[Guest Post By Andrew Newman – www.lifewalkers.com]
Enlightenment lives as the holy grail of the spiritual path. It is for many the ultimate measure of success in their spiritual journey. We seek out teachers who are ‘fully realised’, ‘enlightened’ or ‘awake’.
Why? In the hope that they can help us awaken. But again Why?…Why awaken?
We want the simplicity of unending happiness. Many believe this to be the end product of enlightenment; Happiness.
“Many believe this to be the end product of enlightenment; Unending Happiness.”
Perhaps the unspoken belief among seekers could be summarised as “An enlightened teacher can help me achieve unending happiness.”
This belief seldom gets questioned. It may in fact be a projection that we have placed onto our spiritual teachers, because we have to believe in the possibility of ultimate happiness and the end to all our suffering.
If it isn’t true, then we are falsely chasing after an inaccurate goal.
In this way our spiritual quest may be a barrier to our own awakening. Ironic right?
I have sat with teachers who clearly have a larger viewpoint of the worldly experience that we call Life. They appear to have transcended a veil. They speak from the other side of this veil, with a deep knowledge, wisdom and kindness that teaches their students and heals the world. This is beautiful work. It has indeed helped me decrease my suffering and grow my happiness. It has also been incomplete.
These teachers seldom speak of their ongoing human difficulties in the days after their enlightenment. The toothpaste tube that still squeezes too much, the aches and pains in their body as they age, the frustrations of their digestive system, the occasional headache, their depressed days…in summary… the typically human experiences that continue to be part of their daily life.
“Life is in fact one constantly alive moment, even for the enlightened.”
A full picture of enlightenment would hold the opposites of both sides of this mystical veil. It may even dissolve the very notion of the veil. Belief in Separation causes deep pain. Life is in fact one constantly alive moment, even for the Enlightened. An ongoing opportunity to choose and experience who we are.
Perhaps we’d be better dropping the ‘..ed’ and defining the enlightened teacher as a fellow human who is ‘enlightening’, ‘awakening’ or ‘realising’ the constantly alive moment we call Life.
Are you living purely for the experience? Are you showing up fully present and alive? Are you recognising the constantly alive moment we call life? Call yourself Teacher.
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Andrew works at the meeting point of psychology, spirituality and creativity with one simple intention… ‘to grow happiness.’
This is reflected in his beautiful line of children’s books.
He graduated from the Barbara Brennan School of Healing in Austria; studied 4 years of Nondual Kabbalistic Healing in the Netherlands and holds a postgraduate diploma in marketing management from the University of Cape Town.
His multifaceted career includes work as a jeweller, a poemcatcher, a hammock maker and a festival director (Edinburgh Festival of Spirituality and Peace)
Connect with Andrew here: www.lifewalkers.com
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