What we have left from this primordial knowledge is an inexpressible driving desire for happiness, fulfillment, contentment, for a life that once was ours and which we know we can lead again. We do not necessarily know exactly what it is we seek, but we know it is a certain Beyondness, something nameless which we cannot define. If we did give it a name, it could be God, whoever or whatever He is. We do not necessarily know God, what fulfillment really is, or the route to that existence. We seek for it where we can, mostly outside of ourselves. The truth is that the route, the goal and the journey is within ourselves.
We have been told about this impossible sounding inward journey before, but it is not impossible and it is a journey we must undertake in this lifetime. To do that, we need help in numerous ways, to find a path that suits us, or for confirmation that the path we are on is OK. Once we start and as we go, the universe opens up for us. We learn in all ways necessary about the achievable possibilities. We choose what we need and grow according to our own rhythm. With growth and experience, we become clearer and more confident about our goal and find we can assume control of our lives, of our own evolution. We gain in strength and we become more comfortable with our own reality. We get fit for the process of evolving and acquire the necessary skills to do so.
The path we follow is interesting and implies learning and changing. The process of evolution is a wonderful journey towards ourselves that we have to take through this life. It could be uncomfortable at first to change, but as we understand more and are guided in handling the various steps involved, it becomes a fulfilling and exiting reality. We grow and to handle growth, we find teachers, assistance, 'how-to' courses. Our every activity becomes a learning experience, an aid to help us on our way. We learn about many spiritual avenues and we investigate some. We do not pursue all to the end, but looking them over still has value as it teaches us the scope of the field. We can identify clearer what it is we don't want. This helps us in our search for what we do want.
Time passes, we gain knowledge and become the richer for it. Sometimes we work hard and yet move slowly. This is for expansion and transformation which is taking place in us, to settle and to become the solid base for the next phase of our evolution. That is when we need insight into what is happening and encouragement from ourselves and from others. Even so, growing is fulfilling as we joyfully move towards achieving our quest for successfully living life.
We were born into a fortunate time for change and Enlightenment. We are living in a period in the history of the earth which is a time of transformation of the earth and of its people. Avatars are here to help us reach Enlightenment if we have the desire and if we are prepared to do the work involved. We now can grow our of what we do not want and proceed right on to the knowledge and the wisdom needed for living the fulfilling and exquisite life that is our divine heritage.
This book is about some esoteric as well as practical aspects of
this knowledge concerning our apparently abstract and intangible quest
with its various names but which all signify the very highest. These are
profound realities that do not readily submit to imprisonment in the jail
of words, the best we can do is to experience that which is beyond and
then be still. What we learn, we do by using a deeper understanding of
the words used to teach us, knowing that they stand still and only point
the way, that the destination is both within and beyond those words. The
words then help us in deciding on the steps to take to Ourselves, to smooth
the way so that the battle for infinity is a peaceful one.
How to make living this life just that much more fun
What is Enlightenment?
We as humans experience different states of consciousness. Waking is one. There are others more subtle, called higher states of consciousness. Individuals experience these different states uniquely. The development of higher states of consciousness comes about by developing our Awareness or Consciousness through spiritual practice. So, Enlightenment is different for each person in certain ways. But, the constant is that it is universally wonderful, life in a state of Enlightenment is a life of bliss. And becoming Enlightened is simply becoming ever more Aware or Conscious. It is not a goal so much as a journey. And this journey is fun. What happens during the journey is that we start perceiving the outer world and it's people (and dogs and cats and activities and joy, and on it goes) finer and finer, and our vision changes, on the one hand to where we focus very sharply to see the finest there is - and beyond - on to where we develop a broad vision, to where we can perceive the big picture in a holistic and integrated way.
There are various stages of Enlightenment, each with certain specific "symptoms," if you wish. This is dealt with in A Simple Plan for Enlightenment, but a rough outline here will suffice. We experience our normal sleeping, dreaming and waking states, but when we practice spiritual disciplines, we become acquainted with more. The first step is moving inwards towards the quiet holy center in ourselves. At first we have "Peak Experiences" which with time and practice becomes established in our Being. At this stage we find that our intellect improves. We become more conscious of the finer in things and we start realizing the genius in us. We could now talk of ourselves as being in a state of stabilized pure awareness.
That is the start, really. We then realize that there is more, and we want that more. This more is Enlightenment, and to quote page 31, "And Enlightenment is more, it's something so complete, so divine, it does not appear in our common language, it is only hinted at. It is a state of quietness, it is a lively ecstasy. It is contained in the exquisite union with God, in the language of divine love. It is Godness, the ineffable union with God. We talk of the universe that is in us and of worlds beyond ken. It is an indescribable fullness, a life lived in a fundamentally different, more complete way, and it is permanent."
So, on we move, ever inwards. What happens next is that we develop the heart or emotional body and our feelings refine. We are entering the field of adoration. This is where we can appreciate and experience that everything is filled with Godness. Here we experience the true profundity of love.
Our life changes, and we start realizing what the true nature of the both the universe and ourselves are. It is one of love and bliss and beyondness, something we can only experience and never fully put into words.
We will move further than even this wonderful state, we will ever
move further, but this is just an indication of the nature of the path
we are on.