Where Enlightenment Fits In The Big Picture

Category Enlightenment, Evolution, God, Universe

This awakening of mass consciousness that we’re seeing in humanity today, let’s put it into a larger context so that we can see where this fits. Enlightenment is not the final stage in our journey as spiritual beings, not by a long shot.

Expanding Awareness

Awareness. Awareness has the ability to focus. It can focus on just the tip of your finger. It can encompass your whole body. It can even expand and fill the whole room to the point where there doesn’t feel like there’s a boundary between your skin and the room. This expansion of conscious awareness is often used as a meditative technique to feel beyond the limited sense of self.

You can expand awareness infinitely far, yet when you feel out to infinity, you probably won’t be conscious of what’s going on in distant galaxies right now or even on the other side of our planet. Awareness, despite being limitless, has some limitations in its distance, at least in the way that you and I are using conscious awareness in our current human existence at this stage in our soul’s evolution.

Okay, so awareness can contract to a point or expand infinitely far. Cool. I guess it’s kinda like an accordion.

Local vs. Nonlocal Existence

In the dream state, it feels like “I” exist in a particular location. There is a “me” that exists in a point in space. Here I am and there you are.

When one awakens, it is discovered that there is no location where one exists. There is simply conscious awareness. It has no location at all, and it is everything, yet it’s not simultaneously consciously aware of all of itself. It’s like knowing you are all the channels on TV, yet watching only one of them at a time.

So you find you are actually completely unlimited, yet there is still somehow the experience of limitation in physical manifestation to a greater or lesser degree.

In his book I Am That, enlightened sage Nisargadatta Maharaj and a student engage in a discussion. Upon hearing Nisargadatta explain that he is consciousness ever-present in all time and space, the student challenges him to reveal what is currently happening in New York while the two of them are sitting together having their conversation in India. Nisargadatta responds that he hasn’t done the necessarily yogic training to be able to do so.

Going Beyond Physical Limitation

We are infinite beings and by letting go of fears, letting go of doubt, letting go of limitation, and letting go of what we are not, we consciously expand into more of ourselves. Heck, even in normal people speak, when we overcome obstacles, we are said to have become “a bigger person.”

Our awareness is not necessarily limited to this body and this lifetime. In dreams we can experience other worlds, just like in our imagination. We can astrally project into other dimensions. We can tap into past lives and experience living in other times and space. We can have deja vu which is really just a remembrance of something we actually have already experienced before, but in another lifetime or otherwise.

We are not as confined and limited to this one physical body as we may think.

The world’s great masters have been able to perform various amazing feats such as teleportation and bilocation. They have literally been able to play with the illusion of time and space while being sourced in a reality which sees through the illusions and the “laws” of physical reality which are not really laws at all, but more like collective beliefs that we all buy into when we play this game called “traditional human experience.”

Normally people project their consciousness into one body at a time and are consciously aware of only one lifetime at a time. Yet these masters have been able to expand not just astrally and mentally into other realms, but physically as well. They are showing us what is possible beyond the limits of what we have traditionally denoted to be a regular ole’ human.

Expansion of Consciousness

Every lifetime we’ve ever lived is occurring here and now. This is why we can experience them in various ways. If they weren’t going on now, we couldn’t tap into them. They’re not really past lives, but multiple simultaneous incarnations.

Teleportation and time travel is nothing more than vibrationally shifting your consciousness to tune into another point in time and space, not unlike changing the frequency on the TV to focus awareness onto another channel.

Not only can we tune into other frequencies, we can even begin tapping into multiple frequencies of existence simultaneously, or multiple lives or multiple experiences within the same life.

In the same way that consciousness can focus on the tip of your finger, expand to the whole of our body, or expand out to the most distant corners of the universe, consciousness can expand to be simultaneously aware of multiple points within time and space.

Moving beyond the experience of bilocation, imagine consciousness being able to eventually experience every point in time of your life all at once, kinda like when your life flashes before your eyes in an instant, but even more real than that.

Then consciousness expands to encompass not only every point in your life simultaneously, but every possible version of this lifetime all at once.

Then consciousness expands to encompass all of your simultaneously existing incarnations all at once.

Then consciousness expands beyond the concept of “you” and “your lives” and starts to simultaneously experience the lives of another person, and then all people, and then all living creatures on earth, and then all living and non-living things on this planet, then the whole milky way galaxy, then all forms of life in this universe including all aliens, then all forms of life in all universes, then All That Is in its entirety, throughout all time and space, in every version of itself… until consciousness expands and entirely remembers and experiences who it really is, in the ultimate merge back into Oneness ever!

WHEW!

What a ride! Go God Go!!

So… Enlightenment?

So what we call enlightenment, the realization that you are All That Is, aka Spirit, and that Spirit expresses itself here in physical reality as form… this awakening from the belief of being a separate self to the realization that you are the Infinite… this enlightenment thing isn’t the final part in the process at all!

So if you’re thinking that when you get enlightened, that’s the end of the road, well, think again!

Continued Discussion | Post a Forum Comment

_______________________________________________________________________________________

If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to updates via RSS, Twitter or email to receive fresh content free of charge.

This site is supported by your generous donations. If this site has provided you with value, consider donating as a way of expressing your appreciation. =)

14 Responses to “Where Enlightenment Fits In The Big Picture”

Psiplex said:

The process of losing the false identity of oneself leaves a sense of ‘What can I give?”, “What can I do to give away all of this trying and ‘me’ focus and give joy to everyone around?’. It is a lessening of the false self that begins to fill and expand the consciousness so that there is an overwhelming sense of not wanting to own anything or take power or to mistreat anyone or anything. The sense of what can I contribute, share and give in love to another being is pervasive and liberating. After the initial presence of this at a nucleus, it slowly settles into a natural part of the spirit that remains. Kind of like a bliss bomb that slowly coats the eternal self and stays in the background waiting to emerge and activate more fully when synched with the universe. A big warm, loving existence-wide namaste that recognizes all other connected beings in honor and joy. The fearful, contracted aspects of the false self are pushed off the canvas and love is alive and active in awareness. That awareness recognizes and deeply honors life, Truth and the Absolute supreme ‘I Am’.

Psiplexs last blog post..Burstpiration
Nichi said:

But if we are all that is.. why did we choose to put on the veil of ignorance to begin with? What are we learning if we already possess all knowledge?

If there is no time…..

Am I ever going to ‘understand’ this with my mind?

Ariel Bravy Reply:
February 26th, 2009 at 1:59 am
Why would we forget? Because conceptual understanding is not enough. We wanted the experience of being ourselves.

Because you can’t literally not be who you are, the next best thing is to forget who you are and pretend to be something else. Hence the illusion of duality was created.

Having forgotten who we are, we get to experience the remembrance of who we really are, in contrast to what we are not.

How can you experience yourself as a creator if everything you’d ever want to create already exists? The next best thing is to limit your awareness of what you can perceive and then bring various creations (which actually already exist) into manifestation, thereby having the experience of creation.

It is by forgetting who we are that we can have the experience of recreating who we are.

It is because we can forget what it was like to watch a certain movie that we can go back and enjoy it again.

There’s nothing to learn. Hence spirituality is not the process of acquiring more beliefs or getting to any particular destination outside of here and now. We’re only awakening to more of ourselves.
Nichi said:

If everything exists here and now, where does ‘not everything’ exist? Or.. ‘other than’ everything.. ‘non’ everything.. is that possible?

Infinity + 1? Anybody?

Edit: I shouldve put this under your ‘oneness and seperateness’ video..sorry

BINNOY Reply:
February 26th, 2009 at 4:21 am
Dear Nichi
Maybe I can answer this one.
First of all we need to understand how it all began.In the beginning there was only god(infinite).What we experience in spirituality as love,peace etc is nothing but a glimpse of who we truly are.Now in the beginning there was nothing except god; no time no space i.e no here no there no past and no future.God wanted to experience the opposite of love something different in taste in feeling.But unfortunately for him love,peace,silence,oneness had no opposite.The only alternative in front of him was to forget love,peace etc i.e himself and then through a long seeking find it in himself.
all illusions matter,time,space help him to forget who he truly is.
We are all in short God in disguise suffering from amnesia.

Life is as if a game of seeking love,peace,abundance everywhere in this universe outside yourself until one turns towards his core(heart)and realises that all he wanted and searched for throughout his life was only himself(god i.e ones own being nature).
aS for ur doubt, as i said time and space are all illusions i.e there is no where, no there;no up no down only one eternal here and one eternal now.This now and here moment which is the true nature of one has enough power in itself to awaken one to ones true nature a million times over if one can allow the now-here moment to be long enough without resisting.

There is no space in the entire universe where there is no existence since space itself is the existence(god) expressing itself in the form of space.There is no in no out,only god-created seperations that as if dissillusions the mind and and makes it belive in time,space,matter etc.
with love
BINNOY

Nichi Reply:
February 26th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Yes.. actually.. I understand all this of course.. it just seems too simple.. too easy… kindof a letdown somehow. The universe doesnt seem as complex and wonderful as my mind wants it to be.

We really are a dream on the back of a turtle aren’t we?

Thank you for your reply though, or I thank myself rather ;-)

~ Julie Reply:
February 27th, 2009 at 9:22 am
Hi Nichi…The universe is way more amazing and wonderful than you could ever imagine! Your mind cannot fully comprehend it. You understand, but you have not experienced. Very big difference, and the experience will not let you down.

I used to think that there had to be more to life, and now I know that there is and it’s far more *can’t even choose a word…words can never do justice here* than I ever would have guessed! An experience of Eternal Bliss Consciousness can change your life in an instant! Let go of the concepts of the mind if you want to experience it. That is all that is necessary, even for a few moments. Stop thinking and find out what is underneath. Indescribable!
Glen Allsopp said:

Is it possible for people to be ‘enlightened’ and fall out? I guess I’m quite confused about the subject.

If I can be completely present and not feel ego about that, no thoughts etc…then I am englightened, or at least in an enlightened state, correct?

*Confused*

Cheers,
Glen

Glen Allsopps last blog post..The Definitive Guide on Achieving Your Dreams

Ariel Bravy Reply:
February 26th, 2009 at 5:15 am
lol, it’s VERY confusing, isn’t it Glen?

Adyashanti has an audio program discussing exactly this topic called The End of Your World.

It’s actually super common. In his experience, most people have the “I got it, I lost it” experience, or what he calls non-abiding awakenings.

I wouldn’t say that just because you are not thinking for a moment that you’ve truly reached enlightenment. Awakening is like this revolutionary change, yet it’s totally ordinary. It’s pretty obvious when it happens though.. heh
Jasper said:

The journey after Enlightenment is also the main topic of this book, “The Nine Freedoms”:
http://aetherius.org/index.cfm.....PageID=112

It is a great and inspiring read, and since enlightenment is depicted as the 4th freedom in this book, it expands far beyond the usual teachings on advaita.

I´d love to hear your take on this one, Ariel, since I am not sure whether I should take it serious or not…

I´m looking forward to understand beyond words
6 Billion Worlds in One - A Process For Inner Freedom » Personal Development - UrbanMonk.Net said:

[...] The first link love goes out to Ariel of You Are Truly Loved. A blog that is focused on spiritual concepts and dedicated to the serious seeker. A recent post: Where Enlightenment fits in the Big picture. [...]
Marko said:

“So if you’re thinking that when you get enlightened, that’s the end of the road, well, think again! “

Yes not the end, but the real beginning, or part of the beginning.

Perhaps enlightenment is just moving one more space on the Infinite game board of this technicoloured holographic multi dimensional lucid dream energy vibration system called
physical life.
Barbara said:

Huhu!

I have a Friendship-Award for You: http://shambala25.wordpress.co.....fts-award/

These blogs are especially wonderful. This amiable blogger friends want to find his. They are not interested in self-glorification. Our hope is that when the tape of that price is passed, more friendships, and also to continue planting. Please, give these bloggers more attention. Hand over this Award at eight, which select eight bloggers too and used this text in her Award-post. Thank you!
(Sorry for the bad translation!)

Barbara

Barbaras last blog post..Freundschafts-Award

Ariel Bravy Reply:
February 27th, 2009 at 12:00 am
Thank you very much Barbara. It is an honor and I really appreciate the award!