--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Paula Youmans" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > I told Tom he was enlightened and he told me that I > was enlightened, so there. > > > > > > Haha.have you ever had someone tell you that you had reached enlightenment? > > It's a lot like someone informing you of a past life you don't remember; or > getting the gas bill: > > > > "Okeedoke, I'll take your word for it" lol > > > > Seriously.how does anyone ever know???
I don't believe anyone ever does, in an absolute sense. Life is one long continuum, from evolution to dissolution and over and over again, so 'enlightenment' as we call it, is a step whereby we recognize that our sense of ourselves transcends the limitations that our prior evolution has placed on us. We are larger than we ever imagined, and live and experience this as reality. It seems as if that state is only called 'enlightenment' because the common experience in daily life and locked within our DNA is that we *are* in fact the sum of our limitations. It is how worlds are built typically on Earth, now. That whole 'not enough resources, grab what you can' mentality is a result of living as self-limited beings. So, when we stop living the surrealistic reality of our assumed limitations, and become free, we are said to then be 'enlightened'. But it is merely relative to what our past experience has been. In reality, there is no actual enlightenment. It is just an evolutionary stage we are very, very fond of here on Earth, around which a consensus has formed with regard to its desirability. On the one hand, it is a significant achievement, a milestone of growth, and on the other hand it is no different really from the achievements we have achieved all of our lives. Perhaps we prize it so greatly because of the subjective experience both of inner and outer freedom, and the knowledge, ability, responsibility and love that comes with it. All admirable qualities. It both encompasses and transforms the human experience. And yet, once this state of inner and outer freedom is reached, life goes on, relative responsibilities and achievements continue, and one day we will look a long way back and realize that 'enlightenment', that which seemed so important once, is not so relevant to our lives, that the importance of that awakening has faded over the years, like the memory of a favorite relative, or the significant achievement of learning to walk as a young child. Yet, on the horizon of our timeless lives ...another enlightenment beckons... ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/JjtolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
