enlightenment: an initial discussion

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Enlightenment: Initial DiscussionsBy Dr. Stewart Bitkoff

Introduction

As our society moves forward in its study and growing understanding of different

spiritual paths, one of the things required is a dialogue concerning the nature of personal

enlightenment. Or said another way, after studying a particular spiritual path, for theaverage traveler, what does personal spiritual development look like?

Often travelers start out on a spiritual quest uncertain aout outcome. !aving only astrong feeling that a particular path is calling, unsure where this study will lead" perhaps

their point of reference eing a specific teacher or what they have heard from other

students or read. Sometimes travelers define their search in terms of outcomes such as

reading minds, gaining mysterious powers, spiritual states, eing at peace, or wondering

how learning will set them apart from others# that is make them individually special.

$he following is a eginning discussion concerning possile outcomes of spirituallearning.

Life is Spiritual

%et&s egin y stating the ovious and what all religions and spiritual paths offer in some

way or another" y nature and design, humans are fundamentally spiritual. $hat is, spirit

is asic to our construction and presently understood to e a form of energy which isshared y all things throughout the universe. 'n fact, ancient teachings offer, it is this

energy or spirit (housed in the soul), which gives life, form and sustance to our physicalody, emotions, thought process and conscious awareness.

Second all physical life consists of varying forms of spiritual energy and after we leave

our physical ody, a part of us returns to a dimension that is increasingly most like thisenergy. 'n our modern scientific view, as presented aove, some have chosen to define

man&s spirit, as consisting of a supra life force energy which is somehow connected and

shared with everything else in the universe. *ote this +modern view& is consistent withmany ancient mystery teachings.

'n the physical universe, something which in the past was termed spiritual ether was

credited with generating the physical and was linked throughout our worldly, physicalaspect" as previously indicated, this spiritual directing element provided conscious

awareness and life energy. onsequently it was held all life forms e-isted simultaneously

on multiple levels of physical and spiritual reality" similarly, within each person, each ofthese two dimensions having numerous levels.

't is said, the %ight or Supra %ife orce /nergy (0od), originated eyond the physical andspiritual" and in order to manifest in the physical universe, operates through master

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spiritual energy forms2 directing and creating. onsequently, there is a spiritual form for

man3woman, one for every type of animal, plant, fish and insect variety. urther it is said,

spiritual eings e-ist in endless variety" with every form having its own specific higherdirecting and delineating element or over soul. $hese multiple higher directing elements

are created through the %ight and consist of differing spiritual energy" providing overall

form and sustance to the universe.

Similarly the human soul is made2up of a type of unique spiritual faric or sustance.

$his faric or spirit comprises the soul, has een called ether and provides the soul withlife energy. $he soul has a center or +heart& which governs oth its higher and lower

nature.

By !igher Design, each person and soul has conscious awareness" along with the ailityto create, destroy and freely choose. $his is different than other spiritual forms and is

most like the %ight. onsequently within each person there is an aspect or spark of what

has een termed Divinity" internally this energy (spirit) is our soul&s center and is the

driving force or heart which governs and e-presses mind, emotion, ody and soul. 4henour physical ody ceases, it is this heart or primal directing spiritual energy which helps

lead our soul&s travel to the ne-t place.

Building upon this introductory discussion, it is accurate to say, everyone has spiritual

aility and that a complete life e-presses this dimension. Additionally, in our moderntimes, it is recogni5ed every person is unique and different" therefore one would e-pect

endless levels of spiritual aility and capacity" these levels dependent upon each person&s

individual nature, development, focused learning and what some term luck or destiny.

Increased Capacity

4ithin some spiritual traditions, it is understood and taught that enlightenment orincreased spiritual capacity occurs within the ordinary alanced personality. urther

enlightenment is a possiility for everyone and may e reached through a course of

guided study. 6ememer enlightenment does not free us from eing human" it helps usy adding another level of capacity, which at times, helps us transcend ordinary thought

or consciousness. or every one, life is a series of ups and downs and to e human means

we react physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually to every day events.

urther individual spiritual paths teach, far elow the surface of our every day personality

there is awareness, consciousness and a guiding presence which is our lasting, true

spiritual nature. Daily as we are shown through directed learning how to dip into thisocean of awareness, we connect with another level of our consciousness and reality" this

aspect is always in tune with the %ife orce and emerging design of life around us and

within the universe.

/nlightenment is higher spiritual awareness which comes and goes2 depending upon the

situation. $his capacity is individual and varies within each person. 'n order to have this

capacity come forward, routinely, there must e a alance within the personality" a period

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of e-tended training and what is termed latent +sincerity.& Basically what is meant y

+sincerity& is that higher ailities and learning are not sought for personal gain. $his

higher connection is sought ecause the traveler loves and wishes to complete self ymerging with the Divine.

0enerally what is meant y a alanced personality, is one that is +normal& within thesociety in which the traveler finds self, and for the most part is free of psychological

pathology or e-cessive need and unalanced desire. 't is generally understood, that in

reaching for enlightenment, something additional, and which has previously een asleep,in the traveler, must e added. $his is done through a gradual quieting of ordinary needs

and awakening what has een asleep to slowly come forward. 4hat slowly awakens and

emerges is our own latent higher consciousness" this inner awareness is not static, and in

the average person comes and goes, depending upon the needs of the situation.

4ithin many spiritual traditions, travelers have a profession, participate in the every day

affairs of the world, and within their own culture for the most part are viewed as ordinary

citi5ens. Added higher capacity is used in everyday life to enrich, elevate and serve theemerging design.

8owers, healing capacity, reading minds, higher awareness, intuition, dreams, and visions

as genuine" are y products of a higher state of consciousness. $hese events3capacities

come forward to add a nutrient or provide another dimension to every day life. $hesehigher capacities, to know and act, are organic e-tensions of an emerging pattern, have

multi2level usefulness and generally are not to e viewed outside their own specific

conte-t.

9ost travelers when they wonder what it is like to have higher consciousness, or to e

enlightened, have a fanciful, dramatic, over stimulated view of this awareness. As frame

of reference, television shows and accounts of e-traordinary people, present e-citingphenomena like reading people&s minds, performing miracles and seeing into the future.

:et it is precisely this e-citement and over simplification which stands in the way of the

emergence of these ailities.

Also within many religious and spiritual traditions, rarely, is there a straight forward

discussion aout this varied potential and phenomena. $he ma;or reason for this is the

one cited aove and in ages past this awareness or spiritual capacity was oftenmisunderstood and anned. urther it is e-tremely difficult to accurately capture in

written or veral e-pression, these phenomena" they originate from another dimension,

have multiple variation, levels of meaning and y necessity take on a presentation that isorganic to the specific situation. Also they do not translate well to differing

circumstance. inally these capacities cannot e taught, only developed" similar to any

latent physical or mental capacity.

Humanitys Higher Potential


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All spiritual learning, or the road to enlightenment, egins y e-amining and

understanding who 9an (4oman) is. 4hat is the higher potential of humanity? 4hat

do the great religious and spiritual traditions say aout each person&s individual reasonfor travel through the universe?

4hile traditions vary, here is a composite or one view of this potential. By design,man3woman is a multi2level and spiritual eing who enters the earth phase to e-press

many aspects of self, reach toward completion and serve as a representative of a =ing.

All these forms of earthly e-pression are integral to the Design and the emergingindividual life, learning pattern. Always the highest e-pression is self2less service that is

aligned with the higher destiny of the universe. $o connect with this potential and

destiny, man was orn incomplete with an inner restlessness and yearning. $his unease

pushes the traveler forward seeking the missing piece" often in divergent forms ande-periences. %ife is the great classroom and within the search, the traveler is encouraged

to en;oy the many aspects of healthy living. inally, when the missing piece is defined as

spiritual, real or conscious spiritual learning and service emerge. 'n time, as the traveler

matures, responsiilities and increased spiritual capacity are added and the individual iscompleted. $his completion is necessary to oth fulfill individual potential and help

make the world a etter place.

9an&s irth right and potential is to govern a vast personal spiritual kingdom. $his

potential is aligned with the !igher Destiny and as the traveler ;ourneys through themany worlds" the traveler continues to e-press self in relation to the !igher 8otential and

>niversal Design.

!igher spiritual capacity has numerous forms and comes and goes" it is dependent uponthe situation and its usefulness within the !igher Design. 't is a dimension that is to e

used in service to others. 't is not for the individual" it is to e used in connection with

humanity and to help people reach higher. $his latent wisdom and capacity e-ists withinevery one# emerging when conditions are aligned. $hese conditions often include# right

time, right place and right people.

The Completed Person

%ife is filled with seemingly endless forms of e-perience, learning and potential. 't is the

same with higher capacity and aility. $he completed person, one who has attainedwithin their own ordinary personality a level of alance and added spiritual capacity,

lives a full life like others. A complete life is one that is filled with responsiility, eing

part of the community in which one finds self and serving a higher call.

According to tradition, on one level, travelers are all equal# ;oy, reward, love, happiness,

sacrifice, work, suffering and death are all part of the human e-perience. !owever whatsets the spiritual traveler apart is that through the 0race of the 8ath" the traveler has

added natural, latent spiritual capacity" which y design and function is to e used in

connection with helping others.


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enlightenment: an initial discussion

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