QueQui QuintanaRoo Newspaper
Positive Mind
THE GREATEST
OBSTACLE TO
ENLIGHTENMENT
Enlightenment – what
is that?
A beggar had been
sitting by the side
of a road for over
thirty years. One
day a stranger
walked by. “Spare
some change?”
mumbled the beggar,
mechanically holding
out his old baseball
cap. “I have nothing
to give you, “said
the stranger. Then
he asked: “What’s
that you are sitting
on?” “Nothing,”
replied the beggar.
“Just an old box. I
have been sitting on
it for as long as I
can remember.”
“Ever looked
inside?” asked the
stranger. “No,” said
the beggar. “What’s
the point? There’s
nothing in there.”
“Have a look
inside.” insisted
the stranger. The
beggar managed to
pry open the lid.
With astonishment,
disbelief, and
elation, he saw that
the box was filled
with gold.
I am that stranger
who has nothing to
give you and who is
telling you to look
inside.
Not inside any box,
as in the parable,
but somewhere even
closer: inside
yourself.
“But I am not a
beggar,” I can hear
you say.
Those who have not
found their true
wealth, which is the
radiant joy of Being
and the deep,
unshakable peace
that comes with it,
are beggars, even if
they have great
material wealth.
They are looking
outside for scraps
of pleasure or
fulfillment, for
validation,
security, or love,
while they have a
treasure within that
not only includes
all those things but
is infinitely
greater than
anything the world
can offer.
The word
enlightenment
conjures up the idea
of some superhuman
accomplishment, and
the ego likes to
keep it that way but
it is simply your
natural state of
felt oneness with
Being. It is a state
of connectedness
with something
immeasurable and
indestructible,
something that,
almost
paradoxically, is
essentially you and
yet is much greater
than you. It is
finding your true
nature beyond name
and form. The
inability to feel
this connectedness
gives rise to the
illusion of
separation, from
yourself and from
the world around
you. You then
perceive yourself,
consciously or
unconsciously, as an
isolated fragment.
Fear arises, and
conflict within and
without becomes the
norm.
I love the Buddha’s
simple definition of
enlightenment as
“the end of
suffering.” There is
nothing superhuman
in that is there? Of
course, as a
definition, it is
incomplete. It only
tells you what
enlightenment is
not: no suffering.
But what’s left when
there is no more
suffering? The
Buddha is silent on
that, and his
silence implies that
you’ll have to find
out for yourself. He
uses a negative
definition so that
the mind cannot make
it into something to
believe in or into a
superhuman
accomplishment, a
goal that is
impossible for you
to attain. Despite
this precaution, the
majority of
Buddhists still
believe that
enlightenment is for
the Buddha, not for
them, at least not
in this life time.
What is the greatest
obstacle to
experiencing this
reality?
Identification with
your mind; which
causes thought to
become compulsive.
Not to be able to
stop thinking is a
dreadful affliction,
but we don’t realize
this because almost
everybody is
suffering from it,
so it is considered
normal. This
incessant mental
noise prevents you
from finding that
realm of inner
stillness that is
inseparable from
Being. It also
creates a false
mind-made self that
casts a shadow of
fear and suffering.
We will look at all
that in more detail
later.
The philosopher
Descartes believed
that he had found
the most fundamental
truth when he made
his famous
statement: “I think,
therefore I am.” He
had, in fact, given
expression to the
most basic error: to
equate thinking with
Being and identity
with thinking. The
compulsive thinker,
which means almost
everyone, lives in a
state of apparent
separateness, in an
insanely complex
world of continuous
problems and
conflict, a world
that, reflects the
ever-increasing
fragmentation of the
mind. Enlightenment
is a state of
wholeness, of being
“at one” and
therefore at peace.
At one with life in
its manifested
aspect, the world,
as well as with your
deepest self and
life unmanifest – at
one with Being.
Enlightenment is not
only the end of
suffering and of
continuous conflict
within and without,
but also the end of
the dreadful
enslavement to
incessant thinking.
What an incredible
liberation this is!
Identification with
your mind creates
and opaque screen of
concepts, labels,
images, words,
judgments, and
definitions that
blocks all true
relationship. It
comes between you
and your fellow man
and woman, between
you and nature,
between you and God.
It is this screen of
thought that creates
the illusion of
separateness, the
illusion that there
is you and a totally
separate “other.”
You then forget the
essential fact that,
underneath the level
of physical
appearances and
separate forms, you
are one with all
that is. By
“forget,” I mean
that you can no
longer feel this
oneness as
self-evident
reality. You may
believe it to be
true, but you no
longer know it to be
true. A belief may
be comforting. Only
through you own
experience, however,
does it become
liberating.
Thinking has become
a disease. Disease
happens when things
get out of balance.
For example, there
is nothing wrong
with cells dividing
and multiplying in
the body, but when
this process
continues in
disregard of the
total organism,
cells proliferate
and we have disease.
The mind is a superb
instrument if used
rightly. Used
wrongly, however, it
becomes very
destructive. To put
it more accurately,
it is not so much
that you use your
mind wrongly – you
usually don’t use it
at all. It uses you.
This is the disease.
You believe that you
are your mind. This
is the delusion. The
instrument has taken
you over.
I don’t quite agree.
It is true that I do
a lot of aimless
thinking, like most
people, but I can
still choose to use
my mind to get and
accomplish things,
and I do that all
the time.
Just because you can
solve a crossword
puzzle or build an
atom bomb doesn’t
mean that you use
your mind. Just as
dogs love to chew
bones, the mind
loves to get its
teeth into problems.
That’s why it does
crossword puzzles
and builds atom
bombs. You have no
interest in either.
Let me ask you this:
can you be free of
your mind whenever
you want to? Have
you found the “off”
button?
You mean stop
thinking altogether?
No, I can’t, except
maybe for a moment
or two.
Then the mind is
using you. You are
unconsciously
identified with it,
so you don’t even
know that you are
its slave. It’s
almost as if you
were possessed
without knowing it,
and so you take the
possessing entity to
be yourself. The
beginning of freedom
is the realization
that you are not the
possessing entity –
the thinker. Knowing
this enables you to
observe the entity.
The moment you start
watching the
thinker, a higher
level of
consciousness
becomes activated.
You then begin to
realize that there
is a vast realm of
intelligence beyond
thought, that
thought is only a
tiny aspect of that
intelligence. You
also realize that
all the things that
truly matter –
beauty, love,
creativity, joy,
inner peace – arise
from beyond the
mind. You begin to
awaken. -Eckhart
Tolle
The beauty of
this process
Diksha (Oneness
Blessing) is a
transfer of Divine
energy which helps
us to disidentify
from conflict and
suffering, taking us
to states of inner
peace, joy,
happiness and
Oneness
Diksha energy is
universal & useful
in all spiritual
traditions.
It enhances our
ability to connect
from the Heart with
the Divine & with
all of the people
that we love.
Many report that
after receiving
Diksha = Oneness
Blessing they
experience healing
on all levels, as
well as powerful and
ongoing spiritual
awakening. Most
people are seeking
harmony and joy. We
have discovered that
it is possible for
everybody to live in
that state of inner
freedom, even
permanently.
Oneness Blessing
initiates a process
of awakening the
Divine Presence
within you; taking
you towards Oneness,
and enabling you to
see the reality of
what you are in
every moment. Also
healing your body,
your relationships,
and recognizing the
divinity in the
experience of the
present moment….
Conscious awakening
is the ability to
see reality as it
is, without the
layers of
interference and
interpretation
imposed by the mind.
It is a simple
neurobiological
event, and can
happen
instantaneously.
Conscious awakening
is peeling off the
layers of
interpretation from
any given event. To
the enlightened
person, life becomes
very ordinary. You
walk, and you are
walking. You eat,
and you are eating.
Enlightenment is not
about having
extraordinary
experiences so much
as recognizing that
each ordinary moment
is extraordinary in
itself.
Before, there were a
thousand
interpretations in
the mind for
everything you
experienced. Now,
there is only the
experience.
In this Divine state
you consciously
experience your
divine self and
become one with God.
This can be
experienced as a
great explosion of
love or joy, which
is much more
profound than any
worldly pleasure.
When someone reaches
this state of being,
this connection with
God, the Divine, the
Absolute, they will
surely have achieved
the ultimate that
being on this earth
can offer.
You, your freedom
and your liberation
is what is most
important to me.
EXPERIENCES
This is an
experience from a
person who has
received Diksha
(Oneness Blessing):
It was a very special experience for me as I reconnected with myself again and at the same time moved closer to our heavenly father. I now feel so free as if I can fly! You also removed a very heavy weight that I was carrying in my shoulders. Thank you for the very best birthday present that I have ever received in my life. Thank you so much!
