A person who is enlightened does NOT know that they are!

In spiritual circles, there is a lot of talk about enlightenment, and whether one has "attained" it or not. However, I firmly believe that if a person is truly enlightened, they actually will NOT know that they are. An enlightened person is so full of awe and wonder at the beauty of the world, that they don't have any energy left over to see whether or not they themselves are enlightened. They are focused completely on the sense of amazement that allows the enlightened nature of all things to reveal itself in all of its glory. After all, enlightenment is a kind of ecstasy, a "standing outside" oneself, suspended in a state of awe and wonder in which all things are One. Here, the beauty of things is simply an external shimmering of the internal state of amazement, and the internal state of amazement is simply the way in which those very things come to know their own goodness and beauty. Enlightenment can never be one's own possession; rather, it is the stance of amazement in which all things - including the one who is amazed - are One. In this state, either ALL things are enlightened, or none are!

Photo: Narrowleaf Cottonwood leaf lying on a lichen-covered rock; Red Mountain Open Space, Larimer County, CO; October 19, 2013

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