Enlightenment doesn’t arrive to a schedule.
~Hilarion
So many of us yearn for enlightenment. We want to “move to the next level”, “ascend dimensionally”, or “embody our higher self.” We see this as a step up, like graduating from high school or becoming a legal adult, a one-way rite of passage. The path to enlightenment becomes for us a series of unidirectional advancements, culminating in nirvana.
What we may fail to realize is that, by our very nature, we are intrinsically enlightened; we carry a spark of perfection—a connection to conjoined divinity known as the sharing—inside of us as our sharing within. Whether or not we are aware of it, the divine lives within us as conscious love. We already are enlightened, we just fail to recognize that truth.
When we acknowledge the divine within us, we can see it in all other beings and things. All of creation is inherently divine and there is nothing and no one that can be excluded. Living this truth consciously puts us in a voluntary state of enlightened awareness. Life is beautiful, miraculous, and fun from this viewpoint.
Here’s the difficulty: it’s hard to stay in conscious awareness of shared divinity at all moments. Life in third-dimensional reality (with its separation consciousness) distracts us and we lose sight of the magic of existence in conscious love.
This can be likened to listening to a song—even a favorite or familiar song—with our full and complete attention. We often can do so for a few measures, clearly hearing the vocals, words, intonation, and instruments—both separately and together. For a brief span we are able to notice every nuance of the music, giving ourselves over to the experience and enjoying it fully. Inevitably, something else catches our attention and our full focus no longer is solely on the song; our awareness splits and our perception of both music and interruption is incomplete.
In a similar way, sometimes we find a spiritual sweet spot. For a few moments, we are able to consciously apprehend shared divinity. We are in love with ourselves and all the rest of existence; we feel uplifted and expanded, and all seems perfect exactly as it is. In these precious moments, we consciously recognize our own enlightenment. The enlightenment doesn’t disappear, but our awareness of it does as our attention is diverted by everyday events.
Most of us have had these extraordinary experiences. We long to repeat them and hope they might become more frequent. We’re certain that if only we were better people, we’d become enlightened and live is this expanded awareness at all times.
The irony is that we don’t need to become better individuals, we simply need to remember we are divine and acknowledge our perfection. Knowing that we arise from conscious love, it is readily apparent that all of creation does as well. Accepting the perfection of all existence as is, we naturally inhabit awareness of love, joy, beauty, and gratitude. The more we practice love and gratitude, the easier it is for us to dwell consciously in our own enlightenment.
Let’s spend a few minutes in conscious connection with our inner divinity—our sharing within—to explore how simple this practice can be. We will start by focusing on the center of our chest, visualizing our sharing within as a sphere of golden light there.
We’ll allow our breathing to become deep and even, seeing the light grow strong and bright with each inhalation and picturing it spreading our through and around us with each exhalation, blessing all it touches. We will continue until we feel calm, peaceful, and centered, signaling conscious connection with our inner divinity.
We’ll remember one glorious instance where we felt the divine clearly in and around us. Perhaps it was during prayer or meditation; perhaps it was in communion with nature; perhaps it was in strong connection with another living being. Whatever the circumstances, we will recall the event in vivid detail, allowing the recollected joy, wonder, and love to fill us and spread out as we breathe golden light, in and out.
Next we’ll remember a recent interaction, one in which we were disappointed both in our own words or actions and in those of another. We’ll bring the event to mind and then watch our perception of it slowly shift, as we breathe golden light into the circumstances.
We will recognize that our perception of the event was based in separation; it is possible to see the interaction differently from a point of conscious loving connection. We no longer need to judge ourselves or the other person. We are free to see both as divine, perfect, and enlightened.
Divinely unique and beautiful reader, how are you enlightened right now? Please share…