Enlightenment, simply put, means to bring light where there was darkness. In spiritual terms, this ‘light’ isn’t literal but symbolic.
Just like the cartoon characters whose bright ideas are shown by a lit bulb over their heads, spiritual enlightenment is like a light bulb turning itself on in the mind, giving us insight and understanding about the meaning of life that we didn’t have before.
Almost all spiritual practices have enlightenment as their ultimate goal. While some people experience sudden and permanent awareness, most of us who are on a spiritual path move through three different levels of enlightenment.
At the first level of spiritual enlightenment, your mind starts to let things just be. You allow your experiences to be whatever they are without judging, analyzing, or resisting.
Before this level, people tend to spend a lot of time planning, labeling, criticizing, and worrying. But once they reach this first level, they find that their minds quiet down and become more accepting of what is.
People who have risen to level one often describe this as being more ‘fully present’ or ‘in the now.’
When you reach level 2 of the three levels of spirituality, you’ll feel a oneness with all that is. Here you recognize that every person, animal, and even every object is connected to you and that you’re connected to all of them.
People who have risen to level two often describe this as feeling like deep and complete love.
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At the third spiritual level, you move beyond the sense of feeling connected with everything else and into the realization that you are everything else – and everything else is you.
You fully know the oneness of what we call God, and experience no separation from it or anything else.
People who live on level 3 of the spiritual enlightenment describe it as bliss. They have let go of the kind of desires and wishes that are important to most people. They live in a state of inner peace and tranquility, yet still function in the world.
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Great post, thank you for sharing.
Another way to explain the 3 levels. 1. Being aware of what is occurring within you & then after practicing that for a while, being aware of everything outside of you. 2. Awakening the Oneness of all life. 3. God Realization. For these states to occur a shift in brain functioning occurs
no matter how many levels you would care to attach to it, enlightenment is a beginning. it's amazing how many folks view enlightenment as their "destination." and living in bliss is simply a state of being one obtains while moving upward in a vertical movement into higher levels of consciousness, if you will pardon this rudimentary analogy.
simply experiencing any of the 3 different states mentioned above, even numerous times, does not mean any one of these states is now the lens which you consistently view your world through. to me, that's the equivalent of wearing a pair of rose colored glasses, then taking them off and wondering why your surroundings are back to looking the way they were before you put the rose colored glasses on.
experience has shown me that when a new level of consciousness has been reached and acknowledged, ie... one of the "levels of enlightenment" aforementioned, i have to commit to retaining the new level of consciousness until the new level of consciousness becomes permanent. and then repeat. and then repeat. and then repeat. most folks are fortunate to even achieve one new level of consciousness in a lifetime. only one!
many people speak about reaching a new level of consciousness one might refer to as enlightenment, and few speak on how to retain a new level of consciousness one might refer to as enlightenment. i'd offer up that there's a huge difference.
the big hurdle for folks is a "belief" that exists in the human psyche to not really accept that higher levels of consciousness are achievable in the first place, much less to fully except that one is even able to embody a higher level of consciousness.
translated... when higher levels of consciousness are achieved, folks unknowingly and unconsciously have the tendency of automatically reverting to their previous level of consciousness. as they have no reference point for what it is to continually exist in a body here on earth with a new, higher level of consciousness. nor do they posses the wisdom to process an experience of integrating a new, higher level of consciousness into their being. it's simply easier, and it seems to happen by default, for the average person to remain as he/she was. gives new meaning to the phrase "as you were, soldier." no?
so this takes us back to the original post by judy cox where she wrote the following:
"I think that I have experienced each one of these 3 levels, and may live in combinations of the 3 on any given day."
please extend to me your forgiveness if i appear as if i am picking on judy cox. actually, i sing praises to judy cox for her courage to move into higher levels of consciousness and to also be able to recognize she has moved into higher levels of consciousness. i site judy's post merely to point out that people are not always aware of their state of consciousness, having a tendency to revert to a more familiar, lower state of consciousness in lieu of remaining in a new, less familiar, higher level of consciousness.
the game is simply deciding to become more comfortable with the "less familiar", accepting your Self more, and moving into and retaining (embodying) higher levels of consciousness than it is for you to remain in your current level of consciousness.
this means intentionally repeating experiences that promote your awareness of living in and embodying higher levels of consciousness. nothing more, nothing less. having someone who can assist you is a huge help by the way.
it is with great humility, i would offer that the average person chooses the comfort of remaining within his/her existing level of consciousness while living life in a less aware state of being. on the other hand, who we might call a master is one who chooses to move into higher levels of consciousness while living life in an more aware state of being. here we have each end of the spectrum.
judy cox, to me, is a person who is representative of a seemingly growing number of folks who are somewhere in the middle. sometimes very still and sometimes on the move. having been swinging away like a bunch of pendulums only to have our momentum keep us in motion rather than slowing down enough to not only experience, but to also retain higher levels of consciousness. it seems more of us are becoming aware of the benefits of slowing down... just like judy cox.
then what happens is you speed up again, only with the ability to move even faster with increased awareness. call it your spiritual turbo charger. and you learn you can stop on a dime, anytime, to be still, and without locking up your tires. call it your spiritual anti lock breaking system. and then repeat. and then repeat. and then repeat...
blessings to all.
Thank you for sharing
Love and Light
Pachier
Even although I have just began the journey I feel I have felt all three of these levels, although I keep slipping in and out of even level 1. I hope as I become more practiced I will become accustomed to remaining constant in the first 2 and only slip in and out of 3.
I feel that I resonate with level 2, living in it. As for level 3, I know it but I know I am not there yet. Once a whole I found myself there too and it becoming more and more now but I am not completely there yet. TQ
I have generally lived in no 3 condition but lately after studying so much stuff, find there might be more
than I really know, other worlds, and maybe other Gods, and I wonder and feel like I need to know.
I M always learning from what u present.. I , certainly feel the 3 levels.. I suppose i do experience staying in one level or the other, from time to time.. But i not consciously and deliberately able to " Pin Point " when I make that shift?? So I want to know what's that state called ?? ( my verbal expression is rather slow to react)... How do u activate your " sushupta " state.. so that you are able to verbally express your different levels.. Thank U.
This is great, I feel that more and more people is starting to move in to a deeper awareness of whom one is. I am happy that the shift has started and getting stronger day by day. As for myself I experinced level 2 then level 3, at a time of my life when I thought I knew nothing a bout it. The shift was extreme , the love and oneness I felt was beyond all words and meanings. Yet I was able to function.
I think that I have experienced each one of these 3 levels, and may live in combinations of the 3 on any given day.
I am so happy too that the shift is gaining momentum, I want more than anything else in the world for everyone to learn to love in this way; I am trying to be patient but that isn't my strongest point! Although I too have felt the love and oneness that you speak of, and it is awesome!x