waking up - being awake - being enlightened - break it down - define it

Just when you think you are awake and you got it you realize you are not and dont.

That is called being awake. aware, and enlightened.

reply to post by doubledutch

There are a lot of people walking around totally unaware of who they are, (one with the creator and angel on Earth). Totally unconscience of their surroundings and duality. I see them as dead weight walking around, taking up space so to speak. That does not mean that I am superior or inferior, it just is. Nor do I mean any negative condentation with that statement. Someone who is awakening is rising their vibratory level through the path of enlightenment. You see, we are light beings, pure energy by nature. But if the light is off.....then we are "sleeping", so to speak. The light comes on by someone saying something or reading something that resonates with you as truth to your/our divinity. We recognize that are ONE with Prime Creator. Once that light goes on.....,.,your decisions become more about "feeling" your answers from your heart rather than your "thinking" all the time. Decisions start to be made from the heart instead of the head. You become more fine tuned like an antenna to electricity. You become more aware and you FEEL it as though you are vibrating, because you are. The higher the vibration the more enlightenment you are. You are slower to "react" negatirvely to situations, you become more compassionate about all things in life from a kinder more balanced perspective. You have an overall change of attitude.

Being asleep is believing what you think, see, read or hear. Being awake is witnessing oneself and their life in the present moment without reference to historical states of mind. Being in the NOW.

Being enlightened is witnessing the world of the eternal, beyond physical and logical (brain) 'realities', seeing the purpose of your reincarnation.

No one is better or worse than anyone else, the difference is, some are asleep and some are awake.
Reading about conspiracies and agreeing with them is NOT being awake or enlightened. It can only be a nudge to push you to learn about YOURSELF and your life. Both in physical and spiritual perceived realities.

These are answers that can not be fitted within a tidy forum response. You have to experience it for yourself.

Originally posted by youthsavior
Being awake / enlightened, spiritual or not, is when you realize you are not the only one/ thing in the universe. It's when you accept the fact that there are things greater that what we see and have on this planet. It's when you understand that anything is possible. Being open to all these possibilities is being awake / enlightened.

I thought that was normal, I have always been that way, ever since I can remember. The problem with people is they are narrow minded or afraid of loosing their status. The status quo is more important to them then taking care of the planet or coming up with clean energies, or anything on that level. For instance. Ask yourself why governments are the way they are. Their is no apparent reason that things should be so screwed up. Money, power and greed ( status quo ) are more important. I for one don't get it. When it comes to governments and running a country correctly. We should be living a great world of technology and exploration. But, we don't. Why all the secrets ? Why all the corruption ? This is more the issue I believe.

reply to post by doubledutch

I ask this of my open minded ats friends...could someone please explain what waking up is. Is it becoming aware of the fact that there is more to this world and to this life than we are lead to believe or is it more than that...

Its an extremely vast topic.... for me it was a direct experiencing and knowing that I am not my personality, not my body, not any thought, emotion, feeling, like/dislike ....it was like everything who I thought myself to be and everything that 99% of people think themselves to Be .....crumbled.

......in the Ashes of that deconstruction, the only thing left was pure clarity, contentment, mastery of self (because self died in a sense), pure Joy, Love, a type of Oneness that's alive.....

That for me was the awakening...... and yet the part of me that supposedly awakening, simply begin to drop away (ego) leaving the truth to revealed ...reality without labels....

and what is being spiritually enlightened? and how is it any different from being awake, or (spiritually) aware? dose that even make sense?.

yea makes sense....

There is many degrees to all of this. One can begin meditating, have a HUGE awesome inner experience and believe they are awakened by that. Afterwards more and bigger experiences can happen and the ego/mind complex can feel it is awakened then....

However ...there is a permanent awakening, in which it is seen that the mind creates Illusions, is basically a projector of illusions..... in the permanence of that seeing and knowing is when the real ride begins.... a merging with the infinite....

It is all completely compatible with most religions ...however the Awakening is a mystical, inner, Esoteric deal. Most religions are exoteric and on the outer plane simply using the mind and emotions........

Just read books. Check out I Am That by Nisargadatta, anything Mystic like Christian Mysticism (Bernadette Roberts) anything Sufi, Peter Ralston, Nonduality, Advaita Vedanta, Jeff Foster, Tolle, The Source of the 'I; Thought, meditation ...etc....

Right now is a potent time to start studying this stuff and meditating ...it seems there is something in the air that is electric and people are just snapping out of the mental slavery-illusion program ..... It is AWESOME.
_____________________
In Reply To Griffo,

It's a term used by people to make them feel superior to others, who they call 'asleep'[

Lol ....I use to say the exact same thing when I was an atheist ...use to laugh at the awakened Ones, used to think it was some silly mind game....

Boy was I wrong...... I would literally sacrifice my own life for you to even have a smidgen of a glimpse of the reality that is experienced daily here on this end....... FRICKIN Pure Freedom!!!!!!

Originally posted by Angelicdefender2012
reply to post by doubledutch

 

The higher the vibration the more enlightenment you are. You are slower to "react" negatirvely to situations, you become more compassionate about all things in life from a kinder more balanced perspective. You have an overall change of attitude.

I believe you have touched upon the crux of this whole thing. Those who are without compassion, without empathy, versus those who weep because of their compassion and empathy. The former are -dead- asleep. Also they can be egomaniacal control freaks who get into positions of authority over everyone, unfortunately. I remember a saying from Douglas Adam's The HitchHiker's Guide To The Galaxy, where in this one alien society, "Those who so most wanted to rule, were banned from doing so".....

Originally posted by doubledutch
and is being awake just being more aware or is being awake being enlightened
and what is being spiritually enlightened? and how is it any different from being awake, or (spiritually) aware?

edit on 8-2-2011 by doubledutch because: (no reason given)

Having awoken or being awake means for me not to be illusioned anymore; being disillusioned about something.

It's like when you sleep you behave on autopilot, you don't think about things, you just do them (controlled by your subconscious) you believe the dream world to be real (you are illusioned about "reality"
... but once you're awake, you start consciously doing things, think about what you do and you are disillusioned that you had just dreamt some hours before.

reply to post by doubledutch


I think that being enlightened or being awake means different things to different people... or maybe it means the same but people describe it differently.

I don't want to argue but I think a good way to start off is by responding to the comment the one poster made about feeling superior to those who are "asleep." The reason I want to start with that is because truly being enlightened means the total opposite of that. You realize that you are superior to no one. You realize that you are on equal footing with every other person in the world, no matter how "good or bad" that person may be. Myself, I try to believe that EVERYBODY has a little bit of good in them. There are some people that it's hard to find goodness in at all, but you still have compassion for that person. I'll admit that there are many many people on this earth who it is HARD to have compassion for, but I think that person was born into this life to learn to grow spiritually, the same as the rest of us.

I also think that the biggest part of enlightenment is to learn to think for yourself and to forget or at the very least question everything that you've been told to believe your whole life. For me, it's religion. For many many years, I just believed what people told me to believe, out of fear that if I didn't, I was going to hell. Finally, when I woke up, I realized that God gave me a brain for a reason and it wasn't to let a bunch of other humans fill it with crap. But at the same time, I don't put these people down because he/she may believe differently than me.

To sum it all up, I think what it all boils down to is love... love for everyone, even those who believe differently, put you down, love to start trouble, etc. It's just being able to see the bigger picture.

I think some people are born "awake" and stay that way. Others are taught to be prejudiced, that it's ok to hate certain people, that violence is fine, etc. and then it's up to that individual to overcome those beliefs on his/her own.

I'm running on very little sleep here, but this is what comes to mind right now. I may post more on my views of enlightenment later.

reply to post by doubledutch


Awakening and Enlightenment are 2 different things.

Awakening - Is is a process, its the ability to begin to see the "bigger" picture on life, seeing through that BS that the governments of this world have put in place. Being able to tell truth from lies by using your intuition instead of listening to what your told.

Enlightenment - Is being able to understand that we are not the only beings that exist and that no matter what evil or good there is in the world, everything has a place and is due respect as you are yourself

It's the end of mind made suffering. It is seen that what i am ( you are ) can not be found.
Always busy with the thinking, past to future, missing the now present moment. Why worry about the when and then ? Check it out are they real, do they exist or are they just thoughts? We can only assume that anything exists outside of our awareness, anything outside your vision is a made up story, it is just a thought. Imagination may seem like a good thing, feels like it has been taught along the way, but peace is leaving it all behind.
The mind, imagination has one main job and that is to make it safe, make it better. How can i get more, i'm not enough etc. Watch the mind, it is very noisy. But know for sure it is not you thinking those thoughts, thought will appear from somewhere/nowhere, if you can see one appear, you will see for sure that you are the witness of thought. Thoughts are like echos. If thought is seen for what it is, the servant and not the master. The master is seeing it all, is always here. Because you are looking and seeing from the source, when trying to reverse the gaze to try and look inside oneself, it is felt there is only consciousness or you could call it presence awareness, or intelligence energy. Feels like home.
All seeing is from here and there is only ever this, now ever present moment. We can only ever experience now, and it all happens now. Where else is there, when else is there.
The mind does not want you to know about this and is probably going to fight this, because when it is realized the mind made self will die, or at least be knocked of the throne. The master is within you now, it's just that you have been shaped to believe all sorts of rubbish and it is believed that you are you thoughts and that mind is king.
Ask ' who am i '? ' what am i?'
Stay with the original answer. No answer.

reply to post by gemineye

That was really well said, couldn't agree with you more!
a bit off topic, but it certainly fits here very well: I read that once a buddhist monk reaches enlightenment he vows, out of compassion not to enter nirvana, UNTIL everyone else has achieved enlightment as well and doesn't suffer any longer from pain. So, being awake/enlightenet definetely has nothing to do with being superior to others by any means. I think it is more the realization that absolutely no one is inferior/superior, but that we are all the same,.. among many other realizations.

The natural state is love, it is what you are, love is primary. Fear is not knowing that you are whole and complete now. Know this wholeness and there is only love.
When the fear drops away and what this is, this thing called existence, is seen raw, it is mind blowing, literally.

reply to post by doubledutch


Clarity

Originally posted by subject x

Originally posted by Griffo
It's a term used by people to make them feel superior to others, who they call 'asleep'[

edit on 8/2/2011 by Griffo because: (no reason given)

I pretty much agree with this. People like to think they know a great secret that the masses don't.
I notice that many who claim to be "enlightened" are quick to claim that those who disagree are "closed minded" rather than confront the fact that they're just normal, average people.

This one will parrot these responses, since they are ever present when dealing with anything like this, and humanity. It doesnt matter what the topic is, one must be aware of those who use it exclusively as an ego-boost, and it is generally quite easy to see.

However, the experience of enlightenment is in realizing what was already there in the first place. The only thing that changes is perspective. However, in that, one realizes how pliable a perspective truly is, which is something many do not currently realize. One finds how powerful our own biases are, on everything, and realizes the choices involved. Its not something that will randomly happen to someone. One has to be willing to discard all current beliefs and biases and start anew, and that is quite difficult for people (to put it lightly! however, it is in stepping beyond our box that we learn the lesson; perspective can be changed, drastically, and by choice). "Do not believe others beliefs, Do not believe your beliefs, Do not believe belief itself." It is not something someone can figure out in their brain, no matter how much effort is expended. Any thought or word used to explain "it" takes us one step further away from truly understanding, but is all part of the same thing too. Instead of quantifying what goes on inside ones body, they realize that those processes make up who they are. That is how this one sees it personally. This one views it as a baseline state of being. as in, that is where the journey (life) truly begins. It is not an endgoal. It is not the finish line.

Though the reality for this one would be that life is a series of enlightenments, with no specific "one" being the goal. Some say that enlightenment is in simply realizing the process, or waking up to see their banks are screwing them over. While these are certainly enlightenments, they done feel semantically accurate as to that which so many people are "seeking." (but which is already happening within and without every thing)

The standard enlightenment would likely be viewed as the first major free will, conscious shift of perspective. This can happen in many ways and contexts. It can be seen as the shift from being an end product of a program, to writing the code itself (becoming mindful and conscious), to observing ones self write the code (the first major free will perspective shift, or enlightenment, or awake, or whatever). Or, another way is to see it as realizing the act of being. The shift would be from ones "being" contained exclusively in the mind, to starting to move ones arm (and not just think about it), to observing the movement and being, actively and constantly. It has nothing to do with what biases or beliefs are currently held (what code has been written), or that one sees iniquity in others. The results of such a shift (but not the activity itself) are interesting as well, one realizes what true equality is, and there is usually a full blown re-definition of "self." Such a shift is incomprehensible before such a thing happens, but very few (if any) who have truly experienced that shift would proclaim themselves as "better." Most will not even claim it as more than the natural process of ones life. i would say, putting it in such high regard, will simply continue to put it out of reach. Like trying to grab debris in water.

It is not just something everyone can "obtain," everyone is doing it already, the perspective is just a bit off

Remember these words and you shall be very wise.

Confirm within yourselves which you know so well, to be truth. That hidden spark of "knowing" which comes from no book or teaching; but it just "is" and always will "be." Nothing can change the "knowing." Those "ebbs and flowings" of "what is right" and "what is wrong" in this world. Subscribing to an "interpretation" which may fit roughly, but not "in totality;" yet but an obsolete rendering of something which should never be endeavored to reproduce? How can one bottle a "feeling?" To capture the very "essence" of "what is" would forever arrive at its destruction of the split-second perfection?

Do you understand what the message is saying? Put-away those "child-ish" things made-up to pacify an ego of fear of things which are not made readily available to understanding and vision. To not see is to see a choice of decision where things ought not appear what they are. A capacity of insight into sheer perfect revelation of knowing all frightens some, who are continually terrorized from strengths made-into a collective weakness; but no it is impossible or not popular to be exceptional and different when they have conflicting meanings.

Do you see now, a brief ray of light which might jolt you from a void of sleep?

It's really so simple when visualization and focusing is so important; used unwisely, as we are doing, results in damnation and chaos. If we are what we eat, then it follows that we exist where we "think" or where we don't think. Continuing a perpetual loop of stereotypical bias to "moderate" will result in an explosion of potential, when it should be directed more properly for a greater task which produces. Electronic is the pathway of neurons through a salient and routed pattern of logical pathways exercised enough to widen and increase the potential of the "thought" or "visualization."

Who is to say, that "any of us cannot be anything that we wish or visualize ourselves to be?" Only yourself. To subscribe to an interpretation of another easily, while knowing different, is to "disconnect" from being "you." The "you" you are destined and actually "are," at some point. Once you feel the "puppet strings" and "pull" on them enough to realize you are the "puppet-master" and the "puppet," at the same time, depending upon scale of perspective, everything will make sense that is "is what it is."

And is as complicated as you "make-it-to" be....literally. IF you really want to save the world, then just "smile" to everyone you see; you will be amazed at the "return." Now, imagine if everyone did this at the same time and frequency? All of the time?

It's really this simple...

A REQUIEM OF ETERNITY

With everything and potential pleases only brooding nothingness,
Waiting on expression, a thought, with inspiration as Divine?
A time, times, and half-a-time leaves witness to become being much,
Appreciating the universe in watching wishes on a star?
As the frame falls from the wall as it cracks as a run-of-time,
It never remains itself a former glory, neither fame.
A reference-point during moments, a reminder of forgotten dreams,
And to be forgotten in cold eons of perpetual restraint.
To wait for light at revelation’s remains against to which break,
To tear-down every point from which cord drew the portrait to hang Sublime?

you cant explain the feeling. people who talk down on it will never experience it because they dont want to. its not because you feel superior to others people, because we dont go screaming yeah am enlightened am better than you.
until you have experienced it yourselves you will not know.
my experience was the sudden overwhelming feeling i felt i appreciated all life around me, it changed me from being an aggressive anti social person.. to care about trees, plants, stars etc etc just life in general. that is the first stage, then theres the feeling of forever ending feeling to want to know more, changing your bad habbits, respect everyone than frown upon them.. its wierd but its a good feeling changes the way you see life forever

some fantastic reply's, thank you for your clarity and thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts on this

reply to post by doubledutch

some fantastic reply's, thank you for your clarity and thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts on this

the question now is, are you going to do anything about these insights?

2nd line

reply to post by dominicus


hello - the answer is, I have been and will continue to do so

i have been on somewhat of a journey for some months now...and what a journey it is...the above posts have helped me to clarify where I am with my personal journey and have confirmed and solidified my personal beliefs and experiences so far...so thank you.

for me this post sums up the effect that working on myself and especially meditation and awakening my kundalini has had thus far:

"You are slower to "react" negatively to situations, you become more compassionate about all things in life from a kinder more balanced perspective. You have an overall change of attitude."

again thank you to all who have contributed to this thread so far...very 'enlightening'
namaste

Personally, I think it's quite personal

Anything related to "being awake" or "enlightened" seems to be beyond anything but a one on one transmission except for the most profound teachers. It truly seems best to keep this stuff to ones self.

Claiming to be enlightened, awake, or whatever seems to be more about feeling superior, from an inner, albeit possibly disowned, feeling of inferiority.

If you want to know my definition of being enlightened: It's realizing that nothing matters on the cosmic scale, and we create our own inner reality based on our beliefs and values of ourselves and the world around us. Also, it's realizing that everyone is doing the best possibly can, even if we so clearly see limitations/errors in their thinking/feeling or actions.

I realize the last paragraph contradicts the second, and I certainly don't think of myself as a profound teacher, but the difference is that I didn't profess any belief as most who are "awakened" do, I merely suggested a way of thinking which may or may not help people. If it doesn't jive with you, throw it out, and maybe come back to it as a point of reference for future situations.

Peace.