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Originally Posted by Angela  Yup, but that's the last thing someone who's down on themselves wants to hear! 
When people start talking about enlightenment, they sort of lose me, because everyone seems to have their own individual sense of what that word means. |
Although there is a common theme, I hope. Just the termology can get specific or dogmatic. I just think anything that moves you into more love, peace, acceptance and harmony is in the direction of enlightenment.
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I really like Tolle's description of awakening or enlightenment, though: Being fully present and accepting in the moment, being aware of the consciousness (the essential "me") that is aware that it is thinking, and not collapsing the two together. Well, he says it better than I do.  |
Have to brush up on my Tolle. Which are the two things to not collapse together?
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This deepest, timeless 'me' consciousness doesn't bother with high or low self-esteem, because when I'm able to be present and accepting, there is only Being. Have to keep reminding myself! That deepest, timeless 'me' is aware that there's no need to judge the trappings of this physical life -- there is no real "mine" -- only the experience of Now. So there's no need to judge myself or anyone else.
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Right no. And being down in the dumps about yourself is also a judgement. And then to be aware or more enlightened would not depend on self-esteem? Or to become more aware will naturally expose the self esteem as unneeded self judgement.
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Of course I have preferences! Boy, you should read Byron Katie talk about being accepting -- she goes wayyyy farther with accepting than I can easily get my head around!
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Yeah, I just start Katie's "loving what is" and hit an assignment. "don't listen to any more until you do the work". So now I have to find that space to do the first exercise before I can go on. But, yeah, she also has some ideas about judgments. That the judgments we do have are where the work to be done is. And to not supress them but to write them down and do her steps of the work, that is turn it around and see the reflection of any judgment being made.