Welcome

It is January 2009. And something is happening. Everyone feels it, knows it and is experiencing it in some way. With each passing day someone comes up with a theory for these phenomena we are experiencing. Some of these explanations have the seed of truth, some may be true and many others are fanciful imagination (witch ultimately means they are true as well, but more on that later).

Is it the Mayan 2012 curse, a New World Order/Illuminati Conspiracy, The End of Times, the birth of a New Age or something else? What exactly is going on? And what do we do about IT? Whatever IT is, IT cannot be ignored or denied. Try as we might to live in our own little bubble of reality, we cannot escape the fact that the fabric of the universe seems to be unraveling before our very eyes.

We cannot reduce this to financial or environmental influences. Many are experiencing actual transformation in their physical bodies. In the form of pain, illness or a general dis-ease that is impossible to localize or explain though standard medical practice.

As a result of whatever IT is, people are flocking to spiritual teachings, digging old beliefs out of the dustbin of history, polishing them up and presenting them as new. Many others are using this collective experience as “proof” that their particular perspective has been correct all along. A minority are working to assist humanity though this transformation.

I have been silently observing this for my entire life. I was prepared since birth for this time and have been searching for the answers to guide others when the time was right.

And try as I might to deny or resist this purpose the universe continues to urge me forward so here I am. Joining the multitude of voices to call the masses to awaken. What I have to contribute is my own small part, and I offer this as a gift, a hope and a prayer that you may find some truth in what I have to share with you.

There are many pitfalls and dead ends that have been set for you on this journey to discover your true self. And unlike the false prophets and carnival barkers who would sell you your Enlightment for top dollar and answer all your questions, I will tell you the truth.

It may not be what you want to hear, and you may choose to disagree and discard what I say. All you have is your own perspective, but before you make any decisions I offer this caveat-

What is it that you see when you look at the world?

And how do you decide what is true?

If you are like most others you compare new information to the old models you have in your experience of what is true. Meaning that nothing new is ever allowed to enter your awareness. Your mind is a closed book and your life has been already written. You regurgitate the teachings, stories and ideas that you were given during the formation of your personality. Do you understand that?

If there is a possibility that what I say above is true that the obvious question arises-

Who decided what we were taught?
And why?

So you join the many that passed before you as you approach the road that diverges in the wood. You stand before Morpheus as he asks you to choose between the red or blue pill. For the first time in remembered history, all humanity is receiving what Joseph Cambell aptly named the “Call to Adventure”. The “Call” is the feeling that draws you to this moment; the “Adventure” is ancient and simple- Gnothi Seauton-Know Thyself.

And what will you decide?

Will you take the “Blue Pill” and accept the consensus reality as presented. Look at any ideas that conflict with your own as “lies” or “blasphemy”.

Or will you take the “Red Pill” and fall from the Eden of your ignorance? Ignorance is a form of bliss. Easier to not know, to live in denial and hope the monsters will stay in the closet where they belong. Better to not open the closet lest you find a monster staring you in the face.

Or is it?

It is your decision. No one can solve your problems nor release you from your responsibilities. No one has your answers. You are here so you can play your part on this stage we call earth. 

Take these words to guide you:

"We have not even to risk the adventure alone; for the heroes of all time have gone before us; the labyrinth is thoroughly known; we have only to follow the thread of the hero path. And where we had thought find an abomination, we shall find a god; where we thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves; where we had thought to travel outward, we shall come to the center of our own existence; where we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world.”-Joseph Cambell

Welcome to the Enlightenment Principle.

What is the Enlightenment Principle?

Enlightenment is defined as- the action or state of attaining or having attained spiritual knowledge or insight.

And a principle can be defined as (although we will go into other definitions in greater detail)- a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.

So in short, the Enlightenment Principle is the fundamental truth that shows us the way to attain spiritual knowledge. Combining the great spiritual teachings of human history and the discoveries in the modern arts and sciences we can obtain a clear awareness that points the way to Enlightenment, or freedom from the suffering of the mind.

However, this is only one approach. There is no true path that supersedes other paths. The mind attaches to a concept and needs to make it absolute. But this is an illusion, a game of the mind. For example let us examine the Zen story “Finger pointing at the Moon”

The nun Wu Jincang asked the Sixth Patriarch Huineng-
"I have studied the Mahaparinirvana sutra for many years, yet there are many areas I do not quite understand. Please enlighten me."

The patriarch responded-

"I am illiterate. Please read out the characters to me and perhaps I will be able to explain the meaning."

Said the nun-
"You cannot even recognize the characters. How are you able then to understand the meaning?"

"Truth has nothing to do with words. Truth can be likened to the bright moon in the sky. Words, in this case, can be likened to a finger. The finger can point to the moon's location. However, the finger is not the moon. To look at the moon, it is necessary to gaze beyond the finger, right?"

So we expend our energy discussing the nature of the different fingers pointing the way and never see the moon. The finger (insert Guru, Religion, workshop, ect..) said the way is _________. Whatever is inserted in the blank may or may not get you to see the moon. Practice is the only way, the application of wisdom, and the experience of truth. One cannot obverse or quantify Enlightenment.

There is a story about Gautama Buddha after he attained enlightenment under the Bo (Wisdom) Tree. It is said that the Buddha passed a man on the road who was struck by the Buddha's extraordinary radiance and peaceful presence. The man stopped and asked,

"My friend, what are you?
Are you a celestial being, or a god?"

"No," said the Buddha.

"Well, then, are you some kind of magician, or wizard?"

Again the Buddha answered,

"No."

"Are you a man?"

"No."

"Well, my friend, then what are you?"

The Buddha replied,

"I am awake.”

So enlightenment is simply awaking to the true nature of Self. The total realization of what IS, not in an academic or intellectual way, but in a total embodiment of this understanding that is beyond names and forms. This understanding cannot be spoken, for words do not convey the truth. This brings about an obvious and fundamental problem that I will cover in detail in the next chapter.

Therefore, all we have left is words, concepts, art and other tools to convey this enlightened truth. So what are the principles that humanity has discovered that point the way to this truth? I have spent my life working to understand them, however in all my searching they never revealed their insight to me. I had given up, as there seemed to be no truth that was correct for all people at all times in all situations.

That is until the experience of my own life, showed them to me. It was if every book, every idea, every theory suddenly merged into one. And for the first time all the pieces fit. It was always there staring me in the face but my level of understanding didn’t allow me to see the order in the apparent chaos. I have continued to experiment with this understanding and not a day goes by that anything can happen that does not fit into this awareness. Every moment is a confirmation and brings greater bliss and peace.

However, this does not belong to me alone, but it is the birthright of us all. Many greater than myself have transcended and embodied enlightened awareness. As Sir Isaac Newton said, “If I have seen further it is only by standing on the shoulders of Giants.” I had the good fortune (karma) to be born into a family that demanded I engage in philosophical discourse. I was raised with several religions and allowed to consider them on their own merits. I then spent the time to research, explore and obtain direct experience by crossing our planet several times over to observe humanity in it’s various forms. And in the end it still required a strike of personal suffering to bring it all into focus. In the same way a Zen master will strike their students during meditation, a severe blow to my personal ego was required to reveal what my mind had obscured after all my training.

Still I was unsure if I should join the fray. Why add my voice to the countless calling for the masses to awaken? However once you understand the nature of the all-is-one reality, there is no other choice but to participate in the collective. So I offer my journey, my piece to the puzzle as a prayer for us all.

May all beings achieve enlightenment, and may my suffering be for the benefit of all sentient beings. May we all awaken to our unity, and may infinite love become our way of life.

Elias Arjan
January 2009.

P.S. This installment has a distinctly Buddhist flavor, as the concept of Enlightenment comes to us from Buddhism with it’s roots in the Vedic teachings. However many other wisdom traditions and scientific theories will be covered in the blogs to come.

Invocation.

Imagine you are in a dream. In this dream you are unaware of your past. You know it is there but it is like a distant voice you strain to hear, yet cannot make out. You know you have a purpose but you are not exactly sure what it is. It appears like a path wrapped in a deep fog where you are only able to see a few steps ahead before it disappears in to the mist.

In this dream you have an intake of breath, and you feel the rush of life-giving oxygen into every cell of your body. As the breath releases out of your lungs, you feel your body relax fully. Your eyes open and you see your body is made up of something other flesh and bone. You see that it is part of the entire dream. Connected though a complex network of what look like strings or beams of pure light.

And as you feel your physical body you realize that is it is not as you recall. There are no aches and pains, no irritations or discomforts. You body is fully activated and endowed with a raw power that is supple and fluid. You do not need your glasses, your prescriptions, your cane or anything else to allow you to move though this dream. In this dream you are naked and graceful as you observe this world.

And you see that all around you in this dream is an endless white. The dream is a vast emptiness, that is blank and waiting for you to add objects, color and the design elements for it to exist. Like a painter before a blank canvas you become filled with the creative impulse. It is not a desire or emotion or thought but all and none of these. It is an undeniable force that rises inside you and requires your participation to be born.

And in this dream you know what you must do. Your consciousness is both the brush and the paint, to create this artwork. And you begin to move, dance, and sing. And as you do the dream becomes a burst of light, color, and sound. Everything is as it should be, nothing is in the wrong place, nor does it happen at the wrong time. In this dream you live in an endless now that is harmony and bliss.

As you create your dream your awareness spreads and you experience other beings creating their own dreams. And you are conscious that your dream is intermingling with their dreams. And where they meet, the colors merge and the painting is different. It is not how you envisioned, but how could it be, as the others added to your dream and made it something more that you could have alone.

As the dream expands you understand that it is infinite. There are dreams, merging with dreams, within dreams. It all is a divine design that extends far beyond your ability to comprehend from where you are in the dream, but you know it is all-perfect beyond words. And in this moment you feel waves of love and joy merge with sorrow and pain. The crashing of endless seas of emotion. And you are one with the entire dream and you are no longer you.