Santa Clara Meditation Awaken – How does one achieve enlightenment?
People usually say they are enlightened when they realize something they didn’t already know in life. It is that “A-ha, this is it” moment. This type of enlightenment is relatively common and can happen with many things in everyday life. But, what is real Enlightenment? The kind that is usually stated in Buddhism or talked about by long-term meditators. And how can one achieve that? Is it possible?
I want to answer this by sharing my story. I was the oldest of five siblings, and my immediate younger sister and I were very close in age. We fought and argued frequently and were very noisy. Whenever this happened, my mom used to scold me and say, “You are the older one. Why don’t you try to understand her and not let this happen?” At that time, I felt this was unfair. “Why does mom always scold me?. All I did was defend myself. I dished out what my sister deserved for what she had done to me.” I blamed my sister for my mom’s scolding. I started to feel uncomfortable and as if something heavy was sitting on my chest. I gradually figured out that this was my anger. 😎😢🤷♂️💖
So, I decided to go to church to relieve my anger. When I prayed, I reflected on what I have done and said to God, “Please forgive me. I want to be a good kid.” Even at a young age, I could see that I was a selfish child who had anger, blame, and I wanted to be better than the other kids. I always desired to be a “good kid,” but I couldn’t. One day, I went to a temple with my mom because she is Buddhist. While my mom meditated, I tried to meditate along with her. She stayed for 3 hours straight, and I kept falling asleep during the meditation. But I tried every possible way to stay awake. It did not work well.
I always knew that I wasn’t as good of a kid as I wanted to be. Even though I was a good student at school, I had a battle in my heart. Even though I wanted to be a good kid, I would quickly get upset whenever my friends said something that I didn’t want to hear. Then I usually never talked to that person again. Whenever I did that, I tried to reflect on myself. “Why am I like this?” As I grew up, I wondered, is there any way to change myself? Can I be a better person?’ I tried to find the answer.
Then I realized that I was born like this. I had no choice but to live under the circumstances given to me. I was frustrated because I felt like I was in a dark cave, and I couldn’t escape. Many questions arose in my mind. Why are people born in this world and live through so many difficulties and pains? Are we born in this world to age and die? What is the meaning of life?
My youth was not beautiful; I spent most of my time obsessing and languishing over things I could not change. It seemed that the adults around me lived a hard life day by day, facing an unfair world with many injustices like corruption and a handful of influential people ruling the world. The weight of life was too much, and I felt a void beginning to form inside me. This void had one question. Is there a point to living every day like this? 🤍🌈🌞
Still, I repeatedly tried to become a better human being. I read a lot of books about self-improvement and also tried many different religions. In this search, I found that most people live with questions about life. A few abandon their physical ties and choose to become a monk or a priest to stop their desires and obsession and find the true meaning of life. Their ultimate goal is to escape from themselves and find the true self and eventually enlightenment. That sounded like a good thing. But then, I asked myself, “what is the true self?” and “what is Enlightenment?”
Dr. David Hawkins, an internationally renowned spiritual teacher, and author measured human consciousness from 1 to 1000, marking it as a unit of light, “Lux.” He defines about 85% of the human race lives with a level of consciousness, less than 200 lux. The highest level, from 700 to 1000 lux, is defined as Enlightenment. He said this stage does not cling to fate because of the disappearance of the notion of me. The self melts into a more prominent “True Self” and becomes a level of “oneness” that goes beyond duality and lives with a consciousness that is always awake.
Real Enlightenment is to leave the self and become one with the universe. It means you become one with the original self. People who talk about Enlightenment consistently say that it means getting away from the self. Then, “how can one be free from the self?”
To find my true self, I tried another kind of meditation. This meditation was so clear-cut and straightforward. There was a way to resolve all doubts and curiosities about my life. I have learned that since we are born in this world with this body, habits are inherited from parents and ancestors. With this body and these habits, one creates the film of their life lived in their brain. The life that we have lived since we were born has become karma. If you abandon this karma, habit, and body, you can return to your true self.
One can’t escape from karma because he confines himself within his body and mind. That’s why I tried to abandon the idea of myself, which I’ve known as me. I was born with this body and created the illusion of ‘I.’ From childhood to the present, what I have seen, felt, and experienced, my five senses took a picture just like a camera would and stored them in the brain. Then I started to line my life as those pictures dictated.
I couldn’t even understand the world’s principle because I have lived according to what I had in my mind. My life was like it was already programmed. Therefore, the more I throw them away, the more I become free without curiosities. Every time I did that, I could attain more of Enlightenment. I found where we come from, why we live and where we are going after we die.
As much as my true self revealed within, I became more aware of it with my heart. “Aha, This is it!!!” As much as my consciousness expanded, I became more enlightened. That’s how I became free from my karma. Even if I abandoned my karma, my subconsciousness is still confined because my body came from my parents. But, fortunately, I could discard even my subconscious mind through meditation.
Meditation has given me a way to abandon the self like this. And if you look back and abandon yourself, you could find your true self too. Your consciousness expands, your mind becomes clearer, your true self appears. The true self does not exist in countless thoughts and anguish. That is why we have to clean away our minds.
When the mirror is clean, it clearly shows the world; we must clear our minds to get enlightened. 🧡💖💦
I am sure this will be the best way to enlighten and become your true self. It’s not just something that you know; it’s something that you have to become. That is what true Enlightenment is.
I’m attaching a video that helps you find true Enlightenment. Thank you.🎈🎀🍀
by Sophie Hwang / Former Project manager of developing S/W system
