Help! Struggling With The Enlightenment Path!

[Peace and Love]

I think I'm in need of a little guidance and encouragement right now. I feel really LOST! lol And it's making me feel very depressed and confused.

I've been on the enlightenment journey for a few years now.  I feel that this is a top priority no matter what occupation I have or do or where I am in life.  I know that your mind creates your reality.  You are what you believe yourself to be. I see how fear can play a huge role in our lives and prevent us from going after what we truly want. Inner happiness and fulfillment is created from within, not from external circumstances.

Things started to get really confusing for me when I took this Transcendental Meditation class a month ago, as a favor for a friend.  I attended it to give my friend support to help her with her PTSD. I had no idea there was a connection with Enlightenment from doing this meditation. And that you can achieve enlightenment from using transcendental meditation. 

I KNOW what I truly am.  I know what consciousness feels like and what it is. I know consciousness is the Unified Pathway, and that we are all one. I have experienced it many times first hand.  I know I am energy and I am infinite.  But I don't feel this way all time.  I only feel it during times of meditation, or when I use reiki, or hypnosis. I keep reminding myself of what I am, and what I have experienced, but that EGO gets in the way a lot.  I'm guessing there are different levels or stages of enlightenment to gain that full realization.  Where can I find more information on the different levels of enlightenment?

I guess you could say that "shit really hit the fan for me" when I took this class and I learned and realized that we are already "enlightened beings".  (It's one thing to understand it, but to actually know it and experience it is a whole other thing!) It is our "natural state of being" and that there is no point in life.  There really is no purpose, just for enjoyment, and happiness, and to follow your bliss.  And by following your bliss/excitement you are listening to your higher-self and that is your life purpose. After finding this out, I just became really depressed and had this lack of direction and motivation. I thought I would be happy and there would be this huge release and weight off my shoulders but I'm feeling the opposite effect.  I'm even questioning my career choices and may be switching jobs to create more bliss and happiness in my life.   Is it normal to feel this way?  Am I missing something here???

I've discovered on this journey that there is a huge correlation between Enlightenment and the Law of Attraction and creating your reality. I have used the Law of Attraction to successfully attract a new romantic relationship, where I am loved and respected.  And I've been manifesting/projecting to the Universe for the last few months that "I am already enlightened" and that "I have transcended into a higher dimension or frequency". So I am sure I have attracted these circumstances into my life.

I read a lot of stuff from Bashar, Kevin Trudeau,  and from Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (the Transcendental Meditation guy! lol).  Now that I know that absolute infinity exists and that all of reality exists and I create my own reality....I've started to question everything I know.  Are angels real? Aliens real?  Am I God? What exactly is the higher self? Or am I creating/manifesting these things into my reality?  It's really thrown me into this emotional loop.  

It is possible that there are things in my personal life that are being garbled with all this questioning of life right now.  Last week was the year anniversary of my dad's passing away from stage 4 colon cancer.  And the day before my dad passed away was my mom's birthday, and feeling the pressure of trying to keep her happy and emotionally balanced all week hasn't helped. I've started to question my career choices and if I want to continue hypnosis and reiki. I just feel so incredibly lost! 

@egoeimai, @Sarah Marie



 

[Azrael]

You are not there yet. Once you get it, you won't be confused any more. It's like finding out that you are a man / woman. Once you know that you are a man, you don't need to do anything to get it. Because it is recognized by default. It's the same with enlightenment

Being enlightened is binary, in or out. There is no depth to this realization. But then, there is infinite depth with what you make out of it. Like, there are pussies who cry all day and there a man who make something out of there lifes. You can argue that the later made more out of "being a man". The same applies to the enlightenment realization.

So, just go on. Confusion and depression just let's you know that it's working because all your shit gets out.

[cetus]

@Peace and Love Just wondering. How's your friend doing now that she started practicing TM?

[Nahm]

@Peace and Love there is more to be seen.  there is clarity to be realized with regard to your concerns.   shroom tea.  

[Leo Gura]

2 hours ago, Peace and Love said:

I'm guessing there are different levels or stages of enlightenment to gain that full realization.  Where can I find more information on the different levels of enlightenment?

You guess correct. But the whole point of this path is that you do not know how deep it goes, and you cannot know until you walk it all the way.

It's sort of like you're doing scientific research and you ask, "How deep will this research go?" You can't know before you complete the research!

The problem here is that you wanna know conceptually without walking the path into the unknown. That is the wrong attitude. Instead, you wanna keep things open. Let your inquiry be open-ended, rather than saying, "Okay, now I am at stage B, then will come stage C, and finally my goal is to get to stage Z." No! You don't know that! The only way you could get such an idea is if you get it through hearsay, but since you don't know which hearsay is correct, you cannot trust anyone but your direct experience.

It's safest to assume the path goes on forever with infinite stages. Then you just keep walking it and see what the view looks like. If you assume there are 5 stages, you will stop at stage 5. But there might be a stage 6 which you will then never reach because you were not really being open to the unknown.

The whole point here is to be humble and admit that you don't know, but you're curious enough to explore to the fullest. It's really like being the first person to explore a new planet. You cannot depend on any external authority. Just because some guy claims to have seen everything that planet has to offer, doesn't make it true. You might discover a totally new thing there.

The nature of knowledge is that it's always incomplete.

[egoeimai]

@Peace and Love Im not sure if Enlightenment really exists and personally I don't even know if that's something achievable or bs. 

But all I can say is that, okay you ate saying that you keep reminding to yourself what you are, but remember you are infinite, who is making those questions?  Is that YOU?  No. You can't get rid of the nervous system its there to protect the body, so you are the awareness who sees all that. So imagine if there is a theater and you are just watching you can't judge you can't take part there, you just watch, so that's what you are. If that's true, you are not the body, the person, you are the one who sees all that. So!  Everything else is just not you, not these questions or worries etc. So maybe there's not such a thing as Enlightenment, because you are always there, you can't act on something or request or want because you (awareness)  doesn't need anything, just exists always and everywhere. 

[WelcometoReality]

@Peace and Love You can't get through this with gaining more knowledge about enlightenment, you get through it by listening to yourself. Let yourself feel confused, angry or frightened. From what you've written it seems that you feel confused and you don't want to feel that way so you are trying to seek your way out of it. But the confusion shows you that this course is working. You're doing great, keep doing what you are doing. 

[Peace and Love]

@Azrael - Thanks for your insight.  I've feeling a lot better today.  I did a lot of studying and self reflection the last few days to gain clarity.

On 10/19/2017 at 0:58 PM, Azrael said:

You are not there yet. Once you get it, you won't be confused any more. It's like finding out that you are a man / woman. Once you know that you are a man, you don't need to do anything to get it. Because it is recognized by default. It's the same with enlightenment

Being enlightened is binary, in or out. There is no depth to this realization. But then, there is infinite depth with what you make out of it. Like, there are pussies who cry all day and there a man who make something out of there lifes. You can argue that the later made more out of "being a man". The same applies to the enlightenment realization.

So, just go on. Confusion and depression just let's you know that it's working because all your shit gets out.

 

[Peace and Love]

@Maxx - Very true.  And you make a good point here. My ego is fighting for this, when there truly is nothing to fight for.  I just have to surrender. Just be.

I could not agree more with you that "time is definitely a projection of the mind".  As a reiki master we have different symbols that are used for healing and one of them that is used among Reiki masters focuses on the time illusion.  The symbol means "no past, no present, and no future."

I don't know how many people on this forum follow Bashar, but I do like his explanation of time and space and absolute infinity.  I'm going to copy and paste some of the points that he makes that resonate with me. They are provided from the link below. Perhaps these ideas will resonate with others.

http://iasos.com/metaphys/bashar/

1  You exist.   (I AM) 
2  Everything is Here/Now.
3  The All is one, and the One is all. 
4  What you put out is what you get back.   (aka Law of Attraction, for those that are not familiar with this idea)
5  The only constant in the universe is change -  
     except for the first 4 postulates, which never change.

 

1  You exist.   (I AM) 
If you exist now, your existence is eternal:
You have always existed and you always will exist.  You may change form,
but you are existing always .   So.....relax.....you'll be around forever.

2  Everything is Here/Now. 
Time and Space are illusions.   (But your experiences within Time/Space are "real".)
There is only Here/Now.

3  The All is one, and the One is all. 
Just as each tiny section of a hologram contains the information for the entire
hologram, likewise we are all inter-connected.   
Everything is truly just one totally-interconnected "thing".

4  What you put out is what you get back. 
The "outside" is a reflection of the "inside".
Physical reality is actually a mirror:  
Your physical reality is just a holographic reflection of
what you most strongly believe to be true.    And like a mirror, physical reality
will not change unless you change first (change what you most strongly believe).

5  The only constant in the universe is change -  
except for the first 4 postulates, which never change.
So.....might as well get used to eternally-changing Creation.
Enjoy the ride!   Surf the changes!

 

All "things" are the same one thing vibrating at different rates

Just as water and steam and ice are all the same thing vibrating at different frequencies, likewise, matter and energy are the same substance vibrating at different frequencies.

 

highest frequencies                        steam                        Consciousness 

medium frequencies                water  (liquid)                   Spirit  (electromagnetheric energy) 

lower frequencies                                ice                             Matter 

All things are Spirit vibrating at different frequencies. Matter is solidified energy. Matter is Spirit energy vibrating at a slower frequency. Your body is solidified Spirit, crystallized Spirit. Your Spirit is not in your body. Your body is in your Spirit. As you raise your vibrations, you become more Spirit-like, moving closer towards fluid-like Spirit, thereby making your reality creation more malleable and easily changeable.

 

 

Trusting your Timing

We, as our Higher Self (Over-Soul) actually creates Time (as we experience it).     Our Higher Self exists outside Time and Space.   It projects portions of itself into specific time/space holograms (time/space matrixes), which we then experience as an incarnation.    So, from the point of view of any one incarnation, there is time, there is "past, present, and future".     But from the point of view of the Higher Self, there is no Time. It's all happening NOW. It's just one big Eternal-NOW.  So keep in mind that our Higher Self  is creating the actual "time" that we are experiencing in a linear fashion.

 

 

It's all a hologram of many holograms.

In a hologram, each part of the hologram contains the information for the whole hologram.  The universe is structured holographically.  You are holographic. Each possible "version" of your reality is also holographic.    You contain within you all possible versions of reality.  All holograms (versions of reality) are contained within you.   From all these infinite possibilities, you "select" the version to be experienced with your beliefs, imagination, and feelings.   Your imagination is the "archive" of all your possible holograms.  From this archive of possibilities, the version that you "imagine" (believe, or focus your imagination on) is your currently-selected version of reality.    Then you "activate" this selected version with your feelings. The more intense the feelings, the more powerfully you activate this version, and therefore, the more quickly it manifests as your tangible reality.    Positive feelings activate the positive desired versions. Negative feelings activate the negative undesired versions (the dreaded outcomes).   

Your beliefs are the result of what you imagine, and then activate with your feelings.  The version with the most intense feelings attached to it, is the version that gets activated.

As an analogy, if your computer screen offers you many choices, and all you have to do is click on one of them to select it, then your imagination is the total of all the available choices on the screen.   Moving the mouse to the desired choice is like focusing your imagination on one particular vision.  And then clicking on that choice is like using your feelings to activate your selection.

 

 

The PRESENT is not the result of the PAST.
The PRESENT is the result of the PRESENT.

Creation occurs only in the PRESENT. The PRESENT is the Now result of what you Now believe to be most true for you.   Continuity from one present moment to the next is considered "normal", but is actually optional: If you suddenly make a discrete shift in beliefs, you will experience a sudden discrete shift in your Now reality.  The PRESENT is the Now result of what you Now believe to be most true for you. 

The past has absolutely no effect on the present - except to the extent that you believe it does.

As you change your present (by changing your present beliefs), you are "shifting" into a different parallel reality and that different parallel reality has its own "future" and "past". Said another way, when you change your present, you are likewise also changing your past and your future. That is, you are shifting to a totally different hologram which contains its own "past" that is consistent with its "present", and also its own "future" which is likewise consistent with its "present".    As I believe Bashar says: "You create the past and the future from the here and now."

Continuity is an "illusion", just like the continuity in movies is an illusion, since it's really 24 discrete pictures per second. Therefore, continuity is optional. The past progressively leads to the present, but it does not cause the present. And just as movies can suddenly shift from one scene to a totally different scene, likewise you can too - since continuity is really not necessary.

Only the present is real. Therefore only the present can create the present.

If you insist in believing that the present is the result of the past, then you are (now) dragging the past into the present, and (now) "projecting" that this seeming past has an effect on the present. (Notice, by the way, that all this "dragging the past into the present" is also all occurring ONLY in the present.)    This is like dragging an anchor around, rather than simply letting go of the anchor (the past) and living freely and easily in the present.   Be free of the past!   Live joyously in the present!

 

On 10/19/2017 at 1:30 PM, Maxx said:

Recently I don't see any use in talking about enlightenment and trying to "help someone" getting there on a forum. But anyway. 

To be quite honest there seem to be some wrong believes about enlightenment there.

1. There is no journey to enlightenment. Time is a projection of your mind.

2. You will never ever get to enlightenment. It is impossible. The person cannot get there. What you say sounds like you want to get there personally. You talk about a personal journey and your personal feelings. The person as such is not real. It's way more fundamental than you think. You are not even the one who is thinking.

Actually you were not even writing "your" posting.

 

[Peace and Love]

On 10/19/2017 at 1:32 PM, cetus56 said:

@Peace and Love Just wondering. How's your friend doing now that she started practicing TM?

@cetus56   Thank you for asking.  She hasn't received the results that she wanted, and that's partly because she doesn't truly understand the nature of transcendental meditation.  (Although I absolutely loved it, and TM has helped me cope tremendously with dealing with my Dad.  Other students in my class were also receiving noticeable results.) My friend has a lot of other personal healing to do. She's expecting to find "instant gratification" relief using meditation and other methods for all of her problems, when transcendental meditation pulls out your thoughts and emotions as a cleansing process, which is normal.  The true healing with this sort of meditation is doing the meditation work, and feeling the positive effects outside of meditation. Which has been proven statistically to help those with PTSD and other depression issues, etc, when the effort and work is put in.

She also can not focus on anything for long periods of time (and with this meditation, you need to focus on a mantra for 20 minutes twice a day).  She struggles with even 5-10 minutes of meditation, and also sometimes doesn't make an effort.  She has a lot of physical health issues that prevent her from concentrating and has very severe PTSD.  I've tried EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) and TFT (Thought Field Therapy) with her earlier this year and she has had very minimal relief.  Not that these methods don't necessarily work, as I've seen them work on others (and myself included) but because she can't do the tapping long enough to receive results.  But I will say since she has changed her diet, there has been some drastic results in her health, which has improved a lot of her concentration and her mental issues! Earlier this year, which was very close to when my Dad passed, my friend was also in the hospital. She was close to death as well.  It was her wake up call to get her act together.  She changed her diet and started to lose the weight.  As she lost the weight, I've noticed that she could start reading, and listening to audio books again.  She made an effort to get better, and took this TM class with me instead of moping around and being depressed. She also made an effort to become more outgoing and meet new people. She has made big changes, but not big enough to her pleasure.

I've learned on my journey that healing is in truth holistic (aka whole-istic) - physical, mental and spiritual.  You need a balance in all three to receive full healing. My friend has a severe "unbalance" in her physical health.  I think as she continues to lose weight things will likely improve even more and she will benefit from the TM Meditation. I'm expecting more drastic changes in the next few months.   She's currently on oxygen and can only leave her home for extended periods of time.  I've read in holistic books and it was also mentioned in my TM class  a few times that there is a huge connection with our body and our mind.  Our mind (beliefs and thoughts) can greatly influence our physical health causing a weakening of the immune system and development of various illnesses and diseases.  And our physical health (as if we eat poorly) can effect the output of our mental  (weakening parts of bodies that govern our emotional output).

There are books that talk about how various "certain thoughts and beliefs" can cause very "specific illnesses" in the body.  I've seen and experienced this in myself and in others. And forgiveness is a huge part of not only the mental healing but also the physical healing process (which many people are not truly aware of). I've literally forgiven myself and others while being physically sick, and experienced illness leave my body.  (I've dropped the names and titles of these books, and brought up the healing power of forgiveness on this forum several times.  I'm not sure if others on this forum really understood what I was talking about, so I stopped mentioning it.)  I have a feeling I will be returning shortly to these books for further healing for myself.

Surprisingly my friend that is ill is the one that has given me the copies of these books. I'm hoping as time passes I will be able to help her address a lot of her PTSD so that she can forgive those that hurt her and treated her poorly while growing up.

Thank you again for your support and concern.

[Peace and Love]

@Nahm

On 10/19/2017 at 1:45 PM, Nahm said:

@Peace and Love there is more to be seen.  there is clarity to be realized with regard to your concerns.   shroom tea.  

I could not agree more with you.  There is always more to learn.  We are infinite, and there are infinite ways to grow and learn.  There is no rush in time, as time does not exist.  I will evolve and change at my own pace.  I've reflected and returned to my studies the last few days and feel an overall improvement. This has been bothering less and less as I've regained clarity and answers.

lol.  Shroom tea....I wish it could be that easy for me.  I can't even drink a glass of wine without passing out on the floor!  I have a ton of food allergies so I eat pretty much a raw vegan plant based diet.  I can't risk the chances unfortunately. Although I'm happy for those individuals that have used various psychedelics and have had break throughs and enlightenment experiences.

[Vercingetorix]

maybe I misunderstand you and you already know  this, but Law of attraction cannot bring you directly to enlightenment

like they say in zen, desiring to get enlightenment is one thing that hinders you from getting it.

[Peace and Love]

@Leo Gura

On 10/19/2017 at 2:47 PM, Leo Gura said:

You guess correct. But the whole point of this path is that you do not know how deep it goes, and you cannot know until you walk it all the way.

It's sort of like you're doing scientific research and you ask, "How deep will this research go?" You can't know before you complete the research!

The problem here is that you wanna know conceptually without walking the path into the unknown. That is the wrong attitude. Instead, you wanna keep things open. Let your inquiry be open-ended, rather than saying, "Okay, now I am at stage B, then will come stage C, and finally my goal is to get to stage Z." No! You don't know that! The only way you could get such an idea is if you get it through hearsay, but since you don't know which hearsay is correct, you cannot trust anyone but your direct experience.

It's safest to assume the path goes on forever with infinite stages. Then you just keep walking it and see what the view looks like. If you assume there are 5 stages, you will stop at stage 5. But there might be a stage 6 which you will then never reach because you were not really being open to the unknown.

The whole point here is to be humble and admit that you don't know, but you're curious enough to explore to the fullest. It's really like being the first person to explore a new planet. You cannot depend on any external authority. Just because some guy claims to have seen everything that planet has to offer, doesn't make it true. You might discover a totally new thing there.

The nature of knowledge is that it's always incomplete.

You are right. And I am humble enough to admit and say that I don't know! lol And I read and study a lot during the majority of my spare time and I still don't know! lol.  Like you have taught all of us here that "we are infinite" I agree there are perhaps infinite stages of enlightenment, and infinite things to learn.  The learning and personal development growth will never end. 

My ego, thoughts and beliefs are creating enlightenment stages that I must complete. Yet there are many paths and ways to achieve enlightenment. And no two experiences of enlightenment are the same.  Thank you for your guidance and your insight.

[Peace and Love]

@Vercingetorix

4 minutes ago, Vercingetorix said:

maybe I misunderstand you and you already know  this, but Law of attraction cannot bring you directly to enlightenment

like they say in zen, desiring to get enlightenment is one thing that hinders you from getting it.

Perhaps you are right.  although I can not say since I have not experienced it. And I agree with @Leo Gura.  I don't know! lol

I think the Law of Attraction is a great way to control the ego, and manifest things that you want regarding your life purpose.  Although I do find it rather fascinating that I attracted this TM class...which they say can lead to enlightenment.

[Peace and Love]

@egoeimai

On 10/19/2017 at 2:53 PM, egoeimai said:

@Peace and Love Im not sure if Enlightenment really exists and personally I don't even know if that's something achievable or bs. 

But all I can say is that, okay you ate saying that you keep reminding to yourself what you are, but remember you are infinite, who is making those questions?  Is that YOU?  No. You can't get rid of the nervous system its there to protect the body, so you are the awareness who sees all that. So imagine if there is a theater and you are just watching you can't judge you can't take part there, you just watch, so that's what you are. If that's true, you are not the body, the person, you are the one who sees all that. So!  Everything else is just not you, not these questions or worries etc. So maybe there's not such a thing as Enlightenment, because you are always there, you can't act on something or request or want because you (awareness)  doesn't need anything, just exists always and everywhere. 

You do have a point here.  Enlightenment can not be achieved through the ego.  It involves losing the self.

You are a great friend, and thank you for your support.

[Peace and Love]

@WelcometoReality

On 10/20/2017 at 6:15 AM, WelcometoReality said:

@Peace and Love You can't get through this with gaining more knowledge about enlightenment, you get through it by listening to yourself. Let yourself feel confused, angry or frightened. From what you've written it seems that you feel confused and you don't want to feel that way so you are trying to seek your way out of it. But the confusion shows you that this course is working. You're doing great, keep doing what you are doing. 

Thanks for your support and message. I was definitely stirred up to say the least! lol

[jon hinkle]

I have similar problems of motivation; the 'world is so much 'stuff'', noise, misdirected energy- I used to think that I was above it all  ..awake... /not so/ I am a machine like all contianers'... my latest insight is the" samsara is nirvana" it is all one and to focus on the surface is not helpful .

[Bebop]

This is an excerpt from the Path is Everywhere by Matt Licata, I hope you find encouragement from these words:
"You will learn there is never anything wrong with you, and it's not actually possible to be having the wrong experience, ever. That you were never meant to get there --- the far-off Utopia, the enlightened self, the perfect bodymind --- you were always meant to be here, in all of your messy and glorious imperfection. Here, in this moment as it is, is the Garden of Eden you've always tried to find. And you --- as you are, even with your human flaws and failing, longings, and sorrows --- are the Gift. Your humanness is not less than your divinity; your humanness is the divine expression itself. Your confusion, your pain, your fear, your anger, your sorrow, even your feelings of shame and guilt and unworthiness are all drenched with intelligence, saturated with wisdom, infused with the same power that makes the sun shine and the grass grow in springtime. And however painful, however uncomfortable, however intense the present moment gets, you are always exactly where you need to be."



 

[Vercingetorix]

we use words, trying to explain stuff, all just for not fully feeling our emotions. Ultimately words are just dust in the wind. to move towards freedom you have to understand the true nature of thoughts, to stop giving them power and start feeling everything you tried to avoid so far.
What I try to do nowadays is whenever I'm lost in a story/emotion is to sit and meditate and focus on feeling the emotion (developing concentration really helps in not engaging in  thoughts), and I do it until the emotion is released, theoretically even if it lasts the whole day or a week. Whenever I have free time I sit and continue the process until the story is dismantled (now that I think about it it's basically vipassana  ;D ).