The "E" Word (Enlightenment) has been turned into some run of the mill phrase folks are using

To be honest, I'm sick of all the Enlightenment threads and the way folks toss the word around like its some run of the mill everyday word.

If you would only study the following (meditationexpert website, dzogchen, Nonduality, nirvikalpa samadhi, and similar studies, it would be off with your effein head after you read how deep the rabbit hole goes just off those subjects alone and you folks would probably never use the E word again. Even if by some far chance you let go of having a career and family life and you work on real Life Enlightenment for a few decades, I garuntee you would'nt be on ATS talkin about it. Instead you'd be sittin somewhere in some vast infinite state where nothing can touch you cause there no longer is no you.

Oh, and for all these folks who say that it's all about Awareness and you are not who you think you are and all that other fluffy duffy stuff, well that's not it either. That;s just a stop along the way and I see so many posts talkin about this as well it just makes me sick how the Enlightenment word has been glorified and turned into an everyday mumbo jumbo terminonology phrase.

If you think it's just the Third eye WRONG!!!!. If you think its awakening your heart chakra WRONG!!!!. If you think its just realizing the Nondual state WRONG!!!!.

Its sooooo dam vast/infinite, the whole physical body changes, channels open up, the mind never returns from its source, etc etc .....its soooooo deep that the "E" word being used so loosely, is basically like a heretical blasphemy of the ignorant.

The majority have no idea about this word. I myself have 10 Effin years of studying these things and practicing them, and I have yet to even scratch the surface experientially, let alone ever even use the precious 'E' word in any of my vocabulary. If I have used it in the past, its from ignorance. SO I just wanted to put this out there, due to all the recent "E" threads that are floating about so loosely and without any kind of critical thinking based interpretation.

Maybe you should practice for 10 more years if something like this gets to you.

I know, it bugs me on some level as well.. I just hadn't posted about it because you know what? This site has a large and active member base of some thick headed and simple minded people. It's a damn shame that this site has gotten so much exposure.

I do get your subtle point, though. You mentioned 10 years of experience only to realize the sheer and utter vastness of what true attainment of enlightenment is... in other words, you're hinting at what Socrates once said:

"True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us."

But honestly? The ones that understand what you mean will feel like you're preaching to the choir and the ones that don't get it won't bother enough to try to understand what you're saying...



Pick your battles, man

Peace, Brother

Looks like you missed the class on "Context"


1. The circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed.

2. The parts of something written or spoken that immediately precede and follow a word or passage and clarify its meaning.

reply to post by dominicus


I couldn't agree with you more. The feeling of samadhi is more than the Average Joe Six-Pack could ever imagine. With that said, your post does not sound like the words of a holy man/woman.

And enlightenment is a journey with many steps. It isn't so black and white as you paint it.

From your OP: "I myself have 10 Effin years of studying these things and practicing them, and I have yet to even scratch the surface experientially."

The number of years spent in study and practice doesn't mean much if you aren't learning the lessons..and everybody has a different pace to go at. Some have more karma to resolve than others.

I think if you mellow out and just enjoy the journey while keeping your eye on the prize, things will happen much quicker. You first have to ask yourself why you are a seeker. I'll give you a hint. The answer doesn't involve "me" or "I" in any way. Just be and do. Enlightenment will come in bursts as you need the tools to do the work.

With an honest desire for good, you will move quicker through the ranks. Keep going. The prize is for those who keep trudging onward. I do not claim to be a Master. But, I know a thing or two about a thing or two.

reply to post by dominicus


Dude , you're too serious. Enlighten up man!

reply to post by LeTan


Seriously, it's like he's having a spaz session over it. Ten years, and this is the self-control you have? Hate to know what it was like for you before.

Such is the consequence of our fast paced lives. Enlightenment used to take 40 years. Now, with the help of the internet, it can be done in a few months, if you are watching the right YouTube videos. I'm living proof.*




*lol

reply to post by dominicus


The only thing worth seeking is the end of seeking.
Awakening happens when it does.
God will wake up when he wakes up and not until.

reply to post by dominicus


wow man you are so right! as someone who lives in a Buddhist land I can definitely say that you are right. a lot of westerners have this skewed perception of enlightenment. and it mostly stems from a book they read by eckhardt tolle or some other 'mystic' new ager. people read some 'occult' book that they bought from barnes & noble (lol!) or somewhere on the internet, 'meditate' for a while and think they've figured everything out. its bogus.

and for the person who said enlightenment can be achieved in a few months b/c of the internet, you're definitely wrong. enlightenment isn't about increasing the intellect or anything like that.

Originally posted by dominicus
To be honest, I'm sick of all the Enlightenment threads and the way folks toss the word around like its some run of the mill everyday word.

If you would only study the following (meditationexpert website, dzogchen, Nonduality, nirvikalpa samadhi, and similar studies, it would be off with your effein head after you read how deep the rabbit hole goes just off those subjects alone and you folks would probably never use the E word again. Even if by some far chance you let go of having a career and family life and you work on real Life Enlightenment for a few decades, I garuntee you would'nt be on ATS talkin about it. Instead you'd be sittin somewhere in some vast infinite state where nothing can touch you cause there no longer is no you.

Oh, and for all these folks who say that it's all about Awareness and you are not who you think you are and all that other fluffy duffy stuff, well that's not it either. That;s just a stop along the way and I see so many posts talkin about this as well it just makes me sick how the Enlightenment word has been glorified and turned into an everyday mumbo jumbo terminonology phrase.

If you think it's just the Third eye WRONG!!!!. If you think its awakening your heart chakra WRONG!!!!. If you think its just realizing the Nondual state WRONG!!!!.

Its sooooo dam vast/infinite, the whole physical body changes, channels open up, the mind never returns from its source, etc etc .....its soooooo deep that the "E" word being used so loosely, is basically like a heretical blasphemy of the ignorant.

The majority have no idea about this word. I myself have 10 Effin years of studying these things and practicing them, and I have yet to even scratch the surface experientially, let alone ever even use the precious 'E' word in any of my vocabulary. If I have used it in the past, its from ignorance. SO I just wanted to put this out there, due to all the recent "E" threads that are floating about so loosely and without any kind of critical thinking based interpretation.

It sounds like you do not actually know what enlightenment is - if you have not scratched the surface experientally.
What are you looking for?

reply to post by dominicus

The e word is just that....a word - better look at your attachment to this word and why you think it should be "more" than it is!

sorry to burst your "knowledge" bubble - but just because you "know" something doesn't mean you are ahead of anyone! Stop eating from the tree of knowledge.......What your expectations are about enlightenment - opening of the heart chakra, third eye etc are just that - expectations....but at the essence of those things - it just is..nothing more - nothing less!
We are all on this journey together - no one is better than anyone else. If you signed up to "get it" this lifetime - then you will - nothing you have to do.....

I would like to think that the fact these "folks toss the word around like its some run of the mill everyday word" allows this process to unfold - if no one was tossing it around this close to the "apocalypse" then I'd worry! LOL

Please note that my attachment to the word apocalypse is not "end of the world" crap - it's "lifting the veil" crap....

Now you know how I feel when you guys misuse physics terms.

So, next time you use "frequency", "vibration", "density" or "wave", I'm coming here and post about enlightenment.

/chop wood, carry water

reply to post by dominicus

While I tend to agree with you, it's just a word, semantics shouldn't be something to get hot and bothered about.

I do myself at times feel my self getting angry at the whole 'awake - asleep' rhetoric but with me it's more the way some people have this polarized view of reality that's annoying, everything is black or white etc,

But really the word enlightened simply means illuminated, shadows are dispelled, darkness removed. In the meditative Buddhist sense of course it has its specific connotations, but it has come to have a broader, looser term these days where an enlightened person is somebody who was previously 'not in the know'.

While i do believe that enlightenment is possible and there are beings amongst us that are living it, i still feel its not what most have taken it to be.

My 10 years w this stuff means nothing, i am no one and don't really know much. I was actually a little tipsy when i posted this last night, more proof that i am all the things you guys say i am.

But i can never deny that i have seen, glimpsed, and continue to straddle a grand living vast infinity that is the foundation of our reality.

No hard feelings eh? Life goes on

Originally posted by dominicus
I garuntee you would'nt be on ATS talkin about it. Instead you'd be sittin somewhere in some vast infinite state where nothing can touch you cause there no longer is no you.

Not every enlightened person refuses the call to return.

So I just wanted to put this out there, due to all the recent "E" threads that are floating about so loosely and without any kind of critical thinking based interpretation.

Interpretations need to be based on more than the insights of one or two cultures. Years of studying comparative religion, comparative mythology, and comparative mysticism should be the basis, along with a mystical practice so that one can gain experiences which can serve as a frame of reference to tie together the insights of every mystical tradition. Not just the Eastern ones or just the Western ones.

reply to post by dominicus


Maybe "enlightenment" is an ongoing process. To the masses, it's just some gimmick and then they move on. To some, it's a lifelong journey that never ends. Realization, understanding.. when you realize you don't know anything you know something.

I really don't trust anyone who says that he's enlightened. Meditation, yoga and some deeper look into the esoteric... that's the path. There are a lot of BS artists on this field that are only in it for the money, and it's a jungle of distractions and, well, just plain old BS.

What we call "enlightenment" isn't some static state. It's a journey that we're all going to have to take at some point