Living Enlightenment

The inspiration for this blog came about through my work as a spiritual coach. I've noticed over time that seekers who approach me for guidance often struggle with similar types of questions that arise for them on the spiritual path.

Questions such as:

-Is my life significant? Do my actions really matter?
-Isn't happiness the meaning of life?
-How can I become a better person?
-What are some concrete steps I can take to become enlightened?

If you've had similar questions on your own journey, stick around and read on. Each week or so, I'll share a short Q&A session to guide you on your path.

We start today with a question I received yesterday:

Q: Steve, can you help me understand the following quote? It’s by Thich Nhat Hanh. "There is no enlightenment outside of daily life." What exactly does that mean?

A: Well, it can be interpreted many different ways. But maybe one of the most relevant ways is that enlightenment is about becoming a better person, not about escaping the trials and tribulations of your everyday life.

How does that look? you may ask. Well, how do you “show up” in terms of all your relationships? In other words, how do you interact with all the people in your life?

Your friends? Your family? Your parents, siblings, or children? How do you approach your family obligations? How are you when you’re at home?

What about your co-workers? What’s your attitude towards work?

Do you make each of these areas of your life a better place for everyone? Or do you spend your time complaining and taking away from the collective experience, making the environment a toxic one?

All these areas of your life are reflections of where you’re at in terms of your personal development and spiritual growth, which are really one and the same thing. In other words, the real measure of spiritual progress is the way we live our lives, which is evidenced by the way you think and act and treat other people.

At the same time, there is no need to get obsessive about this idea. Enlightenment does not carry the heavy burden or weight of some religious commandment. In fact, a huge part of the freedom of awakening comes from realizing the fact that there’s nothing you have to do to become a better person. You already have all the basic qualities needed to be a well-rounded human being – someone who is uniquely you. Enlightenment or self-realization simply reveals your true nature, and as long as you act from that place, it automatically brings out the best that is already in you.

It is also worth mentioning that enlightenment is not an end in and of itself. We don’t try to experience the absolute or the transcendent so that we can think to ourselves, “Ahh, finally, I’ve become enlightened...I’ve realized the absolute truth, therefore I’m more special than others because I came to the same realization that the Buddha came to.” No, spiritual realization is simply for the purpose of understanding who or what you already are, which consequently also makes you way more sensitive to the importance of living your life with real humility, but also integrity. In real-world terms, you tend to do the right thing more often simply because you know it is the right thing to do. Plain and simple. What’s more, this ability becomes easier because your ego stops getting in the way. You end up dropping all sorts of hang-ups and issues (i.e., judgments, resentments, regrets, expectations), which is what creates or exacerbates most of the actual problems we experience in our lives in the first place.