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What is Enlightenment For Yoga In The World Of Post Covid
The image that comes to mind instantly for me is enlightenment is a lightbulb turning on as if in an idea bubble. Also the concept of an illumination in a deeper sense of knowing or wisdom inside myself as well as in a spiritual sense.
I think in our society (as well as in yoga teacher trainings) we’ve been led to believe that enlightenment is something that one can strive for, however most won’t reach this state within their lifetime. This feels even more true given what happened with Covid.
I think Covid taught us that life circumstances can change at anytime. And the only thing that is constant is change itself, be it sudden and gradual.
The Gimmicks
Enlightenment brings to mind great spiritual masters and only those who have put in many hours and years and lifetimes to reach that state of great wisdom and utter bliss.
The idea that enlightenment is only reserved for a select bunch could perhaps result from a consumerist culture and the commodification of spirituality and religion.
One doesn’t need to look far to see all the products, gimmicks and the industries that have been marketed to people who are seeking enlightenment.
The Layers
In my own experience the idea that we are not quite complete and we usually need something else or more of something to feel complete has pervaded my consciousness.
So as I’ve begun to strip away the layers of cultural and familial conditioning I’m now seeing that enlightenment is within oneself, not out there.
Enlightenment is a word that goes along with interconnectedness, humility and liberation. A sense of detachment from the outside world and the person then rests back into the seat of the soul.
I don’t think that the idea that enlightenment is reserved for the few who deserve it is helpful at all. It’s similar to the idea in religious beliefs that one must earn or just buy (paying to the church) one’s way into heaven or to a peaceful afterlife.
Grateful
Currently I have moments of feeling enlightened; peaceful, grateful or just at ease with the flow of life. A growing awareness is building that I am not merely a physical being but a soul that is having a sensory experience.
The thought or concept that as my physical attachments fade away I can experience liberation and contentment for no particular reason at all.
Experiencing life on life’s terms, without conditions and preferences for how things need to be down to the smallest detail, one can then feel the pulse of life without constant judgment and criticisms.
The Programming
Even though I feel like some of society’s programming is misleading in regards to what enlightenment is and how one can experience it.
I can also see that by reading spiritual materials and immersing yourself in spiritual ideologies could be helpful in recognizing and cultivating enlightened states within ourselves.
Similar to the brain, the soul or spiritual part of ourselves can, when nurtured and worked with, perhaps build and grow to experience new states of awareness and being or non-being.
So in closing, currently what enlightenment is to me is a beautiful state that is always present within me. It’s purely a matter of me allowing or simply letting myself access it. Moreover, what Covid has taught me at least in the end is that it has allowed me to see past the mental and even spiritual conditioning of my past and learning to let my natural blissful spiritual state exist is the moment to moment play of life.