If enlightenment is the truth, then why is it so damn difficult to get enlightened?

[Blackhawk]

I feel that if enlightenment is the truth, then it shouldn't be so damn difficult to get enlightened.

I know there's some teachers who say: "it's not difficult, it's the most simple and obvious thing". But no it's not. It seems to be impossible to attain. I think that maybe 1 or 2 of you who reply are enlightened. But probably none of you are enlightened, if enlightenment even exists. Before even Leo said that he isn't enlightened, but I don't know if he has recently became enlightened.

Especially for me it should be easy to attain because I wouldn't mind dying. I have nothing to live for. I'm already done with this life.

Some of you will say: "you have to spend billions of hours of hard work to achieve it".

There's several problems with that.

1. I don't have the energy for that.

2. I don't have the time for that.

3. I hate doing it.

4. I don't have the discipline for it.

5. I don't want to waste so much effort into something which might not even be true.

6. Psychedelics fucks up my psyche. They make me experience absolutely horrific things which traumatize me for years or possibly for life. I only get bad trips from everything. Even from weed I get bad "trips". I risk getting permanently mentally ill from psychedelics.

Edited August 10, 2021 by Blackhawk

[Thought Art]

Maybe it just isn't for you. Go find a way to enjoy life instead. Truth is here in this present moment regardless. It's not going anywhere.

The focus should be on building a good life and enjoying what is here. Truth helps you do that imo, but it takes work and emotional labour. 

Edited August 9, 2021 by Thought Art

[Blackhawk]

2 minutes ago, Thought Art said:

Go find a way to enjoy life instead.

The focus should be on building a good life and enjoying what is here.

That is not possible. There's nothing for me to enjoy here.

Edited August 9, 2021 by Blackhawk

[Inliytened1]

15 minutes ago, Blackhawk said:

I feel that if enlightenment is the truth, then it shouldn't be so damn difficult to achieve.

I know there's some teachers who say: "it's not difficult, it's the most simple and obvious thing". But no it's not. It seems to be impossible to attain. I think that maybe 1 or 2 of you who reply are enlightened. But probably none of you are enlightened, if enlightenment even exists. Before even Leo said that he isn't enlightened, but I don't know if he has recently became enlightened.

Especially for me it should be easy to attain because I wouldn't mind dying. I have nothing to live for. I'm already done with this life.

Some of you will say: "you have to spend billions of hours of hard work to achieve it".

There's several problems with that.

1. I don't have the energy for that.

2. I don't have the time for that.

3. I hate doing it.

4. I don't have the discipline for it.

5. I don't want to waste so much effort into something which might not even be true.

6. Psychedelics fucks up my psyche. They make me experience absolutely horrific things which traumatize me for years or possibly for life. I only get bad trips from everything. Even from weed I get bad "trips". I risk getting permanently mentally ill from psychedelics.

What fun would it be if you made it easy for yourself?

If you just stop attaching yourself to this dream you would.  The problem is you have attached yourself to your own creation here and you have lost yourself in it.

[Blackhawk]

Just now, Inliytened1 said:

What fun would it be if you made it easy for yourself?

That's a idea which could be true. But I can't know whether it's true or not. So basically, your answer is no answer at all in this case, so it doesn't help at all, unfortunately.

[Inliytened1]

Just now, Blackhawk said:

That's a idea which could be true. But I can't know whether it's true or not. So basically, your answer is no answer at all in this case, so it doesn't help at all, unfortunately.

You are Infinity.  Which makes you Infinitely smart.  You are so smart that you were able to trick yourself into believing you were dumb.   I don't mean that personally I'm just telling you what you did as God because someone has to.  And as a matter of fact you are so smart that you created me as a breadcrumb to wake yourself up.  Don't believe it?  Good - that is precisely what you planned out.

[Andrea Marchetti]

It's not hard to achieve, it's impossible!  The very act of trying to achieve it is indeed a running away from it. "Getting rid of the ego is the biggest ego trip", Alan Watts once said.

25 minutes ago, Blackhawk said:

There's several problems with that.

1. I don't have the energy for that.

2. I don't have the time for that.

3. I hate doing it.

4. I don't have the discipline for it.

5. I don't want to waste so much effort into something which might not even be true.

6. Psychedelics fucks up my psyche. They make me experience absolutely horrific things which traumatize me for years or possibly for life. I only get bad trips from everything. Even from weed I get bad "trips". I risk getting permanently mentally ill from psychedelics.

Stop trying then. That is a very fucked up mind, let me tell you from my own experience  I'm not judging you. It's quite twisted. Maybe it's a good thing, who knows, maybe you'll reach the extreme before leaving it completely, many did it that way. It's all a matter of what you want ultimately. But don't fuck up with psychedelics too much anyways, preferably.

Why are you looking for it anyway? I'm speaking from my own experience, trying to achieve enlightenment is a purely material thing. It's just a political game. Try to be honest with yourself instead and ask yourself why you want it, would that make you a better person? Would you tell the whole world you got enlightened? Yes? No? Honesty pays here. The truth is, behind the veil, you're looking for something else. Maybe recognition from others? Identify that something else and find the most sane way to achieve it. You're not done with this life yet.

Edited August 9, 2021 by Andrea Marchetti

[Thought Art]

14 minutes ago, Blackhawk said:

That is not possible. There's nothing for me to enjoy here.

Surely you enjoy being a suffering victim too much to enjoy life.

Kindly hehe. Something I think we must notice on our journey is how much we love our suffering and negativity. admiting this we can move on to higher experience.

[Blackhawk]

1 minute ago, Inliytened1 said:

You are Infinity.  Which makes you Infinitely smart.  You are so smart that you were able to trick yourself into believing you were dumb.   I don't mean that personally I'm just telling you what you did as God because someone has to.  And as a matter of fact you are so smart that you created me as a breadcrumb to wake yourself up.  Don't believe it?  Good - that is precisely what you planned out.

That is basically religion, because you are saying things without evidence. I'm not denying that what you say could be true, but.. you can say all kind of things without evidence. You could also for example say that "you will get cake in heaven after you die". Yes that could be true, but since it's just a idea without evidence, it's in practice worthless, it doesn't help me.

[Terell Kirby]

23 minutes ago, Blackhawk said:

Especially for me it should be easy to attain because I wouldn't mind dying. I have nothing to live for. I'm already done with this life.

You will never reach enlightenment with this mindset, why do you assume that it should be easy for you? Sounds like ego.

and you are bullshitting yourself regarding death, you’re survival is of the upmost importance to you, else you wouldn’t be here.

Enlightenment requires humility, wisdom and discipline. If you don’t have these, or actively work to attain them, you may as well go elsewhere because it will end up backfiring.

[James12345]

@Blackhawk because you love your”self”. Drop you. That’s enlightenment. 

[Inliytened1]

2 minutes ago, Blackhawk said:

That is basically religion, because you are saying things without evidence. I'm not denying that what you say could be true, but.. you can say all kind of things without evidence. You could also for example say that "you will get cake in heaven after you die". Yes that could be true, but since it's just a idea without evidence, it's in practice worthless, it doesn't help me.

Yeah but consider the fact that evidence is a part of what you are as complete Oneness.   When there is complete Oneness there cannot be objective evidence - or perhaps it is better to say that you would have to create your own evidence because there was nothing outside of you.  

Thus I cannot prove this Truth to you.  Ultimately I simply am you so we wil awaken together

 

[The0Self]

Fear, and deliberation over what is actually wanted.

[taotemu]

@Blackhawk  I think the problem is in what "enlightenment" has been portrayed to be.  I don't claim to be enlightened so take what I say with a grain of salt.  However, I have been on this journey of self discovery for about 40 years.  I have advanced degrees in psychology and philosophy.  I am a student of the human condition.  I have studied Buddhism and Taoism as well as great teachers like Byron Katie, Mooji, Adyashanti, Allen Watts and many others.  A couple of points I want to make that my help give you some hope and clarity.

1) Enlightenment is not a permanent state.  I have had moments of enlightenment, but that is very different than "being enlightened"
2) Enlightenment is some better version of yourself.  No, enlightenment is simply a shift of perspective.  You see yourself and reality for what it really is.
3) Enlightenment is hard.  This is your actual question.  Why is it so hard to achieve?  Well, it is and it isn't.  What makes it hard is delusional thinking.  Delusions can be VERY stubborn and if we are believing them we don't even recognize them as delusions.  That is the problem. Extreme skepticism is the first step.  Stop believing anything and everything.  Question your most cherished ideas about who you are and the very nature of reality.  This is where psychedelics can be helpful for some people.  But they are certainly not necessary.  Enlightenment is a destructive process.  It isn't about adding newer and better information or having profound spiritual experiences to come up with a better version of yourself or a more accurate theory of reality.  It is actually a process of removing everything that isn't true and real until nothing more can be removed.  That is hard.  That takes work.  That takes brutal honesty and commitment.  
4) Only special people can become enlightened.  Actually no.  Enlightenment is your natural state.  You have probably experienced glimpses of it in your life when you become so present and focused time and space seem to disappear.  Those times I have felt clearest and most enlightened I realized that there is literally nothing to do.  Enlightenment has been there all along.  I just didn't recognize it because I thought it would be very different than it actually is. 
5) Enlightenment is some higher spiritual state.  Enlightenment is as close as your breath and as ordinary as washing dishes.  It is the complete awareness of color, sound, texture and taste.  It is the witness to your stories, life and experiences.  Enlightened people don't walk on water or have supernatural powers.  They are simply 100% present in this moment.  Completely aware of the self prior to story, personality and ego. 

If you are still being hard on yourself for not being enlightened, then the best advice is to stop chasing it.  You can't chase it down.  You can't wrestle it into submission.  It is probably most similar to falling asleep. You have to just relax enough and surrender enough to let it happen on its own.  Just live your life as best you can.  Be a good and kind person in the world.  Get off the narcissistic band wagon and just be yourself in service to others.  Enlightenment will find you. 

[Blackhawk]

16 minutes ago, Andrea Marchetti said:

It's not hard to achieve, it's impossible!  The very act of trying to achieve it is indeed a running away from it. "Getting rid of the ego is the biggest ego trip", Alan Watts once said.

Stop trying then. That is a very fucked up mind, let me tell you from my own experience  I'm not judging you. It's quite twisted. Maybe it's a good thing, who knows, maybe you'll reach the extreme before leaving it completely, many did it that way. It's all a matter of what you want ultimately. But don't fuck up with psychedelics too much anyways, preferably.

Why are you looking for it anyway? I'm speaking from my own experience, trying to achieve enlightenment is a purely material thing. It's just a political game. Try to be honest with yourself instead and ask yourself why you want it, would that make you a better person? Would you tell the whole world you got enlightened? Yes? No? Honesty pays here. The truth is, behind the veil, you're looking for something else. Maybe recognition from others? Identify that something else and find the most sane way to achieve it. You're not done with this life yet.

I have watched thousands of YouTube videos about nonduality, read many books, and been a member in this forum for many years, so I know all the theory about it, for example the thing that "trying to achieve it is running from it."

But it doesn't help. I don't get enlightened when I stop trying to achieve it. There has been periods when I haven't been trying to achieve it.

13 minutes ago, Thought Art said:

Surely you enjoy being a suffering victim too much to enjoy life.

Kindly hehe. Something I think we must notice on our journey is how much we love our suffering and negativity. admiting this we can move on to higher experience.

I've heard "you enjoy suffering" a billion times as well. That doesn't help either. So I'm somehow supposed to stop enjoying suffering? When my experience tells me that I'm not enjoying suffering? I'm not buying it. You guys are only doing mental gymnastics all the time, creating concepts and beliefs.

Edited August 9, 2021 by Blackhawk

[James12345]

1 minute ago, Blackhawk said:

But it doesn't help. I don't get enlightened when I stop trying to achieve it. There has been periods when I haven't been trying to achieve it.

15 minutes ago, Thought Art said:

I can not get enlightened, when I drops enlightenment happens, than realization happens that there is no one to get enlightened. You are already what you are. The one who is trying to be enlightened just a accumulation of thoughts. Therefore there is no such a thing as enlightenment because there is no one. And thats enlightenment. 

[Inliytened1]

Just now, James12345 said:

I can not get enlightened, when I drops enlightenment happens, than realization happens that there is no one to get enlightened. You are already what you are. The one who is trying to be enlightened just a accumulation of thoughts. Therefore there is no such a thing as enlightenment because there is no one. And thats enlightenment. 

He is attached to the dream that is the problem as I mentioned earlier 

[mandyjw]

You want enlightenment, how come?

Oh my God, because it will feel amazing, the very source of bliss, inspiration, creativity, the very Author of all the climaxes and resolutions of every dramatic story and every seemingly impossible math problem ever dreamed up. Satisfaction itself. Beyond the question and the answer. The more I push it away, the more impossible it seems the more DELICIOUS the answer when it comes to me. 

I cannot fuck this up. I love knowing I cannot fuck this up. There is no "I" to fuck this up.

Sigh.....

Pure. Fucking. Delight. 

 

[Blackhawk]

Well, I guess I can only repeat what I said a bit earlier: everything you people say, I've already heard a million times, and it's quite possible that those things are true, but they don't help at all.

Edited August 9, 2021 by Blackhawk

[James12345]

Just now, Blackhawk said:

Well, I guess I can only repeat what I said a bit earlier: everything you people say, I've already heard a million times, and it's quite possible that those things are true, but they don't help at all.

Just an advice go think in front of the mirror. Will you see anything in your so called mind? If there is no such a thing as thoughts , what is you, enlightenment or universe? Contemplate on this. 

 

5 minutes ago, Inliytened1 said:

He is attached to the dream that is the problem as I mentioned earlier 

?

 

Peace  ☮️