The Word "Enlightenment" Creates False Expectations
Enlightenment is our default word for spiritual awakening or deep spiritual insight. While it may serve and inspire certain students to engage in spiritual work, I also believe it is problematic and t...
15 Maalis 5min
What The Word "Enlightenment" Does Right
Despite problems, the word enlightenment does capture two real aspects of awakening: transformation and insight.This is a short snippet from my episode Is Enlightenment The Right Word? (#135)Explore a...
12 Maalis 3min
Is Enlightenment The Right Word? (#135)
We use the word enlightenment all the time in spirituality.But it might actually be one of the most misleading words in the entire field.It suggests a climactic transformation, a final state, somethin...
11 Maalis 30min
The Late Stage of Meditation
Perhaps 1% or fewer practitioners reach late-stage meditation, where awakening has permanently altered one’s perception.Late stage says: “There is no centre for awakening to happen to.”This is a snipp...
10 Maalis 9min
The Early Stage of Meditation
At the early stage, meditation is something you do. It is an activity during the day, set apart from life, distinct from the rest.Awakening is imagined as a future event: a breakthrough, a shift, a pe...
5 Maalis 6min
The Three Stages of Meditation & Spiritual Insight (#134)
We tend to see meditation as a single spiritual practice experienced equally by all. It seems meditators sit, practice their technique, attend retreats and accumulate hours.What’s missing is the devel...
4 Maalis 39min
Meaningful, Meaningless & Ameaningful
Meaning, meaningnless and ameaningful are three different words. Meaning and meaninglessness imply one another.Questioning the meaning of life is not a symptom of meaninglessness. We are obsessed with...
3 Maalis 6min
