
it they will enrich the lives of many thousands of enlightenment
teachers and gurus around the world, with both attention and money.
Enlightenment is an industry, a profession as old as prostitution,
and just as every trade needs an exchange, the student of enlightenment
needs to give something to the teacher/guru in exchange for the
spiritual directions that will lead her to that door of awakening.
(Even enlightened gurus have to eat, although it is debatable
how many Rolls Royce's are actually necessary.) But if 99.9999%
(some thought did go into this figure
but not a lot) of
individuals are not getting what they pay for, perhaps it is high
time that Trading Standards was advised of this scam, or a consumer
group do an exposé. And yet, the enlightenment industry
flourishes, despite these ridiculous odds of success, perhaps
for the same reason that national lotteries do the value
of the prize more than makes up for the subatomic odds.
In
fact, the enlightenment industry has a fair bit in common with
the lottery industry: the chance of success for the participants
is minuscule, and that the vast bulk of profit made actually goes
to the people who run the lottery the teachers and gurus
of enlightenment. What is being sold is a dream: in the case of
the lottery, it is dream of being a millionaire and living the
rest of your life as a permanent holiday; in the case of enlightenment,
it is the dream of being enlightened
and living the rest
of your life as a permanent holiday. The reason that these sorts
of "holiday" dreams are so attractive is that life is
unpleasant for most people, and a lottery or enlightenment win
seems to at least offer a chance to walk away from it all and
into everlasting bliss.
If
we desire to travel to a destination, we need to know a little
bit about this destination before we go to the trouble to journey
to it. Otherwise, we could waste a lifetime aiming for a perceived
paradise only to realize that we don't like endless sunshine,
white beaches, crystal blue seas and green parrots. What is called
for is a "warts and all" travel guide, NOT as a substitute
for the journey, but as a means to help us make the decision whether
we actually want to go to the destination at all.
Most
people get their idea of enlightenment from other people who either
claim to have it, or who claim to know or to have known someone
who has had it. But the people producing these guides are the
travel companies themselves they have a vested interest
in selling holidays, just as so many gurus and teachers have a
vested interest in selling courses, meditation techniques, spiritual
blessings, healings, books, CDs, DVDs and their often enormous
egos. Would you trust a travel guide put together by a company
selling holidays?
This
article is a short travel guide for enlightenment. It has been
written to someone who has been there a number of times, just
as you probably have (but never realized it). And you can rest
assured that I have nothing to sell and no ego worth promoting.
As a result, the enlightenment that I describe is very different
from the glossy holiday-brochure type guides that you are used
to: it won't give you pat and formulaic answers, it won't have
the highly-selected and air-brushed photos, it won't try to sell
you a particular method, technique or allegiance, and it won't
to be comprehensive, definitive or universal. This is a rough
guide for those who want the low-down
and nothing else.
A
Rough Guide to Enlightenment
Most
of you reading this will have tasted enlightenment without realizing
it. And you will not have realized it because "it" is
usually so different from expectation that you probably missed
the significance of those moments. Going back to the earlier analogy
of paradise: if your concept of paradise involves warm water,
white beaches, pink flowers and green parrots, then a visit to
stunning Patagonia will remain unappreciated. It is important,
therefore, to first unlearn our concepts regarding enlightenment,
for as long as we hold too tightly to these concepts we will never
realize that the concept is polluting our experience scuppering
our chance to reach our mythical destination.
The
biggest problem with the "holiday brochure type" enlightenment
being promoted is the belief that it is one thing a single
and definitive state of mind. As a result, different teachers
around the world are giving out conflicting advice on what it
is and how to attain it. This is akin to holiday companies arguing
which part of the world is "paradise", and refusing
to accept that, for someone else, paradise might be in a different
location. Sure, paradise locations around the world might have
certain common characteristics, for example they are probably
all clean and beautiful, but there are not enough common characteristics
to singly define all enlightened states there is much more
that differentiates them.
If
we understood that the process of enlightenment and perhaps the
goal of enlightenment itself is not one thing, just like understanding
that there is more than one path to God, then we learn better
social and spiritual integration, without the need to judge whether
we or our neighbour or that person over there in another country
is doing "it" right or wrong. And in understanding the
multiplicity of enlightenment, we can choose a teacher or path
to which we are better suited, vastly increasing our chance of
success.
It
could be that, although there are many different paths to enlightenment,
the final goal is singular, just as all religious paths in theory
lead to "God". Unfortunately, that is pure conjecture,
and it has become a dogma of the enlightenment industry. It is
time that there was an alternative enlightenment perspective to
challenge that dogma, and to open up more discussion in an area
that most spiritual seekers feel themselves unqualified to discuss.
It is time for each of us to take back the process and concept
of enlightenment from its controllers the teachers and
gurus that profit so greatly from their monopoly and become
unafraid to make up our own minds what enlightenment is for us
and how we intend to reach it, if indeed we even want to. As long
as something like enlightenment remains undefined and controlled
by a spiritual elite, we are not spiritually free to realize our
true divinity, or to express it in a way that suits us individually.
Here
is an alternative view of enlightenment. Perhaps the reader will
gel with it, perhaps not. But by presenting an alternative, I
hope to start eroding the enlightenment dogma that is being spread
by spiritual controllers, and to encourage the reader to find
his or her own truth.
*
* *
What
enlightenment is to you will depend on the type of person you
are, and this will also determine which route to enlightenment
is likely to be most productive for you. Here are seven main archetypes
of spiritual enlightenment that are found in human society today
(I am sure there are more or different categorizations that could
be used, and most teachers will promote a combination of these
types this is just for illustrative purposes to show the
multiplicity of spiritual enlightenment):
Physical
Enlightenment: This type of enlightenment is when we are completely
absorbed in the physicality of our bodies and is characterised
by a peaceful emptiness of movement and mind. This does not mean
that it is a materialist perspective, only that the physical aspect
of our being is used as the anchor of focus. This type of no-mind,
no-emotions, no-mystical experiences path is favoured by the stoic
Eastern mind. The focus is on developing pure and basic awareness
of the physical processes. Whilst physical enlightenment is expressed
in the East in a formal Zen style, in core Buddhism and in the
more physically focused types of yoga, here in the West it tends
to be pursued in physical sporting activities and exercise regimes.
This is the slowest path to enlightened and it can take a lifetime
of empty activity to reach. In fact, because of the basic nature
of this form, those that reach physical enlightenment are usually
unaware of it.
Intellectual
Enlightenment: This type of enlightenment uses intellectual
reasoning to realize the limitations of mind in knowing what is
real, and in so doing it produces a state of liberated mind. It
is characterised by an empty and peaceful mind. This path is for
the more intellectually inclined, but it is ultimately anti-intellectual
in that the intellect is used in the realization that it is unable
to ultimately determine truth and so needs to take a back seat.
The mind is used here to surpass the mind. This type tends to
be favoured by more independent gurus, more sophisticated Zen
teachers, many Western teachers of a certain generation that favoured
Zen and those who gel with A Course in Miracles. (We are so "mindy"
in the West that this is more popular than the plain Physical
Enlightenment favoured in the East.) The anchor used here is awareness,
and it is closely related to physical enlightenment because, with
no mind, awareness will often fall back onto the physical processes
such as the breath. You will find a lot of introverts on this
path, and it is also favoured by men. This form can be quite fast
(even just a few years) if we are focused enough and use the mind's
intensity to propel us on the journey.
Psychological
Enlightenment: This type of enlightenment uses introspection,
psychoanalysis and the natural maturing process of the self to
reach total psychological integration whereby the ego is not obliterated
but integrated. This state, sometimes called individuation, is
not usually regarded as an enlightened spiritual state as such,
although there is no reason not to regard it this way. The path
tends to be favoured by introverted people, but extroverted individuals
can thrive on it if they understand that the inner psychological
processes and the outer material world share a synchronistic link
something that tends to come naturally for the introvert.
As a result of this connection, by working actively with the inner
psychological processes and understanding how we assign meaning
to our world we become more conscious of our true self, of which
the ego is only a part. This process of bringing the unconsciousness
into consciousness is the alchemy of psychological enlightenment.
This type of enlightenment is rooted in the Western mind, and
most of those in the West need to incorporate some level of this
inner work. Psychological enlightenment is ongoing, so that with
this type there is no spiritual retirement. With the right teacher,
the process of individuation can take a lifetime because it is
integrated into our life-stages from birth to death.
Devotional
Enlightenment: This type of enlightenment involves the direct
love of God(s), or the love/devotion of a manifestation of God
the guru. It is characterised by the all-consuming heart
of compassion. This path is best for those who emotionally relate
to the world, and project what is within out onto others
the path of the extrovert. The focus here is on relationship and
the other, and this is where the enlightening process is taking
place. Devotional Enlightenment is by far the most common form
as it is more communal, and it forms the basis of most major religions
such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Judaism focus on our
relationship to God and His/Her intermediaries the priests,
imams and gurus. In the West, this type of enlightenment is slightly
favoured by women over men because it is the path with the most
heart. With the right teacher or guru this can be a relatively
fast path, in as little as 10 or 15 years. (That said, 99.99%
of teachers/gurus do not have what it takes to bring even a single
devotee to the threshold of enlightenment whatever that
means.)
Energetic
Enlightenment: This type of enlightenment focuses on the body's
energetic systems and focuses on raising the Kundalini and opening/clearing
the other energetic pathways. It tends to be favoured by introverts
and is characterised by powerful energetic states, psychic/healing
powers, esoteric knowledge and a strong influence on others. This
is the path of Buddhist tantra and certain forms of tantric yoga
including Kriya yoga. A guru or teacher is often involved, but
the emphasis is not so much on devotion to the teacher as to the
practice of tantric exercises that the teacher/guru teaches. Enlightenment
on this path is totally unpredictable, and can develop spontaneously
at any time or be the result of a lifetime's focus of building
the right energetic vehicle. (Pure tantra is a notoriously quick
path and supposedly can take just a few years.) It is more suited
to those who naturally internalize introverts and
is popular in the West in healing circles. Extraverts can gel
with Energetic Enlightenment on the more relational expressions
of the path such as tantric sex.
Shamanic
Enlightenment: This type of enlightenment focuses on self
in relation to others, but unlike Devotional Enlightenment, this
one is based more varied energetic connections than just plain
heart/devotion. The shaman has a full give-and-take relationship
with other beings and uses that relationship to affect change
in everyday life perhaps to heal someone or ward off bad
influences. You could think of it as the Energetic Enlightenment
for extroverts. Throughout a shaman's life, he or she will build
up stronger and stronger relationships to spirits, learning to
move through dimensions and into other worlds with greater ease
and alacrity. At first, this is piecemeal, only occurring when
the shaman goes into trance, but with years of experience, the
shaman becomes more aware and connected to those other dimensions
and spirits in everyday life until the point at which life and
trance merge. Shamanic Enlightenment tends to be handed down from
teacher to teacher who can introduce the student to the spirits
that the teacher has built up a relationship with. Those who get
involved with this form tend to be extroverted, who see relationship
as more important than enlightened states, so the question of
how long shamanic enlightenment takes does not have much meaning.
Mystical
Enlightenment: This type of enlightenment involves a direct
mystical union with the divine the path of the mystic
where the inner becomes the outer and the outer becomes the inner.
It is characterised by grand visions, prophecy, spiritual experiences
and direct knowings. Mystical Enlightenment is the rarest form
and the most spontaneous. It is less of a path and more of a natural
mystical vocation that one tends to be born to, although there
are absolutely no rules with this type. Those who have it will
often have mystical experiences from early childhood and it can
be the most frightening of the paths as even basic awareness is
not enough to anchor the practitioner during these experiences.
Those on this path who are not born to it, tend to develop it
spontaneously at some point in their lives. Mystical teachers
tend to be more difficult to understand and do not usually welcome
followers. They tend to be outcasts and loners, often appreciated
only after they have died.
Whether
or not you agree with the detail of the above is immaterial: The
point I am making is that there is more than one type of consciousness
that can and is labelled "enlightenment". In fact, any
long-lasting altered state of consciousness that has what are
considered "spiritual" characteristics, and is not substance-induced,
can and often is regarded as an enlightened state. (Even substance-induced
states of consciousness are considered full-fledged enlightened
states in some circles.)
What
are these spiritual characteristics that define enlightened states?
That depends upon your cultural and personal beliefs. These beliefs
determine how you label a state of consciousness, and how you
label that state of consciousness will determine your reaction
to it and your behaviour within it. It will also determine other
people's reaction to you whilst you are in that state. For example,
what appears as an enlightened state to an Intellectual Enlightenment
group might appear as a pathological state of consciousness from
a Psychological Enlightenment group perspective. What is considered
enlightenment varies considerably from group to group, often leading
to intolerance between groups.
You
see this intolerance of belief everywhere even in those
that are regarded as enlightened and it arises when individuals
hold their beliefs and feelings above those of other individual.
This is fundamentalism. It is just as extreme and intolerant as
the fundamentalism of the Islamic militant. Fundamentalism after
all is fundamentalism it occurs when we are unable to separate
our beliefs from the reality that we experience. And nobody can
be as sure of themselves as a fundamentalist, which is why so
many people are attracted to them: in a complex and uncertain
world, anybody convincingly offering pat answers to life's questions
becomes exceedingly popular. Confidence, misguided or not, is
a central quality of charisma.
So
any enlightened individual or seeker of enlightenment who is too
stringent in his or her definition of enlightenment is actually
falling into the fundamentalist's trap. To illustrate this point,
let's look at a case study of someone claiming enlightenment.
I could choose any number of enlightened individuals from around
the world but I have actually chosen a man who is particularly
lucid and rational in detailing his own type of enlightened state
and the process by which we can arrive at that state. That individual
is Jed McKenna, and his first book Spiritual Enlightenment: The
Damnedest Thing gives a fabulous insight into the mind of an individual
claiming and considered by many to be enlightened.
McKenna's
spiritual heritage is Zen Buddhism and the enlightenment he claims
for himself is Intellectual Enlightenment. Of course, he does
not put it that way. For him, Intellectual Enlightenment is TRUE
enlightenment, and everything else is just a spiritual charade.
He claims he has no teaching, but actually his teaching is very
specific: repeatedly ask yourself what is true, and continue that
process until you distil out pure awareness as the only truth.
With that realization, you reach enlightenment. The only problem
is that it doesn't actually work for everyone because not everyone
is intellectually inclined different minds have different
modalities, and this intellectual approach will only work for
those
well
like Jed McKenna. Someone who is emotionally
or mystically orientated will just not get "it" that
way, as McKenna himself admits in his book when he is interacting
with these types of people. But rather than accept that different
individuals have different paths to enlightened states, McKenna
dismisses every other path as fantasy and puts those he believes
will never gel with his particular form of enlightenment into
the "hopeless box". This is spiritual fundamentalism.
It could also be called spiritual fascism.
As
a result of this fundamentalism, McKenna appears very intolerant
on many issues. For example, he is adamant that enlightenment
(whatever that is) cannot arrive instantly but only as the result
of an intellectual process of questioning truth, and yet many
of us are aware that it can come instantly and some of us have
experienced this there are many enlightened individuals
have claimed arriving at realization without going through the
sorts of processes that McKenna describes. And when individuals
come to him with glimpses of other types of enlightenment
for example mystical enlightenment he tells them that these
experiences are just distractions along the way. He is right
they are distractions but only if your goal is Intellectual
Enlightenment that one specific type of enlightenment.
If
you are a born mystic, those mystical experiences are actually
signposts that you are being true to your own spiritual modality,
that you are squarely on the right path for you. But McKenna cannot
see this because he is blinded by his own intolerant view. He
cannot step outside his own belief system and see it for what
it is a paradigm and not reality. Instead, his world is
THE world. His beliefs ARE reality. This is fundamentalism. McKenna
even admits to this intolerance when he labels himself a solipsist.
When only the certainty of self exists, everything that self believes
IS reality, by definition.
The
irony is that the core of his teaching is that the ego has no
reality outside of a two-dimensional character on the world stage
it is an illusion and yet solipsism can also be
defined as "absolute egotism". When egotism becomes
absolute, the boundaries of ego paradoxically dissolve because
ego encompasses everything. And McKenna's egotism comes across
in his first book mentioned above, and certainly in his second
book, Spiritually Incorrect Enlightenment, which is a poor read
because it is so self-centred; it leaves no room for the reader.
McKenna's
response would probably be that nobody can pass judgment on matters
of enlightenment unless they are themselves enlightened
a point he makes in his book. But this is actually no different
to an Islamic fundamentalist saying that nobody who isn't an Islamic
fundamentalist can understand, let alone judge, what Islamic fundamentalism
is about (forget the evidence of our own eyes of murder and mayhem).
This is actually a standard defence of the fundamentalist, and
whilst most of us in the West can recognize its invalidity in
religious fanatics, especially those of other "exotic"
faiths, we are blind to it when it comes from rational, softly-spoken
Western spiritual teachers like Jed McKenna.
Please
do not interpret this as meaning that McKenna's teachings are
unhelpful. If you are focused on Intellectual Enlightenment they
are one of the best around. Extremely well written and lucid;
fantastic stuff! I am not aware of an Intellectual Enlightenment
guru that teaches better than McKenna. But also be careful if
this is the path for you: understand that these teachings apply
to you but may not apply to everybody else. Otherwise, McKenna
ends up teaching fundamentalism along with Intellectual Enlightenment.
What
fundamentalists have that is so attractive to many other people
is CERTAINTY. Certainty is a priceless commodity in a world with
so much uncertainty and chaos. You could say that we spend our
lives trying to raise and consolidate our life's level of certainty
and predictability, only to have it continuously eroded by fate's
capricious nature. Most of us die with a negative certainty balance
whereas some have certainty to their last breath. The reason that
certainty is so important is that our egos rely on a predictable
reality "out there" in order to maintain a sense of
self. Without a solid foundation of reality, that sense of self
crumbles away. It is for this reason that nearly everybody is
driven to find certainty. And when we find someone who appears
to have it, especially in the big questions of life (the ones
that are traditionally dealt with by religion), we either want
some of that certainty for ourselves if we are more introverted,
or we want a strong relationship to that person if we are more
extroverted.
Individuals
who are labeled by themselves or society as "enlightened"
exude certainty, which is why they are so popular. But just because
someone is certain does not mean that they have truth, only that
they are certain of their own truth (or putting on a great act
of certainty). And another definition of someone so certain of
his own truth that he no longer questions it is a fundamentalist.
I am not saying that all fundamentalists are enlightened individuals
most miss that mark by a mile but maybe most enlightened
individuals are fundamentalists. After all, when you hear or read
the teachings of anybody perceived to be enlightened either by
themselves or those associated with them, they are almost always
confident in those big questions of life, even if that confidence
is to say that the answers to these questions are unknowable.
Perhaps that confidence is in a process rather than knowledge
the process of self-enquiry, meditation, raising the Kundalini
etc. but it is certainty nonetheless.
There
are many reasons why a man or woman can be so certain of something
that the rest of us are uncertain about. Maybe they have looked
deeper at the issues of life from their own perspective (how could
it be from any other perspective?) and arrived at some deeper
understanding or conclusion. Maybe they have spontaneously arrived
at a state of consciousness that they themselves or others around
them consider to be "enlightened" because it appears
so blissful and spiritual, and they have managed to maintain that
state of consciousness either through continual focus on it, by
meditation, by faking it (often unconsciously) or by living in
a community whereby "enlightenment" is their emotional
assignment (everyone else can act out all the unenlightened states
that are being denied). Maybe that person has a psychological
disposition to what is considered "enlightenment"
in other words, maybe they are insane. After all, nobody can be
more convinced of their own delusion than someone suffering some
form of mental delusion. And anybody who has hung out around someone
who is delusional will know how infectious that can be. Maybe
it could be a combination of the above or something else. Maybe
some individuals are genuinely enlightened or awake, whatever
that means.
Whatever
the case, we can never tell the difference. Instead, we play this
game of being with the enlightened person as much as we can, projecting
all our spiritual hopes and ideals onto them. Sometimes we will
form a stable and life-long symbiotic emotional relationship with
them whereby we agree to act out the seeker role and they agree
to act out the enlightened teacher role. Or we model their behaviour
so completely that we end up having the same state of consciousness
we also become "enlightened". (Ever spent time
with a wildly optimistic person or a depressive? You soon pick
up their prevailing state of consciousness. That is why psychologists
who work with the mentally ill are always a little unusual. Emotional
states are infections! McKenna, incidentally, denies that this
is possible, and he is wrong on this one.) Perhaps we find that
the enlightened teacher does not live up to our projections of
spiritual perfection so we become deluded and move on. Or not
move on and just switch our projection from spiritual adoration
to anger and resentment. (Most enlightened teachers accumulate
their fair share of disillusioned ex-followers and angry "ex"
websites.)
This
is the enlightenment game, and it is almost always pursued for
unconscious reasons. We think we are being spiritual in playing
it, but that is just a label that justifies a relentless pursuit
of certainty. We don't want to live with a question mark. And
we will hunt out those who seem to exude the certainty we crave,
and either model that state or we buzz around them like hungry
bees to honey, never having the confidence to make that proverbial
jump off the cliff's edge
into delusion.
The
delusion I am referring to is not the delusion of spirit but the
delusion that spirit comes in a package that with an end-goal
called enlightenment, after which there is some sort of spiritual
retirement in which we live happily ever after, just as it is
delusional to regard the end goal as a single state of consciousness,
a state we label "enlightenment". Most of us want that
inner certainty, we want to reduce the diverse weather of the
inner and outer environments to continual sunshine, or nothingness.
But actually, this can only ever be an ideal for most of us because
it flies in the face of what it is to be human. Those who do manage
to maintain spiritual states are not necessarily more evolved,
as mentioned earlier, they might well be insane. Or maybe that
is just who they are
but that does not mean that that is
what we should strive become.
A
good way to illustrate the nature of these different types of
enlightenment is to regard them from the perspective of the teachers
teaching each particular form. So here is a quick guide for teachers:
Physical
Enlightenment: To be a teacher of Physical Enlightenment you
have to be a true disciplinarian and thick-skinned. This is not
vocation for those who are "fluffy" in any way for they
may even require you to physically hit your students in order
to discipline them to not only use the physical as an anchor of
being but to surpass it with empty awareness. It helps if you
are from the far East as you are more likely to have the type
of personality that thrives being a teacher of Physical Enlightenment,
and it helps if your students have an introverted "empty-mind"
type personality in the first place. Keep ideas and theory to
an absolute minimum, and nip any form of projection in the bud
as quickly as possible. To maintain your status as a Physical
Enlightenment guru, keep your students hard at work so that they
focus on you as little as possible. Beware extroverted students:
they can be disruptive to the group by forming external bonds.
Intellectual
Enlightenment: To be a teacher of Intellectual Enlightenment
you need to be intellectual (obviously) and quite thick-skinned.
You need to be able to throw caution to the wind and hit your
students with the truth as you see it, and not to worry about
the consequences. Brutal honesty is the name of the game. To maintain
you status as an Intellectual Enlightenment requires you to keep
your students analysing the truth within as much as possible,
and not analysing you. They must be kept internalised as much
as possible, and one of the best ways to do this is keep personal
contact with them to a minimum. A very skilful intellectual master,
like Jed McKenna, can lead his students to a place where the intellectual
process of enquiry is recognized as redundant and therefore ceases.
As with Physical Enlightenment, beware extroverted students as
their desire to form relationships with you and their fellow students
will disrupt everybody's focus.
Psychological
Enlightenment: To be a teacher of Psychological Enlightenment
requires many years of understanding inner psychological processes
and how we inject meaning into our experience. There are a few
different systems of psychology that can produce this level of
integration, but perhaps the most far-reaching and insightful
is Jungian psychology. Because the processes of the psyche are
ongoing and change with the seasons of life, psychological enlightenment
teachers continue the process of introspection and integration
their whole lives. There is no spiritual retirement (except perhaps
death
but even that is questionable). This type of enlightenment
is one of the more difficult to fake as it requires personal interaction
with students. It should therefore only be pursued by genuine
teachers. (It is much easier to fake other forms of enlightenment.)
Ideal students are introverts, but extroverts can work with psychological
conditions if they understand that the inner and outer environments
are connected.
Devotional
Enlightenment: To be a teacher of Devotional Enlightenment
you need to first understand that you are there as an external
canvas for your students to paint their inner guru upon. In other
words, you are entering into an agreement to play the external
representation of their own divinity, and play it so convincingly
that their relationship to you will become profoundly transformational.
You will naturally attract people-person students, but be careful
of the introverted and intelligent ones who try to pin your philosophy
down (they are the ones that can cause problems in devotional
groups). It is often a good idea with this path to talk only in
very general and indistinct terms to minimize engagement of the
intellect which would weaken the emotional projection. Unless
you are genuine, access to the guru should be limited to mass
rallies and teachings; personal contact should be minimized so
that the cracks in the mirror are not visible. The skill of the
genuine teacher is to act in a way so that the projection eventually
internalises so that the external guru is no longer necessary
to maintain the enlightened state. This type of enlightenment
is the easiest path for the fake teacher because it is the student
that is doing all the projection. But watch out if you fall from
grace!
Energetic
Enlightenment: To be a teacher of Energetic Enlightenment
requires that the student focuses as much as possible on the inner
energetics, and so you must constantly try to move that focus
inward and away from yourself. It is much easier, therefore, to
choose more introverted students and to keep them occupied on
spiritual techniques and visualisations that develop those inner
energetics. This is one of the easiest forms if you want to abuse
your students because that abuse can be justified in terms of
energetics: so you might have the case of the tantric master who
wants to have sex with one of his or her students justifying it
as some form of energetic initiation or method to open the second
Chakra. (This is not to say that there are no genuine initiations
that involve such activity, but how would you know the difference?)
Shamanic
Enlightenment: To be a teacher of Shamanic Enlightenment requires
you to introduce the student his new "family"
other beings from other dimensions who will in turn eventually
help that student to affect changes in his/her own and others'
lives. This means that you can only be a genuine teacher of Shamanic
Enlightenment if you have build up yourself a very close and substantial
relationship to spiritual beings for the purpose of affecting
our reality. The type of students that this will appeal to tend
to be extrovert relational types, so you are as central in the
Shamanic Enlightenment path as a teacher is on the Devotional
Enlightenment path, so many of the considerations above in that
category will also apply. Due to this dynamic whereby students
will be projecting their own shamanic powers onto you, this type
of enlightenment is actually quite easy to fake, and explains
why there are so many fake shamans around.
Mystical
Enlightenment: To be a teacher of Mystical Enlightenment you
basically do whatever you do and let anybody around that might
call themselves a student pick up your pearls of wisdom and use
them in any way they see fit. Genuine mystics don't cultivate
a following but instead concentrate wholeheartedly on the mystical
processes that grip them. Fake mystics do cultivate followers
and play out more of an Devotional Enlightenment scenario. Probably
better not to fake this one as fake mystics are easy to spot because
they are constantly looking over their shoulder to see if anybody
is watching.
Each
of these types of teacher can bring us to a heightened state of
awareness or altered state of consciousness called enlightenment.
Most will actually fall into more than one of these categories.
Whether or not enlightened states are permanent, however, is pure
conjecture as the future is always full of surprises. Enlightened
states may last a second or an entire lifetime. One of the biggest
misconceptions is that enlightenment is concurrent with the dissolution
of the ego. This only has partial truth with certain forms of
enlightenment. Without a sense of self we could not function in
a physical body or in a society. When the mind is in an enlightened
state, the sense of self is still there, the difference is that
it is not entangled in our experience inner or outer. The
ego does not dissolve, it just takes a back seat (which from the
point of view of our usual hyper-egotistical society can seem
like it has disappeared altogether).
If
enlightenment does not last, then the ego once again becomes entangled
in experience and we soon find ourselves looking back nostalgically
at our period of clarity. If the ego cannot deal with enlightenment's
loss, then it will unconsciously or consciously simulate it. There
are many teachers of enlightenment out there who do not themselves
realize that their own experience of enlightenment was temporary
and that they are now inadvertently operating entirely from an
ego simulation of that previous state of consciousness. And there
are many more who are aware that they are faking what was once,
to them, a genuine state of consciousness.
The
reason enlightened states often come and go like this is that
our awareness tends to be in constant flux, moving between many
different states of consciousness, states that are actually happening
concurrently. Waking consciousness is just the tip of the iceberg
(known as "consensus" reality although, take a poll
and you won't find much consensus). With enough focus, we can
keep our awareness longer on different internal states, and sometimes
keep it there pretty constantly. Whether we should want to or
not, or whether there is any use in doing so, is quite another
matter.
Why
are we attracted to these states? From the ego's perspective,
as described earlier, the allure is the allure of certainty. Of
having all the answers to life's questions. Of reaching a state
that we believe will be immortal. From the deeper self's perspective,
however, the allure of enlightenment comes from the yearning to
be free from the limiting states of consciousness that define
most of our waking states. Some liken these limiting states to
a dream, one that we needing to wake up from. But it does seem
to be a natural propensity in humankind to seek out altered states
to be free from consensus reality. In fact, altered states
have fascinated humankind since the birth of our species, and
there is good evidence to suggest that the pursuit of altered
states through ingestion of plants, drumming, dancing etc., was
the main civilising factor in humanity's evolution. Altered states
give us the larger perspective, and by taking us out of normal
everyday consciousness we actually come to understand that everyday
consciousness better because we have viewed it from the "outside".
So
enlightenment can be regarded as specific altered states of consciousness,
ones that awakes us from living the dream (or nightmare) of a
"normal" life. This is the ego's dream of who and what
we think we are in relation to ourselves and to others. From the
Physical Enlightenment perspective, that dream is ended by getting
out of the head and into physicality. From the Intellectual Enlightenment
perspective, the dream is ended by using the intellect to deny
its reality. From the Psychological Enlightenment perspective,
the dream is ended by bringing out our inner psychology into conscious
awareness. From the Devotional Enlightenment perspective, the
dream is ended by superseding it with a divine relationship
inner and/or outer. From the Energetic Enlightenment perspective,
the dream is ended by losing ourselves to the greater reality
of energetic systems. From the Shamanic Enlightenment perspective,
that dream is ended by the experience of visiting the shamanic
realms and interacting with non-physical beings. And from the
Mystical Enlightenment perspective, the dream is ended by surfing
time and space itself, and in the dimensional expansion of self.
But what is important to realize is that all these are completely
different types of awakening, not just different flavours of awakening.
When
we dream, we still exist in the waking world, but we just exist
there unconsciously. The same holds for enlightenment: enlightenment
is the background noise of our ordinary lives. The higher states
of consciousness we label as enlightenment are always present
as background hums. Most will never hear these hums; some will
hear them periodically and not focus on them; some will hear them
and try to focus on them; and some will focus on them their whole
lives. But eventually, we ALL tire of foreground distractions
and focus on aspects of ourselves that are much deeper. To do
this, we disentangle the ego from everyday living, and this disentanglement
is a requirement in order for us to experience these deeper states
of consciousness. Otherwise, we are glued to the play of life
in the same way that we find ourselves addicted to a television
show or a cinema film, lost in the story because we have identified
with aspects of it. But once again, this is not a process of dissolving
the ego, just as when the cinema film ends our ego merely disengages
back to a greater reality as the credits role.
There
are numerous ways of extracting our identity from everyday experience
so that we can reach the different types of enlightenment. Anybody
who has THE solution, THE state and THE method is just spouting
spiritual fundamentalism. The beauty of the spiritual path is
that it is often unique for each of us, especially in the West
where individuality is more pronounced. This is because the ego
plays its part in the enlightening process for Western type minds.
It is NOT the bogeyman that needs only to be annihilated. It can
be our ally, and we only fool ourselves if we think that the solution
to the narcissistic egotism that grips Western society is the
annihilation of the ego altogether. Rather it is the integration
of ego so that it plays its proper function. (If you want to see
how egoless people function in this world then you might consider
visiting a mental health hospital rather than an ashram.)
So
involving the ego in spiritual practices is fine. Believing in
angels, feeling the vibrations, connecting with Ancient Egypt
or ETs all these can be part of the awakening process.
On our journey to awakening there are many stories that we will
tell ourselves about ourselves, and those stories will change
over time and be replaced by new stories. But to try to tell no
story at all because we think we should be silent is not a viable
spiritual path for most Westerners. It is for some those
who have an natural Zen/ Buddhism affiliation but not for
the majority. And to try to impose a one-method-fits-all process
to the awakening process is insanity, and those that do it should
know better, but they don't because they are fundamentalists.
So when teachers like McKenna dismiss "fluffy spiritual beliefs"
as counter-productive on the road to enlightenment, he is only
showing his own inflexibility and inability to see outside his
own type of enlightenment Intellectual Enlightenment. "Fluffy
spiritual beliefs" CAN be very helpful for some people, not
in these beliefs themselves, but in the way that they add new
dimensions to the story we tell of ourselves, dimensions that
open us up to better integration of the ego. Jung called this
process individuation.
Two
final enlightenment dogmas that need to be exposed are, firstly,
that enlightenment is a state that arises when we focus on the
present moment, that it is synonymous with "now-focus",
and secondly, that it represents a state of absolute unity with
All-That-Is a state of complete oneness.
Whether
the "now" perspective is a symptom of enlightenment
or a cause will depend upon what type of enlightenment is being
pursued. If you are seeking Physical or Intellectual Enlightenment,
focusing on the present moment is central to your path. But, if
you are seeing Psychological, Energetic, Devotional Shamanic or
Mystical Enlightenment, then such focus on the present moment
is a symptom of your spiritual path and not a cause, and pursing
the present moment in itself will not be as productive for these
particular paths.
As
for oneness, that tends only to be a characteristic of "empty
mind" types of enlightenment. Psychological Enlightenment,
for example, considers separation and objectivity as vital to
the integration process. We need a strong ego a separate
part of ourselves before we can find integration. And that
integration does not involve the dissolution of all boundaries
for evermore. So from the perspective of this type of enlightenment,
oneness is just another name for unconsciousness, for how can
we ever be conscious of something that we have no separation from
(in the same way that a fish is unconscious of the water it swims
in). The same applies to the other more extravert types of enlightenment
that involve relationship. Oneness is paradoxically anathematical
to relationship, which relies on some level of separateness or
complex oneness in order to maintain its existence. Naturally,
ultimate oneness exists by definition how could All-That-Is
be anything but one but we can only realize that oneness
if we become unconscious of it.
So
the central lack of understanding of what enlightenment is is
the ignorance of its multiplicity, and the intolerance to other
paths and individual expression that this ignorance produces.
This is why so few realize these enlightened states in their lifetime:
the odds are minuscule because so few have the confidence to authentically
walk the path that is right for them; most would rather have the
"proper" teaching from the proper teacher. And those
few who stumble across a teacher with real understanding of a
particular path will find the whole process hit-and-miss because
the multiplicity of enlightenment is not being respected
there is no attempt at understanding the self before embarking
for an ideological destination.
This
is what Carl Jung meant when he wrote that "Enlightenment
is not imagining figures of light but making the darkness conscious."
This darkness represents those aspects of ourselves that we are
in the dark about because we have not shone the light of our awareness
and acceptance in that direction they are our unconsciousness.
Only when we begin to understand and integrate all aspects of
our being can we understand let alone walk our individual path
to enlightenment.
When
we realize that all this time in spiritual circles we have been
dealing with different states of spiritual consciousness
which we have collectively and confusingly labelled "enlightenment"
we start to understand the enormous creativity of the universe
and the blessing of our individuality. And in this realization
we can relax and open-mindedly explore. We begin to realize that
life is a creative and explosive venture; we do not return to
the source but the source comes to us as we spiral out into infinity,
spinning our creative dreams of ever greater possibility. (Just
stop me any time
I am just expressing my mystical/psychological
truth and I am sure you have a different and equally valid truth.)
Enlightenment
is what you make it. So rather than regard it as an elite spiritual
club that divides the enlightened from the unenlightened, throw
away your coveted membership application and start honouring the
living spirit that is working in your life each moment. Relax
and go with the flow, ride life's waves, even if you think that
in moments you are being unspiritual and unenlightened. Only when
we stop using awful labels like "enlightenment" and
"spiritual" can we find the path that we are meant to
take, a path with no destination, that is itself a destination.
Let go of spiritual fascism and open to a true respect for yourself
and your neighbour on this journey towards the infinite.
[New
Age music begins and credits start rolling
]
*
* *
So
you still want to be enlightened? Here is a simple formula that
should work for most people:
1)
Put aside the folklore about what enlightenment is and understand
that it can be many different things depending upon your personality,
beliefs, culture and so on. There are no rules, and NOBODY is
an expert for everybody.
2)
Determine what particular type of spiritual enlightenment suits
you you the best. Usually, it will be a combination of paths you
need to express. If in doubt, discuss it with a friend who knows
you very well. This is actually 90% of the work is for Westerners
on the journey to enlightenment.
3)
If you still feel that the goal of enlightenment whatever
that means to you is something you want to pursue, go for
it. And remember, as you grow along the path(s) that you choose,
the goal will change as you change. You may even abandon your
search altogether if your perception of enlightenment no longer
holds the same attraction for you. The trick is not to get too
stuck on a particular path relax and leave room
for change.
4)
If you do reach that goal of enlightenment, don't come running
back to the unenlightened world and try to convince everyone that
you are somehow an expert on enlightenment
you can only
ever be an expert in hindsight on how you yourself reached what
you consider to be enlightenment.
5)
Remember to keep your sense of humour. You will need it when the
unexpected happens, as it inevitably will.
The False Guru Test
by Andrew Paterson
|