Enlightenment Is Simple but Impossible
A Handbook for the Paradox of the Divine
In Tiruvannamalai, India, you find more teachers who call themselves enlightened than well-stocked supermarkets. Before, I referred to that state with the E-word because it stirred up feelings of awkwardness, superiority, and plain craziness. But here, people talk about enlightenment like other people talk about their last holiday. No one questions that it exists, but there is also no clear consensus about what it means. Now that I think about it, it appears to me that a definition is impossible.
That is a weird state to be in—to know that something exists but it eludes every definition. I won’t try the impossible either, but I will find words that point the way because it is necessary to demystify spirituality. We, as humans, are spiritual beings, and especially in the West, we have suppressed it far too long. Mainstream culture connects the spiritual journey with a lack of hygiene and batik shirts, totally suppressing a key ingredient of the human experience. It is my quest here on Substack and in my life in general to put patterns and mechanisms of spiritual ascension into simple words that everyone can understand without learning Sanskrit—and that includes talking about enlightenment, whatever that is.
Softening the Ego
The first step I have identified to reach self-realization as a divine human being on a profound level is to become the observer of your ego instead of being it. Mass consciousness in general, and most people on a subjective level, are still deeply identified with their emotions, thoughts, and subconscious programs. All that together most people give a name, and they believe that is what they are. That is “me,” that is “I.” Most of us haven’t started to overcome that self-centered perception, but we understand at some point that we suffer. We understand that we are constantly hunting for the next hit of affection or confirmation from the outside and that this hunt is ultimately chasing an illusion. A life built on following the mechanisms of misaligned egos into what that “I” perceives to be fulfilling is ultimately as nourishing as a box of Pringles.
Some of us feel that very subtly and start a journey of self-discovery on their own accord. Others get hit hard by the universe because we are already too deeply asleep to wake up by ourselves (that was me). The more we unravel the prison we have built around ourselves and what we call our personality, the more we understand that it is way nicer to observe our thoughts, emotions, and programs than to be them. Its key advantage is simple and very easy to understand: we still have access to our experience in this world, and we can still enjoy emotions like bliss and joy, but the moment life becomes overwhelming, we can just take a step back and observe. This approach combines the best of both worlds: we fully experience whatever this is, but we just don’t if we choose not to.
Getting there alone takes years and decades for some people, but with a mix of willpower, skill, and support, it is doable in a fairly short period of time. The most important ingredient on that journey is letting go—which is harder than you think. Letting go of core structures of our ego awakens a very profound fear: who am I if not that?
you can find more information on how to soften your ego here:
The Switch
Very good question. If you quiet your egoic mind, you still exist. You don’t disappear. But that is exactly what your ego thinks, so it tries everything it can to stop you from doing it. Trying to “kill” your ego is the worst thing you can do though because it will only increase its resistance. Your egoic self will always be a part of your story. Imagine you’re a cop, and you have a partner. He might drink too much and tells bad jokes, but he can also be very good company if he is in a good mood. The point is you cannot get rid of him, and even if you could, it would be quite boring all alone in the car.
So, the way to go about it is to teach your partner. Teach your ego respect for others and itself. Teach it to sit in the passenger seat instead of driving the car. But most of all, teach it how to be quiet. Once you have taught your egoic mind to be still for prolonged periods of time, you will realize that a void appears that has been hidden by constant mind chatter and emotional turmoil. That void is IT. God, Oneness, the Universe starts right behind your eyes. There is nothing in between, no higher self or other inventions that your mind comes up with to avoid falling into nothing. But that stillness, that field of infinite potential, can speak, and contrary to your ego, it always speaks truth. The endless field of nothing is the origin of all your insights and aha moments. This is why, in our rushed modern lives, the best ideas seem to appear under the shower. It is the one moment where we don’t talk, chat, or scroll and where we are just in our bodies for a couple of minutes thanks to the beautiful warm drops of water on our skin.
The more you get into an observer’s perspective, the more a new reality builds. If I am observing myself, there must be something that observes. That perspective is very weak at the beginning and quite a fleeting experience at times, but the more you practice, the more stable and natural it gets until, at some point, a quite unheard-of idea comes up: what if I am that? From there on, it is just a decision. You keep deciding that you are your divinity until no doubt remains.
And that void starts right behind your eyes. There's no higher self in between. There's no God in between. That space of limitless options, that space of pure potentiality begins right where you end.
As a human by far the most blissful experience is to be human and to know that space at the same time - to be human and observe yourself being human.
To feel that you're wearing this life like a suit - that this human experience is one of the billions and trillions and bazillion suits you're wearing.
You're all this.
All of this is an aspect of you.
And if your suit starts to get thin, worn down, you can repair it for a while but at some point you will get a new one and that's all there is to dying.
my guides about the void
you can listen to the full transmission here:
The Merge
You might think that embodying your divinity is a decision against your ego, and at the beginning, it might feel like that. But you will soon understand that the ego is the vessel through which consciousness observes itself; therefore, consciousness wouldn’t exist if you deleted your ego. Your divinity doesn’t replace your egoic self. It always shines through it and needs your ego to shine through; otherwise, it wouldn’t shine.
In that stage, your divine self and your ego personality merge into one. They become two sides of the same coin. It feels like they never blend completely, though, and there is always a very fine awareness of which mode you are in at the moment. Especially in interaction with others, it is very hard for me not to be my personality entirely, and that’s okay. But being carried by that divine core makes all interactions so much less triggering and more fulfilling.
It often feels like something is observing the world through my eyes and hearing the surrounding sounds through my ears. That state feels very light, and it is such a relief that I can come back to it whenever the world feels a bit overwhelming, especially because my ego personality is still triggered easily by loud noise and crowds of people, for example. This will always be the duality in my nondual existence.
Acceptance vs. Desperation
Many people following that path of profound self-realization act from a deep sense of desperation. They are desperate to get “there”—to become healed or enlightened. And while dedication to the process is necessary, desperation is exactly the energy that will never allow you to get there. Enlightenment is not a destination we need to arrive at where all of a sudden, it’s all peachy and milk and honey flow instead of tap water. Instead, it is a deep acceptance of what is.
Accepting what is includes your own state. Full acceptance of your ego with its flaws, triggers, and traumas allows you to make the switch and accept your divinity. If you are desperate to be “healed,” you will not feel worthy enough to embrace your divine nature. Instead of realizing what you are, you will stay stuck in your limited sense of self, since you feel you need to repair it first. Know this: You will never make yourself a perfect human—it is impossible. Virtue only exists against the background of failure and flaws. Only pure nothingness is perfect.
Acceptance, on the other hand, shouldn’t be mistaken for inertia. If you give in to divine energy and let your life be driven by lifeforce itself, you will realize that life will constantly feed you lessons and challenges that you are invited to overcome. But the intention is different. We stop yearning desperately for self-improvement; rather, we receive life’s lessons gracefully and accept them as an opportunity for growth.
There Is No End to this Process
Most importantly, we have to understand that enlightenment is not a destination but a state. In that state, we feel the one consciousness’s presence in everything surrounding us, and we understand that we are the one consciousness at the same time carried by our vessel and egoic mind. We soften deeply and let ourselves be carried by this flow, observing in awe and wonder how life unfolds into ever-greater miracles.
Never should we make the mistake of believing that we solved or fully understood anything or own the process. That is impossible. A high level of consciousness doesn’t mean you understand more; if anything, you understand less. Our ego believes the opposite, though. Many forget that every time your consciousness expands, your ego reaches the same level of understanding; you can never outrun it. Although the ego only protects the status quo of experience and never actively seeks spiritual expansion, it can automatically mirror your state of consciousness once you level up.
Understanding this is key because it means that you can trap yourself at any stage of the process. Even if divinity speaks clearly through you and crowds of people follow your teaching, you can still be profoundly wrong being tricked by an ego story. Such a person can be considered less enlightened compared to someone who doesn’t even ponder the question and just lives a simple life connected to nature and their own being.
Some might say enlightenment means to leave this ego and body behind entirely which seems to be a path you can choose at some point. In India, you can see those people quite regularly. Some of them teach and you can tell that their ego is not really there anymore. Some of them just sit on the streets, overgrown with hair and drooling. Disconnecting from your ego in such a way you could consider impressive but you could also consider it spiritual suicide. Why leave this place before you have to? What’s the point?
As you can see, the term enlightenment is quite useless. It is not localized. It can’t be defined. You are never sure if you are. And if people think you are, it tends to lead them away from their own enlightenment.
The Godhead is never an object of its own knowledge, just as a knife doesn't cut itself, fire doesn't burn itself, light doesn't illumine itself.
It's always an endless mystery to itself. I don't know. And this I don't know, uttered in the infinite interior of the spirit. This I don't know is the same thing as I love, I let go, I don't try to force or control. It's the same thing as humility.
And so the Upanishads1 say, if you think that you understand the Brahman, you do not understand, and you have yet to be instructed further. If you know that you do not understand, then you truly understand.
For the Brahman is unknown to those who know it, and known to those who know it not.
Alan Watts, starting minute 15:10
Yet, despite any of those limitations to the definition of enlightenment, a state of total bliss and acceptance is also just a couple of decisions away from where you are right now. Letting go of your ego structure is a decision. Accepting your divinity is a decision. Being both of it is a decision.
There are so many doors in our lives that we contemplate so many times and never choose to walk through. We spend years in relationships and never break up and decades in jobs and never quit although it crosses our mind constantly. Those are decisions most of us can relate to but the structure of our mindset is a choice just like that. Choose consciously what you believe. Believe nothing that comes from fear, trust completely what remains and you will be free.
this transmission helped me a lot to understand how I was still outsourcing decision making:
What I Propose
I am suggesting we forget about the term enlightenment but embrace the possibility that we can do it. I propose that we go into this world, decide to interact, and decide to be part of it. Let’s fully enter this experience without ever being overwhelmed by it. Whenever you are drowning in sadness or believe that the happiness you feel right now will last forever, remind yourself that this too shall pass and that the only thing that is eternal is the divine presence within you.
This approach makes life so much more blissful. It’s the perfect balance. You experience yourself fully. You have amazing sex. You feel purpose. You have something to do that truly inspires you. And whenever the world becomes too much, you just retract. You go back to that perspective of observing it, not being a part of it, having created it. And it gives you rest and peace and re-centers you.
Aloha, my friends. Don’t forget to truly see every soul you meet because it is consciousness looking at you. Don’t forget to smile at concsiousness. Don’t forget to be kind to everyone around you, to make someone smile. It only takes a thank you that comes from deep down our soul, that we transport through our eyes into the eyes of another person to make someone smile. It says: I see you, and I thank you. I see that you did something for me, and I thank you. A thank you with intention makes everyone smile. And if it doesn’t, be compassionate, for that person is deep in suffering.
All the best, my dears.
The Upanishads are a collection of ancient Indian philosophical texts that form the core of Hindu spirituality and thought. They explore profound concepts such as the nature of ultimate reality (Brahman), the self (Atman), and the relationship between the two.
Here's a daring thought: you cannot read this text and not have an opinion about it. So please share, what are your thoughts now?