The Morning After Enlightenment, by Rev. John Moreland

What happens once you experience a significant transformation? Metaphorically, what takes place after a resurrection into a new way of being or the entering into a longed-for promised land? Several years ago, I asked a similar question to someone who was on a personal spiritual quest. They had traveled the world to visit several spiritual teachers and gurus out of their desire for spiritual enlightenment. They were also in the process of planning a trip to southeast Asia to visit another teacher they had heard very positive things about. Their hope was that this would be the experience that would finally lead them to achieve the spiritual transformation they had been hoping to experience for several years. After listening to their expectations for their upcoming trip, I asked them, “Then what? What will your life look like once you attain enlightenment?” The look on their face told me that they had never really attempted to answer this question. Their response was, “Well, I guess there will be really nothing left for me to do in this life after I’ve attained a true awakening.”

I am not an expert on the concept of enlightenment, but my guess is that achieving that level of spiritual awareness doesn’t excuse a person from participating with life. I do think, though, that it would significantly change the way a person engages with life. Deepak Chopra commented on this topic when he wrote:

“There are only two symptoms of enlightenment: the first symptom is that you stop worrying. The second is that you encounter more meaningful coincidences in your life, and more synchronicities. And this accelerates to the point where you actually experience the miraculous.”

I believe that there is a difference between being concerned about something and being in a state of worry. To me, worry is a paralyzing emotion that clouds our ability to come to clarity and arrive at positive solutions. It is a state that can detach and separate us from our inner guidance and the belief that a positive way forward is possible. Concern is different. It is an acknowledgment that healing or shift needs to take place. It can be a positive emotion that ignites a creative path towards a positive outcome. Growing in consciousness doesn’t mean that a person denies that negative conditions and situations exist. Instead, it can give greater clarity on how best to assess a negative situation.

We have all had experiences that have appeared to be miraculous. These are times that have had us feel a great connection with what we were doing and a sense of flow. In these moments, whether we were aware of it or not, we had spontaneously planted ourselves in the present moment with great trust in an eventual positive outcome. As we grow in consciousness, these types of moments become more the norm instead of the exception. We learn to trust the paths that we are on and release our judgments on what eventual outcomes should look like. Experiencing this type of flow on a more regular basis can seem like the miraculous, but the true miracle is that we have finally managed to release the negative hold that our human egos can have on us.

How does one's life change after an enlightenment or a significant growth in consciousness? There is a well-known Buddhist saying that teaches us, “Before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood and carry water.” The simple meaning of this quote is that as we expand in consciousness, the outer appearances of our lives may not look all the different. The difference is in how we show up. We suddenly see the great value and potential of our lives as they already exist. Yes, physical changes may follow; change is a constant in the physical world, but we no longer seek change for change’s sake. We allow life to unfold naturally and intentionally as we feel fully grounded exactly where we are. There is no final destination in our growth in consciousness. Ernest Holmes is quoted as saying, “The spiral of life is upward” and that this upward journey is an eternal one of expansion. This sentiment was also expressed a little differently by the famous chef Julia Child who is quoted as saying, “You are always in mastery, but never the master.”

Rev. John has been the Spiritual Director and Leader at Light on the Mountains since April 2002. He has helped foster a deeper sense of vision and purpose while increasing the contribution that our spiritual center has made to the greater Wood River Valley community.

Rev. John received his Masters of Divinity from the Holmes Institute in 2000 after earning Bachelor of Art degrees in both Graphic Design and Music from California State University Northridge. He lived most of his life in Southern California and is a Los Angeles native, but is thrilled to now be a long-time resident of the Wood River Valley.