Making Enlightenment Meaningful

Dear Andrew,

What a job we have ahead of ourselves. But this post makes so clear just how new and how relevant it is, first to insist that Enlightenment does indeed mean something, and then to dare to create the means in which to judge how successful we are in living Enlightenment in the 21st Century. This is such a gift and such an important endeavor. Thank you, and very much looking forward to the work and creativity that lies ahead.

In respect,
Terri

Andrew,

The idea that the degree of “enlightenment” in an individual, or in a collective, can be objectively assessed is radical and exciting. It really creates a shift in value systems from one of being concerned with spiritual experiences (feeling states) to one of emphasizing action.
The by suggestion that enlightenment is real and can be qualitatively judged according to objective criteria generates a lot of evolutionary tension. This idea is unusual in a domain where there is often so much pretense under the guise of the notion that such spiritual matters “can’t really be expressed with words.” The potential of laying out objective criteria for vertical development in a context of endless development seems huge.

WOW! I can’t believe what I’m reading. First the blog on intimate relationships and now this. I can’t think of a more fullfilling, wholesome and grand way to live out my life/our lives. Challenging? most likely but aspiring to achieve greatness usually is. Especially if we are to take an enlightend approach into every facett of our daily life. Thank you very much for this new vision of the world in which I can see my own individual potential.

With Love,
Rose Guilbert

Hi Andrew,

This is really interesting! A similar question came up recently on an integral forum: How do we measure evolution? There seems to be a slight bias towards the right-hand quadrants, the exterior, either economic development or biological development. Some people like to focus on morals, individual and group rights and such, in the lower left. Schools, theorists, and psychiatrists have all sorts of tests to measure different lines and stages in the upper left, and of course meditators can measure state development with an EEG machine. Here is a link to Ken Wilber demonstrating four meditative states on an EEG machine: http://unreasonable.wordpress.com/2006/11/30/ken-wilber-demonstrates-meditation-with-eeg/

I’m sure one of those will figure into your plans!

I’m still not sure how we would measure the evolution or development of art. Sometimes it’s measured with Spiral Dynamics or with a particular line of development in mind: cognition, morals, egoic, interpersonal; other times it’s measured by economic success. Ken Wilber (in Eye of the Spirit) wrote that the purpose of art is, or can be, to “take your breath away.” How would we measure that?

You have my vote This is so exciting!!!

Love,
Yolanda

Dear Andrew, these words strike me at a place I don’t have a name for...I feel so touched, in a way I’ve hardly ever felt touched before…
The implications are so radical and profound, as you say it often: beyond measure.

I have only just been involved in your teachings, but I feel thoroughly committed. Those words you are writing, are actually alike the ones that were spoken the last few weeks here in amsterdam...putting your teachings in practice at study and work, shows incredible results...the Proces in and from which those unimaginable results arise, needs to be carefully consciously kept track off, along the way, so that that documentary will actually become a living proof of what we SEE happening...for the objective observers...for the future!!!

Thanks so much for all the effort you make, which makes it possible to get glimpses of what is possible in life, which makes it possible to experience what it means to be free. This unlocks a tremendous amount of energy and passion which seems to know exactly where it wants to go. Even though i dont know.

With love, douwe

Hi Andrew,
I have been a committed reader of WIE since the first or second year of publication. WIE has been a major influence in my writing as I struggle to integrate human development and spiritual growth in my Primitive Ego Theory of Human Development.

Human development, spiritual growth, evolution, and enlightenment are all directly linked to growth in self-awareness or self-consciousness; the focus of the great mainline religious teachers and founders of the world’s main line religions. Unfortunately the original and essential teachings of these great teachers were distorted to serve the religious institutions of each of the mainline religions that grew out of the founder’s original teachings. As a result, most of the original wisdom has not been well understood. The work you have been doing with Ken Wilber and others has contributed directly to the advancement of spiritual growth and it’s relationship to self-awareness.

The work you are now undertaking to explore the evolution of an enlightened human consciousness and the measurable changes that would mean in the larger community context of the human species is very exciting.

I look forward to continuing to learning from you, and contributing to the process as it unfolds in this new online venue. Very exciting!!

Namaste
Dick Rauscher

Dear Andrew,

Getting back to the smoke in London after the time with you and the revelation of the rest of our lives to bring Enlightenment from the mysteries of the past and of the East to an Integral 21st century is a weighty contemplation. And yet it’s this weight that Enlightenment wants to have today, probably the same weight it had in centuries gone by when the revelation of the spirit was indeed evolution. I say it again, this brings sanity to the spiritual path, and audacious as ever Andrew… it’s the Great Work.

Faheem

Obviously, I understand, I have been led here tonight.  I have been living “The Secret” and understand that the “law of attraction” is in action in my life this very moment, Now is the right time.  Andrew’s work here is so very important and so on target...His works and writings ignite within me...I understand completely. After actually experiencing what he has been writing about and after reading his writings tonight I urge everyone to grab ahold of his brilliant concepts/teachings....Like “The Secret”, his message is a catalyst for change...I agree that “the extraordinary potential that emerges when the manifest expression of enlightened consciousness as the creative impulse or Authentic Self emerges in a shared, intersubjective context. That potential, simply defined, is an egoless field in which apparently separate individuals meet in an enlightened state, in full possession of their creative faculties and autonomy while temporarily freed from the hindrance of self-consciousness and egoic boundaries. The ecstatic and self-liberating nature of the experience of meeting another beyond ego is extraordinary in and of itself.” Dream it, Believe it, Live it...."Where thought goes energy flows” C. Beck

I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to blog you directly. You can’t imagine the wonderful impact your work (your organization and its many dedicated participants) has had on my lifes work. Ever since I picked up the first magazine of WIE, I am wowed by how many new frontiers we have yet to explore. I can’t wait to learn more about your visionary and exciting “next” phase and I feel blessed to be a participant hanging out at the edge of the evolutionary wheel!

David Hawkins has been objectively measuring the level of ego transcendence via kinesiology for decades.  It is not 100% accurate, but it does beat all methods that I have ever seen.  Many devotees of the spiritual path already use it very effectively in their teaching.  Whether it ultimately proves that kinesiology is able to do what Hawkins and others are convinced of, it is worth a look if one is interested in objectifiying enlightenment.

Dear Andrew,

Creating objective measures and developmental milestones in an evolutionary context opens up so many possibilities for humanity. No matter the controversy or skepticism--this is a project that must move forward. Indeed, our future may depend on it.

With such “diagnostics,” the potential to create structures that support the evolution of consciousness is unthinkably vast. If natural selection for the human race really is conscious choice, then building the capacity to make objective assessments of the quality of our decisions could truly accelerate emergence of an awakened culture.

What an exciting and incredibly important time for the endeavor of evolutionary enlightenment. Thank you for continuing to push the edge, and here’s to what’s possible moving forward.

Yours in service,
Sam

Dear Andrew,

After the thrilling weekend you are describing in this blog, I experience a profound sense of coming home to the meaning that I somehow always knew Enlightenment has to have for it not to be yet another face of our post modern narcissism. What strikes me most about this as it is starting to unfold now, is how free, creative and good life-beyond-ego-in-real-time is! At the same time, glimpsing some of the many dimensions this is beginning to take, leaves me stunned and overwhelmed at times.

What is this mysterious passion to want to make enlightenment manifest? The unmanifest simply isn’t enough anymore, however amazing the spiritual depth that one can experience and that you have inspired, again and again, in all of us who were there over the weekend, these times are screaming for a growing number of people willing to embody this liberating depth with all the fibres in their body. As I wrote in my own blog (http://arjan.zaadz.com/blog); I have seen many people go through such dramatic changes lately, that it would be a great case-study against the ‘hip’ blasé attitude, the default cynical posture that is so rampant in our culture!

What an adventure to be reinventing what it means to be human beings!

Arjan

Dear Andrew, this is so fantastic!

Instead of using these concrete examples –as you write- as means in themselves for our own transformation, seeing them being windows in order to discern where we are at and to discover how we can consciously move the Process further…
There is an inner explosion of joy and meaning when reading these lines, like the Process awakening to its own means how it can keep on moving further including all areas of life, ever more.

Thank you! Petra

Dear Andrew,
Yet again you are astounding us with your continued pursuit of human development. It does not surprise me that you have come to this because you have always been an Integral teacher. You have always lived and breathed your teaching and encouraged your students to do the same. How incredible it will be to actually measure your findings as to how people are transforming and effecting those around them.
This last week your searing positivity has been at the centre of my experience and has been reaching out through me to the teenagers I have worked with (running motivational study skills work shops). Your Spirit and message has literally been destroying separation and melting cynicism, I have quoted you and referred to so many things you have said and the effect has been astounding. There has been such a coming together in the groups I have worked with that it is like we are in the midst of a phenomenon… a melt down into YES!
Students have stayed in class, that usually have to learn in a special unit,students who normally abide in negative belief systems have totally transformed before my eyes into happy creative young people. It is certainly not always like this like this, but I wanted to tell you the effect of your teachings on these particular groups of students here in England has been amazing! At the risk of sounding very new age, I am wondering if you and your core students are affecting collective conciousness to the extent that this ease of change is happening?
Please forgive me if this all sounds a little too far fetched, but I have no idea how this level of transformative fluidity has been occuring?…

With all my Love and deepest respect always,
Yours,
Ereni (-:

Dear Andrew

This discovery is so important!

You are coming up with a system that will undeniably communicate the requirements structures and values of a culture beyond ego. I am very excited because these criteria will make any us, far more effective and down to earth in demonstrating what the evolution of consciousness actually means.

These indicators expressed in concrete terms and related to the profoundly material facets of our lives, will make the benefits of enlightentment and consciousness so much more accessible. Simply because they will be related to those huge areas of human life that are completetly common to us all, and are the source of many our troubles.

Heaven is truly descending to Earth

Dave

Dear Andrew,

Even the very idea of identifying objective measurable criteria is surprisingly exciting, because by doing so we are pointing in a specific direction of development, and actually defining the future of a new culture, beyond ego.  I can’t imagine anything more thrilling, but also deeply serious because defining what the future is, and then making it happen, is an enormous responsibility.  This past weekend I saw my role in that much more objectively than I ever have, and am wholeheartedly looking forward to continuing in this Project with you.

Love, Ronnit

Dear Andrew,
I feel touched and greatly insprired by the words you write about the next phase, the Integral Manifestation of Enlightenment. I recently became involved in your teaching and I feel deeply committed to live this teaching.

It is thrilling that you (and all your committed students) are entering this next phase. Since the Evolutionary Enlightenment course I was mainly working with my own deep wish to be free from ego-attchment, but I was also wondering: “What does the enlightend human being look like while being a parent, partner, employee, advisor, friend, daughter, etc.?” In other words: “how would I response to life and what would it look like, result into?” Because practising and living the teaching inherently raises these questions. What does this level of morality and integrity bring into the manifest world?

I am looking forward to look deeper and more specific into this grand subject together with the people in the centre in Amsterdam, and with the evolutionary views and ideas of you.
Thank you so much for leading us into this brand new phase.

With warm regards,
Irene

This is really BIG!  Its so thorough--it seems a person who is intent on consciously evolving upward, would be expressing changes in ALL areas of their life; leaving nothing to stagnate or keep hidden.  Nothing that one could ethically say:  “Oh, I’ll always be self-conscious in this one context” or “my relationship to such and such will always be this way--but hey, I do meditate and chant everyday, I’m really committed”!

the experience of “consciousness beyond ego” is not made possible by the experience of “higher states”, except that they might be an indicator, early on, that there could be more to life than the violent interaction we all share in our unconscious living.  when we can clearly see, without shrinking or judging, our own ego (unconsciousness) in action, when we can see/feel our resistance to what is, there is always a moment of freedom in the seeing.  the ability to see in that kind of way one might call a “little blessing” since we don’t seem to have any control over the process.  once that kind of process starts, it generally seems to happen more and more.  as it does, it begins to free us sometimes from the tyranny of our unconscious action/reaction cycle and, whether one is fortunate enough to be living/working with others who are similarly blessed or not, there can be interactions that are less encumbered. 
on the other hand, when there is enlightenment, which one might call a “big blessing” (the mother of all blessings?), it appears that the entire life becomes unencumbered (this is only a guess, as an outside observer).  i have always felt that there is only one enlightenment, which is total and needs no other adjectives, and anything else is only a “state” experience with no real long-term value, unless that energy somehow funnels into freeing the person to see itself in his any of its unconsciousness moments.
as for measuring, i haven’t heard of any groups of enlightened people to measure, but there are groups of individuals, each individual of whom has the subjective experience of “consciousness beyond ego” sometimes, and that kind of group does have a lack of psychological hindrances to acting/interacting which may be measureable. Andrew seems to think his organization possesses these qualities.  it will be interesting to see if he can come up with any useful measuring sticks…

Mother Teresa said: “It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters.” If a very high altitude or stage of love is “present” and “lived”, then what follows will be the natural by-product of more and more love lived as, and to one another, the world, cosmos, et al. Living the fullness of love is the demonstration of being a free functioning, fully integrated human being. How is it to be measured and what would it look like? It’s measured by simply observing the depth and breadth of “real” loving kindness that’s expressed and lived toward ourselves and others in every moment. It’s expression shows up in infinite ways. Only the highest level of love can come to know itself as such, and as an expression of a fully integrated human being, plus that which transcends it. Anything less will yield a lesser vision.

Again Mother Teresa: “I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world. Intense love does not measure, it just gives”.  Love is the source, course and goal. In the end and in the beginning, and beyond both beginning and end, it’s all about love. Always has been, always will be.

All Love and Blessings, John Parker

The most important thing is to keep the question “What is enlightenment?” totally open. It seems that’s the key to keep on playing the game of Reality versus illusion. As long as there is an ‘I’ playing it, it will demand change and transformation and evolution… let’s play the game and have fun!

You’re right on the ball here Andrew. This theme has been on my mind for quite some time now, even to the extent that I’ve been inclined to discount “peak experiences” (however pleasurable or wonderful) as being quite irrelevant when it comes down to the nitty gritty of daily life in 3D. We have to give this thing hands and feet in daily life. What does it mean to say say absolute freedom is absolute responsibilty if it’s not percievable in my field of action? Obviously each one of us has to answer this for him/herself. We truly are living in challenging and exciting times. Many thanks for your inspiring contribution to this process.

John

Hi Andrew, I’m teaching mathematiques and last week an
inspector came to see how I was working.
It’s the first year I put teenagers in groups and everyone in the goup as a task and the purpose is not only to make everything good but to work together and to try to ask questions together because as you know it’s very difficult for french people to dare to begin something without knowing if they will be able to to go to the end.
After that, I had a wonderfull talk with this inspector .
There was space to speak about something new.
I was glad that a professional like him congratulate me because even if I was confident,I knew that I was taking risks to dare to speak about things like french conditionning.
I just want to say how important is your teaching is in my life and in that case in my job. I feel alive and my students too.
Thanks for all.
Christophe.

I can’t say that Andrew’s insight is new - countless spiritual teachers recognized the truth that what really matters is not one’s words but one’s deeds. Talk is cheap. I’ve been to several of WIE sessions. Frankly, it did not measure up to the caliber of the magazine by a wide margin. I look forward to see some concrete processes and measures that Andrew and the organization come up with. If we could succeed in focusing on meaning in our busy modern time, we’ll have a promising start of integrating our lives. Some grass root organization is the only way to achieve more than dazzling talk or even visions.

Dear Andrew,

Reading your blog and all the responses is so ultimately positive! There is so much confidence in Consciousness. I feel a lot stronger because of the conviction that we are moving the Proces of Evolution further and further by creating stable structures. In this third phase the ego has absolutely no hiding place because there is transparency and clarity about the fact that this manifest Vanessa person is, in all facets of live, objectively at a certain degree of development. The simplicity that comes from this is piercing directly throught the blurry, complex and cameleon-like self-image of the ego.

Thanks a lot!!

Lots of Love,

Vanessa Koenig
Amsterdam, NL

IT has been proposed for consideration -
@my-head.zaadz.com/blog/2007/2/the_search_for_the_holy_grail#comments
- that a 3D model of the multiverse would grant consciousness its primacy - such that the 3D orbiting “GLOBE” would moment by moment constitute CONSCIOUSNESS SUPREME absolutely aware of everything.

CONSCIOUSNESS IS the LOVE so succinctly described by Mother Teresa - and referred to here by John Parker and it is CONSCIOUSNESS that has endowed the collective unconscious with the capacity of conscious awareness - such that the ever evolving collective has the potential to be permanently freed from the hindrance of self-consciousness and egoic boundaries.

As a social scientist-in-training (integral psychologist) with a keen interest in integral methodological pluralism, I’m interested to hear your ideas and to potentially work with you around how you plan to move forward with this “measurement” issue.
I have been working unsuccessfully to introduce imp to another prominent organization trying to bridge spirituality and science: perhaps EnlightenNext is who I should be talking to/ interacting with about this?  I am skeptical about you Andrew regarding some issues around what Wilber calls the “shadow”, but also hopefully open-minded and open-hearted enough to participate in some way.

EVOLUTIONARY R.O.I. ?

You highlight “the possibility of developing and publishing measurable, objective criteria for demonstrating the results of evolution beyond ego”.

There are sentence completion tests (Cook-Greuter, Loevinger), Subject-Object Interviews (Kegan), Big 5 personality tests (the ‘Openness’ strand aligns with vertical development), values tests (Beck, Barrett, Hall etc) and many more…

Just go for it!

Do a 4-Quadrant ‘psychograph’ of your organisation. That will be truly pioneering work.
And I’m one “objective observer” who’d love to see the results, whatever they are…

Of course, the real fun is in assessing results over time - what is your ‘Evolutionary ROI’?  ;- )

Is all the hard work… worth it?

Matthew
(London Integral Circle)

Ego means “I,” so when Andrew talks about “evolve beyond ego,” this means helping others, rather than being selfish, right? Certainly not a new teaching, but still a wonderful one.

Why is it that, say, the Catholic church, which also has this wonderful teaching about not being selfish, in practice has caused so much suffering? I’d say it’s because they’ve burried the simple teaching of helping others under a mountain of dogma, about getting saved, being holy, sin, Heaven and Hell, divinely revealed Truth, and the like.

If Andrew is promoting more kindness, more helping everyone, less “only for me” selfishness, of course that’s great. I hope he follows this direction with simplicity, and doesn’t bury it under mountains of dogma and jargon about enlightenment and evolution and quadrants and the like.

Stuart
http://home.comcast.net/~sresnick2/socalled.htm

"What is the relationship between higher states of consciousness and human transformation?”

To really, clearly face this question, the first point is considering what makes any state of consciousness “higher”? We can always perceive our consciousness of this moment, compare it to another state we remember or imagine, and rate one as “higher” or “lower” than the other. But why believe there’s anything substantial to that? Why consider such comparisons anything more than thinking?

If we don’t get clear on whether “higher consciousness” has any particular meaning, then anywhere we go from that premise carries that unclarity.

Stuart
http://home.comcast.net/~sresnick2/socalled.htm

For the past 25 yrs I’ve observed my sister as a Pastor (live in the world but not of it) the behavior you’re referring to as well as making sure her “church” did the same.  Her beliefs about Jesus filter through everything with egoless abandonment.  There are no holes in her “belief system” and perhaps this is why her life and other’s change.  To me its the way the Law of Attraction works, to her its Jesus at work.

Hi Andrew,
i am excited to hear about your plans of developing “a standard in all these areas of life that reflects the degree of revelation that ... have actually experienced.”

Let me refer to Keith’s post (11). The Map of Consciousness developed by Dr. David Hawkins after 20 years research is such a system - by use of applied kinesiology.

Hawkins has structured a 4 stages stepmodel (consisting of 1-1000 degrees).
http://de.spiritualwiki.org/Hawkins/Tables#sHawkins.Tables_5

your friend Ken Wilber, recommended by Hawkins, made a brief remark on Hawkins book “Power vs. Force - The Hidden Determinants of Human Behaviour” (1995), which is the first of 6 books published meanwhile:

* Terrifically interesting ideas, but caught in subtle reductionism and the myth of the given. All the “hidden determinants” he mentions in the subtitle are monological instead of tetra-logical. Integral Spirituality (2006), p. 286

the a.m. link shows that this is not so - in respect to the Body of Hawkins’ teachings.
the 4 quadrants/stages are:
1. Content NATURE
2. Content plus context NUTURE
--------------
3. Context plus content NUTURE
4. Context: Infinite SELF - Absolute BEINGNESS

“For purposes of clarity of expression, the evolution of consciousness has been presented as calibratable, identifiable levels in the style of a progressive chart in order to facilitate comprehension in a manner familiar to the human mind, with its traditionally learned categorization of information. While this style of elucidation is familiar and pragmatic, a progressive chart, however, is an abstraction and not the same as the reality to which it refers. It also appears to artificially separate that which is a wholeness and a continuum into seemingly distinct partitions based on identifiable characteristics.”
D. Hawkins, “I: Reality and Subjectivity”, p. 343

On the Map of Consciousness: 
“Each one of these levels has its own paradigm of reality.  Each level is a whole domain, you might say.  ... Each one of these has its own paradigm of values and realities – what is acceptable, status symbols – each is its own world, in a way.” D. Hawkins, Satsang in Sedona, February 17, 2007

Hawkins recommends to view everything from the physical, mental (thinking/feeling) and spiritual perspective. this is a tetralogical approach.

blessings for your endeavours
Elfriede (Germany)

I am a follower of Ramana Maharishi. When I do his ‘who am I’ technique, I can sense many things: joy, peace,.., I know it’s normal.

But, during that drill I had two experiences. As I went deeper within, I felt as I am in a black ball, which made a strong pressure to my body. Then, I was at the crossroad: I could make a decision to continue and to step into a totally different reality, I knew that it would be something I’ve never experienced (I knew that any rule of this world can’t be applied to THAT), it was the place where every knowledge means nothing. I thought that I would die if I countinued.

What do you think about it? Maybe I was in my head, and many bad things can be experienced if we are there, and not in our heart. Or, maybe I was about to see my ‘shadow’, like Jung says we all have. Or, I could leave my body, to make some astral travel.

But, I know that almost 100% of ‘awakening’ have been ‘a negative’ events. Ramana had a sudden fear of death. Echart Tolle couldn’t stand himself. Paul Brunton had some softer episode, but in the middle of this is one feeling: the energy whirlpool and the it is always the same: they experienced the high energy and the feaar of dying. Yes, this was the death of their ego.
Can you put some more light to my experiences?

Dragan Pavlovic, Serbia

If we are talking about the enlightenment which lasts or not, it is very simple. Everyone can have a little ‘kensho’ (Zen term), a ‘bliss of enligtenment’, but it is not the real thing, because our ego is stil present in its full power.
To have a real ‘ultimate’ state, that means we don’t need any questions. After some time of confusion, we are not the same. So, I really can’t see any problem in this topic. Everyone can have kensho, but if we don’t get rid of our ego (that means to make our mind to a humble soruce of the technical knowledge, but to take away from it the role of our master, which it has now), we haven’t finished our job. That is all.
But, as anything in advaita, it is too simple to be understood.

I am not a linguist but I was sent this terminology in meditation and would like to share it with you . I believe it speaks to the type of relationship that is necessary to become fully self actualized. The term being… UNINOGAMOUS, (U-NOG-A-MUS) UNINOGAMY.. DEFINITION,
EGOLESS DEVOTION TO THE ONENESS; THE PRACTICE OF ONGOING EGOLESS RELATIONSHIP TO ALL LIFE AS ONE.
A MARRIAGE OF ONE
Having experienced my share of different types of relationships with “significant others” I finally came to the realization that those types of relationships bring out the worst possible side of me and having searched for everything of value (experientially) that I could salvage from them, I came to the realization that there was something lacking in a relationship that looks for answers in another, places expectations on that individual etc; The uninogomous relationship offers us the opportunity to be truly united in a new higher level of experience. It offers the opportunity to see everyone you meet as yourself. Once the ego is removed from the picture the undesirable habits no longer apply. It is an extremely comforting way to be with others.

P.S. Possibly one could be committed to a uninogamus relationship on a spiritual level and still be involved in a monogamous or whatever relationship on the physical level if they were prepared to handle that heavy of a committment. There would have to be equal consciousness on both levels I can see.

Excellent comments Dragan,
People are talking about enlightenment as it would be a walk in the park. There are no enlightened people on this earth at this point. Very few (less than ten) are getting close and none of them watches criminal films, I am certain. With all respect to your efforts Andrew I would encourage you to speak the truth.
Anyone who has a trace of the ego is just that far from enlightenment. I know slew of people who did have a little or a bigger ‘kensho’ - a ‘bliss of enlightenment and 20 years later they are in pain tortured by their ego.
Those who lecture, don’t know the truth.
Those who know the truth don’t lecture.
We are all somewhere on the path
Growing in unison feeding or starving our egos.

So how are the criteria/windows coming?

Dear Mr Cohen,
It is indeed a great joy to read about all the work being done by you and your organisation in enhancing awareness and importance of consciousness among the thinking people. As the chance could happen, I am also interested in this subject and have been conducting my own studies in the area. I have written few books and articles on the subject which I would be too happy to share.Some of my works are “AROS- A View of Mind”, “Mind Nature and Human Being”, “Soul”, “Consciousness”, etc. also shown on <drhss.com> under philosophy. I believe for all in existence consciousness is the basic tool of knowing reality and a dimension of existence.
If I can be of any help or share your vision I would be too happy to do so.
With warm regards and good wishes.
Dr HS Sharma

I have a littl trouble with what you are stateing. I cannot help but wonder what you mean, when you say that you wonder how to make enlightenment meaningfull in our present day life. Because, I’d say, that enlightenment, makes you see the world in itself differently. Make the processes of life much more clear. Make you shed, hardly any tear, makes you incapable of worrieng about the future. And makes you a bit unacquaint with doom mongering ones past. Further more, as I see it. Enlightenment makes you have to explain to a lot of people, why sometimes you just smile, and laugh. Either in a hard moment of life, or either when you look up and smell the sky.
I do not wish to downsize your evident eager of seeking out this thing. But I advice you not to look for something, that gives you all the answers, or something that will enhance your life in all aspects. Because it simply won’t. Nothing will. As is with everything in life. Nothing and nobody is perfect. And nobody is either only one thing, or only the other. But I think you know that.
About the Ego, A friend of my told me what it meant. And even though the entire world hangs on your perception. And even though without Ego, we wouldn’t really be alife. And though sometimes certain emotions emphasize it, or even overcome it. Seel not to overcome, that which is all around us. Ego is part of your life, it is understandable, but not removable. And it can be your friend in times like standing on a freeway, you’d be glad it takes over every so once in a while.

Good luck with everything.

Cheers!

Get it straight! All the best of luck with assigning maps and mileposts to human personal development… it’s already been done in countless ways.
However, do not conflate (mix, match and merge) enlightenment with growth into basic human maturity. It’s great to encourage adult human behaviour in people, especially in regard to their “spirituality,” but this has nothing to do with enlightenment. Indeed, this business (literally) of trying to make enlightenment more palatable to the masses in order to increase the bank account is pretty low, wouldn’t you say? What, but ego, would be concerned with how an enlightened person acts and what he or she does?

hello,i m extremeley impressed with your writings..my jeourney towards oneness began couple of yrs back n i must admitt that i ve stumbled many times n still do..but,if one had to see the result of behavioural hence mental n being transformation after the realisation of oneness of being...pl do visit oneness university in south india..peoples lifes have been transformed n their relationships…