Enlightenment is not about acquisition.
It’s not about acquiring qualities.
It’s not about acquiring knowledge.
It’s not about acquiring experiences.
It’s about removal, not addition – it’s about the removal of unfounded beliefs. In particular, it’s about the removal of “ego” beliefs.
Enlightenment is not about acquiring qualities.
It’s not about becoming calmer, “better”, kinder or more “evolved.”
It’s not about “moral” perfection or “purity.”
It’s not about personal, spiritual or mental improvement.
It‘s about abandoning certain beliefs, in particular, “ego” beliefs and “shoulds.”
Enlightenment is not about acquiring knowledge
It’s not about understanding the ultimate nature of reality.
It’s not about final answers.
It’s not about “master” secrets.
It’s not about acquiring knowledge.
It’s not about ancient knowledge (it’s about what works).
It’s about the realization that there is no need for final and/or complete knowledge.
It’s about realizing that we cannot have a fixed position regarding what reality ultimately is.
Enlightenment is not about acquiring experiences
It’s not about bliss, unity, or “special” states.
It’s not about “altered” or “refined” states.
It’s not about finding a permanent state.
It’s not a state.
It’s about a series of realizations and recognitions.
It’s about the removal of beliefs.
It’s about the end of the belief that experience should be different from what it actually is.
Enlightenment is not about “being.”
It’s not about being constantly calm or balanced.
It’s not about being always peaceful or undisturbed.
It’s not about being emotionally neutral or detached.
It’s not about being in a particular state.
Enlightenment is about realizing, not “being.”
Most people believe that it’s either about having or being.
But there is a third option, which is about realizing.
Enlightenment is not about “change.”
Enlightenment is not about self-development or self-improvement.
Enlightenment is not about “believing.”
It’s not about believing in something but about realizing that beliefs are just beliefs.
Enlightenment is not about “rituals.”
By ritual we mean acting in a certain way versus realizing.
For example, meditation, prayers, devotional practices, chanting mantras, wearing robes, or shaving your head. These are all just rituals.
It’s not about rituals but about realizations.
Enlightenment is not about going from point A to B.
Enlightenment is not about evolving/changing within a framework but about changing the framework itself.
Enlightenment is not exclusive.
It’s not for a few select people.
It’s not rare or out of reach.
It’s not tied to background, belief, sex or gender.
It’s not dependent on any path, system or “spiritual” status.
There is no prerequisite.
It’s available in ordinary human experience.
But it requires some patience, persistence and motivation.
Realization
Realization is not about knowledge.
Realization is not about adding new knowledge to the knowledge you already have.
Anything that leaves your worldview unchanged is not a realization.
Realization is what happens to you when you experience something about reality that exposes a contradiction in your current beliefs, forcing a fundamental shift in your worldview.
For example, if you learn about the existence of a new restaurant near you, this is not a realization because it does not affect your worldview. That’s because your current worldview already allowed for the possibility of new restaurants.
Consider another example. You catch your parents wrapping your gifts on Christmas Eve. You then realize that Santa Claus does not exist. This is a realization because, unlike the previous example, which was only about adding new knowledge, this example affects your current beliefs: You have now abandoned your belief in the existence of Santa Claus, which leads to the abandonment of your belief in an omniscient being who sees everything you do and gives you gifts according to your behavior.
Unlike the previous example, this experience has produced a shift in your worldview.
The realization that Santa does not exist affects your beliefs, whereas the discovery of the existence of new restaurants does not – it’s just new knowledge. The Santa realization produces a shift in your worldview. The fact that you discover a new restaurant near you does not produce any shift in your worldview.
Realization Versus “Spiritual Evolution”
For this section, we can use the metaphor of a fish in a fish tank.
Realization/enlightenment is not about the fish (you) becoming a “super fish” by, for example, adding new fins and swimming faster. It is instead about “breaking” the fish tank.
Enlightenment is not about becoming a “better” fish. Enlightenment is about “breaking” the fish tank, meaning a shift in perspective: realizing that certain beliefs are just beliefs.
Another metaphor we can use as an example is Santa Claus: Enlightenment is not about learning how to become a “good boy” so you can get more gifts from Santa. It is instead about realizing that Santa does not exist.
Trying to become a “super fish” instead of trying to break the fish tank, or trying to become a “better boy” in order to get more gifts from Santa – instead of realizing that Santa does not exist – is the most common model of “spiritual evolution”: you believe that by doing more of certain things (for example, more meditation, more praying, more rituals, etc.), you “evolve” “spiritually.”
In contrast, our approach is about realizations that cause a shift in our worldview. For example, to realize that Santa does not exist.
Realization and Belief
Realization is not about choosing to believe in something or choosing not to believe in something. It’s not about choosing to believe in Santa Claus versus choosing not to believe in Santa Claus. It’s about realizing the impossibility of certain beliefs through the observation of contradictions in our experience of reality. For example, if you catch your parents packing your gifts on Christmas Eve, it’s not that you choose to stop believing in Santa Claus. It’s that you cannot unsee what you saw: You cannot believe in Santa Claus anymore even if you wanted to.
Some people can choose to believe or not believe in certain things, but nobody can choose to “realize” something. Realization is the result of experiencing something about reality that exposes a contradiction in our current beliefs – and breaks those beliefs in an irreversible way.