[FairfieldLife] What does enlightened mean?
On 08/09/2011 05:53 AM, turquoiseb wrote: snip What is your personal definition of enlightenment? Where did it come from? I would suggest that these two questions are inexorably linked, and some thought can be productively given to that link.__. After 40 years of pondering this question, it seems to me that it means pretty much what I want it to mean, me and the other 7 billion of Lucy's ancestors. Its been said that it started when we followed herds of cattle across the savanna, not yet fully erect, and found delicious mushrooms in the dung they left behind. From this, flashes of light lead to complete sounds and before we knew it we were capable of opinions. With consciousness we noticed the growth of its strange bedfellow we have come to call emotion and before long we knew what it is not even better than what it is. Like many, there have been individuals that have had an impact on what I understand my world and life to be. Some highlights of what they seem to think with some of my own insights hidden for no reason at all. Maybe enlightened is a well developed sense of fairness and generosity or being able to laugh at myself rather than my own jokes. Maybe It's common sense or admitting the obvious. Maybe being able to forgive or forget or maybe the capacity to say I'm sorry and admit to myself and others when I've done something wrong. Maybe its letting someone in first or holding the door for someone who needs it or not being a victim and taking responsibility for my actions rather than forever explaining my failings by pointing out how I was taken advantage of. Maybe its dwelling on how we're similar rather that how I'm unique. Maybe its admitting when I need help and putting my hand out to ask for support. Maybe its not just dropping money in the beggars hat but stopping and speaking with him or her like he's part of someones family. Maybe its sharing with God and another human being how I've failed and maybe want to do better. Maybe its listening rather than talking or maybe its learning to pray or to meditate just in case it makes me a better human being. Maybe its a willingness to pay my fair share when mostly luck gave me more than many around me. And maybe, just maybe, if its also a flash of light and a brilliant illumination that dispels the clouds of unknowing- I'm sure behaviour will be part, if not all, of how I measure myself at twilights last gleaming. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yXRGdZdonMfeature=related _,_.___ Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic Messages in this topic (9) Recent Activity: * New Members 5 * New Photos 1 * New Files 1 Visit Your Group To subscribe, send a message to: fairfieldlife-subscr...@yahoogroups.com Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use .
Re: [FairfieldLife] What does enlightened mean?
On 08/09/2011 04:50 PM, Vaj wrote: On Aug 9, 2011, at 7:35 PM, Bhairitu wrote: The term simply means experiencing an inner light ideally 24/7. It does not mean an intellectual state though many confuse it with one. But it should improve clarity of thinking. The process is raising the vibrational rate of the individual ideally enough so you aren't stuck coming back to this lower world. ;-) Great point - and a universal one: authentic awakening is universally photistic. If you confuse that with intellectual enlightenments you really missed the point. As a friend pointed out 'it's like a skylight opened in the top of my head.' And as I have mentioned before Indians talk about seeing the third eye opened and I've seen that myself on people. It's a little spot of light coming out of that area. What I gave is pretty much the classical definition but people sure love to make up their own and those can be very strange. And in many cases they seem to want to make enlightenment further away than it really is.
[FairfieldLife] What does enlightened mean?
What is your personal definition of enlightenment? Where did it come from? I would suggest that these two questions are inexorably linked, and some thought can be productively given to that link. In another spiritual tradition, albeit a short-lived one, the definition of enlightenment given to students was The ability to manifest golden light, and be funny. Not coincidentally, the teacher who proposed this definition was capable of producing the reality of or the subjective impression of golden light, and was pretty damned funny. To this day many of his students consider these two qualities to be THE definition of enlightenment. Some of them throw into the mix, Does he drive a Mercedes?, but the two biggies are golden light and funny. This has always struck me as being similar to Barry Bonds declaring that enlightenment is defined by the ability to hit 762 home runs during one's career as a major league baseball player. Bzt. Maharishi was a big one for definitions. He proposed many such definitions of enlightenment. Were they true, or were they him parroting what he'd been told by his own teachers? I personally don't think we'll ever know, but it has not escaped my attention that many people believe that his definitions of enlightenment were 100 percent accurate, because -- of course -- he was enlightened, and thus knew fersure. Some former Rama students feel the same way. I am less than convinced, which makes me somewhat of a heretic with regard to their teachings. Both of them. I have no earthly idea what enlightenment is fersure, and I certainly don't take either of their definitions as to what it is as gospel, or as truth. These days I don't even CARE very much about the buzzword enlightenment, or about assigning it to anyone. It's just a buzzword, a pseudo-definition of something I am not convinced can ever be defined. Does that make me a Bad Person?
Re: [FairfieldLife] What does enlightened mean?
On 08/09/2011 05:53 AM, turquoiseb wrote: What is your personal definition of enlightenment? Where did it come from? I would suggest that these two questions are inexorably linked, and some thought can be productively given to that link. In another spiritual tradition, albeit a short-lived one, the definition of enlightenment given to students was The ability to manifest golden light, and be funny. Not coincidentally, the teacher who proposed this definition was capable of producing the reality of or the subjective impression of golden light, and was pretty damned funny. To this day many of his students consider these two qualities to be THE definition of enlightenment. Some of them throw into the mix, Does he drive a Mercedes?, but the two biggies are golden light and funny. This has always struck me as being similar to Barry Bonds declaring that enlightenment is defined by the ability to hit 762 home runs during one's career as a major league baseball player. Bzt. Maharishi was a big one for definitions. He proposed many such definitions of enlightenment. Were they true, or were they him parroting what he'd been told by his own teachers? I personally don't think we'll ever know, but it has not escaped my attention that many people believe that his definitions of enlightenment were 100 percent accurate, because -- of course -- he was enlightened, and thus knew fersure. Some former Rama students feel the same way. I am less than convinced, which makes me somewhat of a heretic with regard to their teachings. Both of them. I have no earthly idea what enlightenment is fersure, and I certainly don't take either of their definitions as to what it is as gospel, or as truth. These days I don't even CARE very much about the buzzword enlightenment, or about assigning it to anyone. It's just a buzzword, a pseudo-definition of something I am not convinced can ever be defined. Does that make me a Bad Person? Starts Monday October 10th: http://www.hbo.com/#/enlightened The term simply means experiencing an inner light ideally 24/7. It does not mean an intellectual state though many confuse it with one. But it should improve clarity of thinking. The process is raising the vibrational rate of the individual ideally enough so you aren't stuck coming back to this lower world. ;-)
Re: [FairfieldLife] What does enlightened mean?
On Aug 9, 2011, at 7:35 PM, Bhairitu wrote: The term simply means experiencing an inner light ideally 24/7. It does not mean an intellectual state though many confuse it with one. But it should improve clarity of thinking. The process is raising the vibrational rate of the individual ideally enough so you aren't stuck coming back to this lower world. ;-) Great point - and a universal one: authentic awakening is universally photistic. If you confuse that with intellectual enlightenments you really missed the point. As a friend pointed out 'it's like a skylight opened in the top of my head.'
