“Start with meditation, and things will go on growing in you — silence, serenity, blissfulness, sensitivity. And whatever comes out of meditation, try to bring it out in life. Share it, because everything shared grows fast.”
-Osho

How do I get enlightened?

Hello spiritual warriors!! This week we dive into the answers of the most profound questions we could ever ask: What is enlightenment? and, how do I get there?

For thousands of years, people have used various techniques to bring their minds to a quieter state of being. Depending on where in the world they have lived and what their culture or society has encouraged, human beings have come up with an extraordinarily rich array of practices for going beyond the ordinary waking state to expanded states of consciousness. Depending on the culture and religious orientation, these ritualized practices include chanting, breathing, ecstatic dancing, healing touch, listening to music, making love, visual stimulation, aromatherapy, and even ruminating on the taste of chocolate. Each technique is specifically designed to move the mind from its current state of activity to one of present-moment witnessing awareness.

You have already experienced the phenomena of present-moment witnessing awareness many times throughout your life, but perhaps you didn’t even realize it. These are the moments when you are in the “still zone.” It’s that moment on a roller coaster when you are screaming at the top of your lungs as your body plunges downward to certain death—or when you are playing sports and every shot you take, every move you make, is the perfect one. It’s when you are giving that big presentation and rather than read some memorized script, you spontaneously seem to channel just the right words in an effortless flow. It’s when you spontaneously say or do the perfect thing at the exact perfect moment, cook the most brilliant meal as if you were a culinary genius, make passionate love . . . merging into your partner and surrendering to the bliss of an orgasm. It’s the experience of gardening in your backyard and feeling so immersed in the aroma of the soil, the vivid colors in each petal, the beauty of the moment, and the textures of the earth, plants, and flowers that time seems to stand still. And it’s the pure joy of laughing so hysterically your belly starts to spasm. These are all states of present-moment witnessing awareness, when we are not thinking for one moment about the past or reaching one second into the future.

When we experience present-moment awareness in a state of restful alertness, we are experiencing the same stillness zone we experience during deep meditation . . . pure unbounded consciousness . . . the realm of no thought, no sound, and no sensation. When you are in that space, you have essentially disconnected from all the things in your world that are in the realm of activity. In the language of many meditators, this is referred to as accessing the space between your thoughts—the gap—a space pregnant with pure potential and infinite possibilities.

When you have a consistent daily meditation practice, instead of only having sporadic tastes of the bliss of present-moment awareness, you begin to experience that bliss more and more in your everyday life. As you meditate regularly, a physiological shift occurs that grows deeper, stronger, and more profound with repetition. Like building any muscle in your body, meditation is a practice that transforms your entire physiology over time. This shift is subtle at first, and as the process of physical and emotional softening occurs, you begin to view life in new and expanded ways. Life takes on a different hue . . . a deeper meaning . . . a more universal understanding that pervades every cell of your being. The present-moment awareness you experience in meditation begins to flow throughout each thought, each conversation, each keystroke, and each breath.

In both ancient and modern writings on the experience of meditation, this change, shift, or transformation of awareness—this space of being—has been referred to by many names, including enlightenment, transcendence, awakening, satori, the aha! moment, Brahman, rapture, bliss, being in the gap, astral projection, connecting to source, turiya, remote viewing, witnessing awareness, bhagavan or brahmi chetana, cosmic consciousness, God or Christ consciousness, being in the moment, atma darshan (glimpsing the soul), oneness, unity, ananda, and samadhi.

And when you experience no activity within you or outside of yourself, you actually open yourself to realms of expanded consciousness and a greater depth of feeling that include higher levels of creativity, intuition, personal growth, compassion, subtle empowerment, forgiveness, and peace of mind. Whether this stillness lasts for a tenth of a second, ten seconds, or ten minutes is of no consequence. Touching stillness—even in the smallest of doses—allows you to connect to your unconditioned Self . . . to your source…to enlightenment!! Join me this week on Hay House Radio and we’ll dive deep into the process. And don’t forget to sign up for the Hay House World Summit right now! (it’s free).

Keep meditating. And I’ll see you in the gap! Peace. -davidji

WATCH THIS WEEK’S VIDEO!