Buddhism, as well as common New Age philosophies, seem to work toward a similar but overall divided goal. That goal is an escape of our full potential to achieve a sense of false wholeness popularly known as enlightenment. The various methodologies of meditation promote escape. In the case of Buddhism, this escape occurs by focusing solely on the physical experience and denying our thoughts in order to train oneself toward an “enlightened” state of awareness. Including New Age technologies, they tend to lead consciousness in an altered and enticing ethereal experience far beyond the grounding that we must not ignore while incarnated on this planet.
These two examples are opposite methods on the spectrum to achieve a goal of enlightenment, I see this type of so-called enlightenment as false integration and escaping. To authentically reach integration and wholeness in who each of us truly is, one must find a balance of grounding and assimilating. This balance explores the vast reaches within while spreading this awareness in this human body, without which we cannot properly achieve what we came here on Earth to do. Integration isn’t about escaping in any way; it honestly faces our individual predicaments and pulls this physical self forward to meet who we truly are.
Much of my time in the past was spent exploring both New Age meditation and traditional Buddhism-type mediation technologies, and I found both took me away from the wholeness of my original self. Both deny facets of one’s being to achieve an “enlightened” awareness, or rather a fragmented awareness. They create an overly contrived state of awareness that is heightened or dulled by the focus. I have learned that there needs to be a balance somewhere in-between to bring who we truly are forward, as this fullness encompasses all aspects of our multifaceted state of being that resides here and now as well as within, not without.
This morning I sat with myself, and I introspected and noticed how the habit to ritually experience altered states induced by New Age techniques was such a draw in me and it lead me to ask myself what this was really doing for me. I was reminded within myself that I am not here to escape this physical experience as those techniques facilitated, but I am also not here to focus solely on this physical experience. Our lives are most helpful when in a balanced state of full integration achieved by seeing both our physical experience as well as our mental, emotional and spiritual experience, and bringing them forward together in a loving, supportive way to meet who we are in our original fullness as one complete unit.
I hope we all will diligently search out this balance and have courage to fully integrate who we are in the face of so much that tugs us away from our true essence within.
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