“All beings are born enlightened, but it takes a lifetime to discover this.” -Buddha

“You need not aspire for or get any new state. Get rid of your present thoughts, that is all.” – Ramana Maharshi

When we think of enlightenment we tend to think of a giant Ah-Ha, the strike of a lightening bolt, a single moment that forever shifts the way we perceive ourselves and the world. What was, is now past, and we are miraculously transformed into something bigger, lighter, wiser. The truth isn’t quite as epic. Really we are always in the process of waking up, and it can be slow going. Buddha sat under the Bodhi Tree for seven days without moving before he attained enlightenment, but before that he spent six years focused on nothing else but realizing the truth, and before that he was longing for something more. That’s the point, it’s not an instantaneous happening that comes from outside ourselves. It’s a slow process of stripping away what’s not essential, rather than finding the missing ingredient. We have to work at it day by day. And if we aren’t, the chance of deeper understanding dwindles.

We have to do the work of peeling back what’s unreal one piece at a time, that’s how all the mirages finally disappear. Seeing clearly means seeing things for what they are, not what we think they are, or wish they were. By stripping away what’s untrue we reclaim our authentic selves as well. Slowly we become the truth of our self while living within the truth of the moment. And the truth is that the tremendous life force, compassion, wisdom, and insight, are already there within us. This is what the mystics have been saying for centuries, we already are what we’ve been looking for. All the searching and interior work only changes how we see, not what actually exists.

That’s why every moment is so important, because we can wake up to a deeper level of reality of at any time. The searching is what helps us to know the truth when we see it. We have to prime the well, we have to be on the lookout, so when we come across the truth we can recognize it. Thankfully we have a lot of time to practice. Every minute of our life can be an opportunity for developing a greater understanding. Another chance to shift our perception and see more clearly. There is an infinitely deep way of seeing the trees through the mist on an early morning walk. We can genuinely appreciate the person who cooked a nourishing dinner for us, or the lights that turn green so we can make an important appointment. It doesn’t have to be otherworldly, in fact it’s often the simplest of things that trigger an awakening, that feeling of being in a deeper flow with life.

This is the practice. It’s getting use to thinking outside of our daily routine and all our wants and needs. We can remember to come back to the present moment, by meditating, writing, observing, honoring, accepting what is in this moment. We can choose to be more present in our daily activities, with the people in our life, with the simple tasks of the everyday. This is enlightenment. Every moment we center our self in the silent truth of who we are we make connections that allow us to see beyond our ready-made opinions. We can begin to remember that it is a choice to wake up to the depth of every situation presented to us, and that we are given this opportunity every moment of everyday. All we have to do is take it.

Enlightenment isn’t so much a goal as an everyday practice. Attuning to the deeper nature of our self and reality, one baby step at a time.

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