Bulldozer00's Blog

With the goal of bringing more peace into my life and the lives of others, I’ve studied the work of quite a few spiritual teachers over the years. Adyashanti is one of those sages whose teachings resonate with me. In this interview, Adya states:

“Simply because you’ve had an awakening, however, does not mean you stay awake. Enlightenment, in simple terms, is when you stay awake. If the awakening is abiding, that’s enlightenment. And most awakenings are not abiding — at least, not initially.”

Before those words, I always thought that enlightenment and awakening were the same concept, but Adya’s words make sense to me. I haven’t experienced either of those two states of being, but I hope to someday. The problem with this wishful thinking is that…. it’s wishful thinking:

“One of the best ways to avoid awakening is to let the idea of awakening be co-opted by the mind and then projected onto a future event: something that’s going to happen outside of this moment. This looking to the future isn’t really the fault of the spiritual practices themselves; it’s the attitude with which the mind engages in the practices — an attitude that is seeking a future end and seeing that end as somehow inherently different from what already exists here and now.”

Freakin’ Bummer. Since I’m a slave to my mind, I may be a lost cause. It’s time to change strategies, but wait, the mind devises strategies! According to Adya (and the vast majority of other teachers) using the mind to attain enlightenment is fruitless. Double bummer.

Many spiritual teachers profess that tragedy can be a doorway into awakening and Adya is no different:

Reality is not operating on any moral principle. It’s looking for a moment when the seeker is exhausted. It can be prompted by some tragic event: an illness, or the death of a loved one, or a divorce. Reality rushes into the crack and presents itself.

Triple bummer. I’ve experienced several deeply tragic events but reality hasn’t found any crack to infiltrate my being yet. The lead sarcophagus that encases me is still too impenetrable.

Oh well. With no clue on how to go about awakening out of the dream of separation and experiencing the reality of universal connectedness, I’m, as Stealers Wheel would sing, “Stuck In The Middle“.