Click for audio: Spiritual Enlightenment Revisited
J Douglas Bottorff
One of the unintended consequences of our adoption of the idea of soul evolution is that it places the condition of spiritual enlightenment at the end of our series of incarnations when it is in the very midst of our material experience that it is needed most. In one sense, we have the Buddhists to thank for this model, but it’s not their fault that spiritually dissatisfied New Thought Christians have decided to trade in their hope for Heaven for the hope of Nirvana. Spiritual enlightenment should not be thought of as an end, but as a new starting place, here and now.
The man who found the treasure in the field left it to go sell his other possessions. He was motivated to buy that field and own the treasure (Matthew 13:44). He placed a higher value on the treasure than on the sum of his current possessions. Why would he do this? Because he was enlightened enough to recognize the value of his discovery. In contrast, the prodigal son left his home, the equivalent of the hidden treasure, to which he ultimately returned, because he did not recognize its value. He believed enlightenment was out in the far country someplace.
Both men left something of great value, but for entirely different reasons. The first recognized the value of the treasure and devoted all his actions to acquiring it. The second did not recognize the value of what he already had and, like so many who are locked in the evolving soul model, exposed himself to a great deal of unnecessary suffering seeking something he already had. One was spiritually enlightened, the other was not.
Whether or not you are actually in possession of the field is not the standard of spiritual enlightenment. The standard is whether or not you are willing to let go of all the possessions that keep you from buying that field. One of the primary possessions that you must be willing to sell is the belief that your soul is immature, incomplete, that one day you will be enlightened enough to embrace your completeness.
That time is now. If you have captured even a glimpse of your hidden treasure, your value system has been irreversibly changed. Acknowledge that you are now in the process of questioning and letting go of everything that keeps you from purchasing this field, that you are indeed enlightened enough to embrace as a reality, your soul’s completeness.