YouTube: Spiritual Enlightenment, What It Means
This week someone asked me what I thought it meant to be spiritually enlightened. Is it a state we reach or is it an understanding that we are unlimited beings that will never reach a spiritual stopping place? Great question.
From what I have observed, many believe it is a state we reach. This seems to be a motivating factor behind much of our quest for further spiritual knowledge.
I think of how far we have come in our exploration of the world and the universe as a whole. Early adventurers explored the earth from wind-driven ships. If they could see the technology we use today, they would probably consider us an enlightened people. From our point of view, there doesn’t seem to be any signs of having reached a stopping place. I think most of us would agree that we’re just getting started.
Why would this be? Because we live in a universe of infinite possibility. There is no point of arrival, no stopping place. As Walt Whitman wrote,
“There is no stoppage and never can be stoppage,
If I, you, and the worlds, and all beneath or upon their surfaces, were this moment reduced back to a pallid float, it would not avail in the long run,
We should surely bring up again where we now stand,
And surely go as much farther, and then farther and farther.” Walt Whitman, Song to Myself
Spiritual enlightenment, then, would be better described as the state of knowing there are no limits imposed on our being. As spiritual beings having a human experience, it is easy to forget that we are much more than the human side. Spiritual enlightenment is living from the awareness of this greater reality.