Enlightenment

The only limitations in your life are the ones you create to sabotage your growth.

We have the power to transform our lives and serve others only when we remain present in the moment. When we fixate on creating a future prospect our quest to attain it will remain a future endeavor.

Limitless opportunities will become realities only when you allow them to become part of you today.

“Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment.”
~Lao Tzu
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Mindfulness represents the primary vessel to purification and enlightenment. The tenets of mindfulness [awareness and discipline] will ensure your devotion to difficulty. Failure to embrace risk will keep you locked in your egocentric prison.

Enlightenment has nothing to do with the disappearance of challenges or controlling circumstances. It is awareness of “what is” versus any preconceived, egocentric ideas.

German philosopher, Immanuel Kant [1724-1804], professed enlightenment was man’s release from “self-incurred tutelage.” In essence, the human mind creates the structure of the human experience. Enlightenment represents the process of shedding ourselves of intellectual bondage and slumbering.

“I know it when I see it”
~United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart

Enlightenment is a delicate parallel to an attempt to define obscenity. Conclusions in either instance will invoke interpretation from distinct paths of sensory perception. Mindfulness teaches us about consequences versus dualism.

Your definition of obscenity will likely become apparent from visual stimuli. Enlightenment is an ethereal experience you feel. It will be conscious recognition of your unconscious without knowing it. You will know it as the precious gift of non-attachment.

Enlightenment is a state of perfect knowledge or wisdom, combined with infinite compassion.

Enlightenment is an understanding of both the relative mode of existence [the appearance of things] and the ultimate mode of existence [the true nature of appearances]. This includes our own minds and the external world. Such knowledge is the basic antidote to ignorance and suffering.

Ignorance means a distorted vision of reality versus any lack of information. We believe what we see about us is permanent, solid, and categorical, and our ‟self” is a real, autonomous entity. This leads us to mistake fleeting pleasures or the alleviation of pain for happiness. Such ignorance reinforces an agenda to build our happiness on the plight of others.

There are two ways in which a person can visualize their Noble Truth. It is often touted these experiences are different paths leading to the same destination; yet subtle distinctions exist respective to the enlightenment process.

Satori – A Buddhist term for enlightenment that means “understanding.” In the Zen Buddhist tradition, Satori refers to a flash of enlightenment coupled with a sudden, heightened level of awareness. Satori is considered to be a deeper spiritual experience.

It is a sudden awakening where the person becomes aware of the truth and sees everything “as it is” absent filters. This is a profound, liberating experience shifting perception and allowing access to the ultimate truth.

Kensho – A process in which we evolve spiritually. It is a gradual process where a person keeps learning from his/her experiences and receives various insights that slowly propels him/her toward enlightenment.

It is analogous to an ultra race where growth stems from mistakes, suffering, and pain. Transpersonal lessons evolve during worldly experiences. The mystical element harbored within each of us awakens and stimulates insight.

“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started
and know the place for the first time.”
~T. S. Eliot

We have the choice to approach life from a spiritual or worldly perspective. The worldly view is only concerned with material values. We can choose to be a victim or we can strive for balance and freedom from illusions.

We cannot escape life in either scenario.

Egocentric thought propels us on a path of frustration and disappointment. Our desire to satiate our ego creates greater levels of mental delusion until ignorance perpetuates the destruction of inner peace. Mind must serve spirit not ego. Think fluidity versus rigidity.

The difficulties and challenges in your life represent your spiritual path.
We must mindfully manifest wellness and performance from the inside out.

“To study the self is to forget the self.”
~Dogen

Enlightenment is a natural process that occurs only when we practice mindfulness.

When we understand optimal wellness and performance in life and sport are by-products of our mindfulness we will realize the difference between effort and struggle – a breakthrough most people never experience.