What's Better than Enlightenment?

On the Path... [View in Web Browser]( [Access your FREE 15-minute insight call with Dylan]( Hi {NAME},  One of my [coaching clients]( recently asked me if I was enlightened. LOL! I had to laugh, if only for humility, but I answered the question by first asking a question. "What is enlightenment?" I asked. Her answer was, of course, explicitly unique to her, and that's what really made me laugh. Enlightenment isn't something that can be concretely defined. We can define unconsciousness, and we can define various emotional states, but enlightenment evades definition. I told of her a couple of experiences I've had where I momentarily experienced a state of consciousness which felt like what enlightenment could be. Once, in a proper traditional yagé ceremony with Secoya elders, my consciousness completely escaped the confines of my personal identity and ego, and I was able to look out at the world with a deep and satisfying sense of peace and oneness. But I came down. Another time I took a very deep journey with the African shamanic medicine iboga, and again, my mind seemed to completely shut down into a state of total awareness of everything, with no thoughts or thinking whatsoever. And again, I came down. But enlightenment is temporary. That feeling of total tranquility and wonder was never supposed to last. Everyone who receives the gift of this feeling, no matter what means took them there, experiences something unique personal. Yet they always come down and eventually have to report back to regular, daily life. It's like that old Chinese proverb about the seeker who climbed all the mountains in China searching for enlightenment, and as he was climbing the last mountain came upon an old man trodding down the mountain carrying a sash of firewood and a bucket of water. Stopping the old man, the seeker asks if enlightenment is to be found at the top of this mountain. The old man sets down his heavy load, stands upright and says, "YES!" The seeker was thrilled, but confused about why the old man was doing such physically demanding and menial tasks after finding this elusive gem, so asks the old man why he is carrying such weight down the mountain. The old man replies, "before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water," then gathered his load on his hunched over back and proceeded down the mountain. Enlightenment, whatever it is, doesn't change who you are or what you're here to do. It gives you an image of how close you always are to the mystery, and it can inspire you toward a renewed reverence for you life, but otherwise it's practically meaningless. So, what's better than enlightenment? Being able to raise your consciousness on any day, in any moment, so that you can soar above the negative feelings of shame, guilt, unworthiness, frustration, dissatisfaction, overwhelm, resentment, and fear. That's better than enlightenment. This is to be looked at as a skill to be developed. Something you work on and practice until you gain mastery of it. The benefits are far greater than any temporary feeling of enlightenment, because it represents the full return of your personal power and energy, so that you have it available to apply in any area of your life, on any given day. In a nutshell, this is the primary thing I focus on with my coaching clients. Assisting them in understanding that they have control over their own level of consciousness, and that learning to elevate consciousness is the most profitable skill they could possibly ever learn. If you'd like to find out if you and I may be a good fit for working together to assist you in outgrowing your struggles and rising above them, book a [FREE 15 minute insight call with me HERE](. Peace and Power, [_Dylan Charles]( [Access your FREE 15-minute insight call with Dylan]( [Dylan Charles - Self-Mastery and Self-Sabotage Coach]( Dylan Charles Editor, [Waking Times]( Host of [Battered Souls]( [Self-Mastery Coaching]( [Dylan Charles - Self-Mastery and Self-Sabotage Coach]( Dylan Charles Editor, [Waking Times]( Host of [Battered Souls]( [Self-Mastery Coaching]( Oh, here's a great Valentine's gift idea for someone you love. Block EMF's and reduce stress. A win win! [CLICK HERE for MORE INFO.]( [Unsubscribe]( | Sent by Full Life Media, LLC PO Box 19754 • Asheville, NC • 28815-1754