This thread reminded me of a recent email exchange I had with a friend whose spiritual group was visited by Jan Frazier, who has written a book called "When Fear Falls Away." In it, Frazier describes her sudden and completely unexpected awakening into a state of profound contentment. "Call it 'enlightenment' if you like," my friend wrote. He said this of Frazier's presentation:
"Jan Frazier's talk was very good but very unassuming, understated. Those of us on this side of the enlightenment experience want these 'big minds' to be all fireworks and inspiration, but of course the actual experience of awakening is simple, unadorned, immediate." Here's the best part of the exchange, to my mind: "Someone asked her [Frazier] if she had been in touch with her guru, Gurumayi, since her awakening. She seemed surprised by the question. She said, 'I didn't think to call Gurumayi. The experience isn't one of `winning' and wanting to call your mentor to give her the good news. It was more like `Duh why didn't I get this earlier?'" Contrast this reaction to the title of this thread.
