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Begin your journey with the right tools When it comes to living in the moment and being more enlightened, you may have some questions. You might ask, “Dr. Puff, how do I reach that point? Is there anything I can do to speed up the process of waking up and of living a life filled with the present?” Enlightenment is beyond our concepts, so merely attempting to apply our concepts to it causes its secret to remain hidden. It’s similar to that Chinese puzzle where you put a finger in one end and another in the other end, and then you pull. Merely the act of pulling makes you stay stuck. When you relax, you become unstuck. Living an awakened life is much like this. We must let go. To Find the Treasure, We Must Let Go There are a few things you can do to help you let go. The first one is that you have to really want to wake up. If this and only this is your ultimate goal, then all your energies are going to be channeled into seeking this awakening and enlightenment. It has to be done at the expense of everything else. We have so much egoic identity that we cling onto in life; this causes us to be stuck. We have to let go of everything, which can seem frightening. Imagine an explorer who has left his home to find the riches of the world, and after years of searching, he finally finds treasures that he can’t even grasp because they’re so infinite. Before he can have all these treasures, however, he has to let go of everything: all of his clothing, belongings, memories, egoic identities and all labels, and even his name. This is a frightening prospect. We’re not willing to let go of everything. We hang onto anger, attachments, fears, goals, achievements, or loves. We hold onto what we know seems so real right now, even though we might have only lived with it for a short period. We identify with our ego and all that is accumulated in our lives too greatly. However, to truly find the treasure, we must let go of everything. Leave Everything Behind A story I once heard illustrates this point pretty well. A man spent decades seeking spiritual enlightenment and when he finally felt as if he had reached his destination, he saw a door and knocked upon it. A voice from behind the door asked, “Who is it?” The seeker, whose name was Michael, replied, “It’s, Michael.” The voice from the other side said, “There’s no room for Michael here.” The door remained closed. Michael went away and spent a lot more time trying to figure out who and what he was, and then he finally understood. He returned to the door and knocked upon it once more. When the voice on the other side asked, “Who is it?” he replied, “No one.” He was allowed to enter. You must leave everything behind before you can enter enlightenment. Earnestness and desire are the first key components of reaching enlightenment quickly if this is what you truly seek. Shh! Silence and Stillness are Vital The second component helpful to achieving enlightenment quickly is quiet time. Time spent in silence to just listen to your inner self is vital. You allow quiet stillness that does not include any thoughts in order to quietly watch within and see who you are. In this silence, the greatest discoveries will be found. Just being present and still are crucial factors that will help you to reach enlightenment. There are no guarantees, but this is akin to many other things in life. Achieving something that’s very hard to gain, which very few people have ever attained, such as a hit record, an Academy Award, or a Nobel Prize, requires a large amount of earnestness and effort. It also requires, or is helped by, large amounts of silence. To Make the Ultimate Discovery, Simplify and Focus Simplify your life. Be still, be present, and really dive into a state of awareness. Stop watching so much TV, reading other books, or being involved in pointless conversations. Make enlightenment the focus of your life. Choose to start this journey of self-discovery with lots of time being still and being silent. What becomes possible is that you might wake up to the true supreme reality of who you are, who you have always been, and who you will always be. The rewards of such a discovery are truly infinite and priceless. Resource Box:
Dr. Robert Puff, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, author, international speaker, and meditation expert who has been counseling individuals, families, nonprofits, and businesses for over twenty years. A contributing writer to Psychology Today, he has authored numerous books, including Spiritual Enlightenment: Awakening to the Supreme Reality and creates a weekly podcasts and articles on enlightenment, spiritual enlightenment, nonduality, Advaita Vedanta at: http://www.EnlightenmentPodcast.com
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