Kurt Arrow's Blog: Kurt Arrow's Enlightenment Blog

It is simple... as long as you don't complicate it. If you let your thoughts come and go freely, without clinging, and live in the current moment, then you have the two factors that are necessary to reach enlightenment. The current moment is where you will be completely stress-free, happy and content.

If you can remember when you were just a tot, or if you observe the little ones playing, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. All the focus is right on the current moment. So what happened to you over time? Was it because of additional stress and responsibility? That is what you were taught. It does appear that way, but it's not the reason.

What really happened was, your focus changed, adding memories from the past, and adding dreams and desires for the future. Your clinging to those thoughts intensified. All these habits formed a world and life that wasn't okay as it was, and that needed to be changed. Every time you had pleasure of one or more of your senses, you wanted to repeat it. That reinforced your belief that you had to have those pleasures to be happy and feel good.

What you didn't know, and what you weren't taught, was that there was pleasure beyond your senses. Like the pleasure of peace and tranquility, living without stress. It is pleasure that you don't need to cling to, and that never fades away. Unlike pleasure of the senses, you don't have to keep chasing after more of what you crave.

Enlightenment is not to be found in your senses, but beyond. The only way that you will know for yourself, is to be willing to let go of your senses. If you smell something delightful, enjoy it and let it go. If you taste something good, enjoy it and let it go. If you see, hear or touch something you like, enjoy it and let it go. You do this by remaining focused in the moment. Let go of all your thoughts and feelings.

The current moment is perfect just the way it is, and that is why it is so peaceful, without stress. That is where your path to enlightenment ends... right where it began.

Note that the seven factors for enlightenment, taught by The Buddha, must first be put into practice. They are Mindfulness, Analysis of qualities, Persistence, Rapture, Serenity, Concentration and Equanimity. The two factors, I've referred to in this post, are the result or culmination of those seven factors.

You may not even be aware how fearful you are until you try to let it go, or you try to let it be and just observe it. Nobody wants to admit they're afraid. I should clarify that adults don't want to admit it. There are certain times when we grant ourselves permission to be scared, like a good scarey movie. Since we expect it and allow it, then we aren't trying to escape or confront that feeling.

We learned in school that we should be brave. And our friends and other kids teased us if we showed fear. So we came into adulthood with that philosophy. What we learned, was that fear should be squashed with bravery and is only allowed in socially acceptable situations. No wonder we feel like failures if we are fearful.

An interesting thing happens when you feel fearful and rather than appose the feeling, you accept it. That alone, weakens its grip on you. You acknowledge the feeling, “fearful feeling” and you let it go.

After you let it go, you will notice that bravery has taken its place. Any feeling you let go of will be replaced by its opposite. Let go of fear and bravery takes its place. Let go of hatred and love takes its place. Let go of anxiety and tranquility takes its place. Let go of confusion and certainty takes its place. There is only one exception which is when you let go of a happy feeling, it is not replaced with anything. With that in mind, you never have to try and hold onto a happy feeling. You should train your mind to let go of all thoughts and feelings.

By letting go of fearful feelings, you feel brave. When you feel brave, you have less fear presenting itself to you, less often. You no longer have to avoid the feeling. Since fear is a stressful feeling, the more you let go, the less stress you have. You remain calm, peaceful, brave, happy and content.

Be sure to tune in to my next post “The two key factors for enlightenment.”

One of the biggest obstacles or hindrance to your enlightenment is doubt. It shows up over and over causing you to question your motives. Doubt makes you question my teaching and causes you to apply your own methods and reasoning. Doubt is your mind's bodyguard, there to protect you from harm. All the false advertising, scams and rip-offs contribute to your suspicion and uncertainty.

So what can you do to overcome doubt? By simply observing it. Make friends with it. Be aware every time you are doubtful. Understand that it is a preconditioned response and that it's totally unjustified regarding your current circumstances. Doubt arises, you observe it, you acknowledge it, “There is doubt,” and you let it go.

It is merely a thought which thrives on being entertained. In other words, it is being allowed to engage your mind in additional thoughts and feelings about it. When you let it go, it's no longer being entertained and dies right there.

Just like with all negative thoughts, you don't want to fight them or be upset that you get them. If you do that, you open the door to additional thoughts which will probably be negative as well. Allow all thoughts to come and go freely. Keep in mind that doubt does not exist in the moment. It relies on thoughts of the past or negative predictions of the future.

Be sure to tune in for my next post about fear. Have a great day!

Thanks for joining me in my new blog! Together, we will iron out the rough spots,simplify your life and cross the flood. My book, Powerful Wisdom, will help you unleash your enlightened mind. Enlightenment is not what you think. Enlightenment, in your mind, is what you have conjured up to help describe its meaning. Throughout your life, you've picked up little bits and pieces that continually shape your conception. You link it to things that you understand already. But you have been fooled. You can't find enlightenment by looking for it, or trying to attain it. It is pure emptiness.

It is already you. Think of it in terms of putting on a Halloween costume. With the costume on, you are completely different. If you left the costume on for the rest of your life, that would become “you.” That would be what you see in pictures or in a mirror. You would get comfortable in that role. That is you in the world. Let's say that twenty years go by. Then I come along and tell you that if you take off the costume, your true self is there, and your true self is completely different. That your true self is completely stress free and happy, in other words, enlightened. You would probably have a hard time remembering who that different person was and not really believe me. You would probably rely on your memory of what you looked like (before the costume) and how you felt about yourself and the world. And if I told you to just take it off and see, you would probably be fearful.

Little did you know, you have indeed, put on a costume. You are living life as the person you think you are. You have come to believe that stress and unhappiness are part of life. But before you just take off the costume all at once, it might be less fearful if you take it off slowly, bit by bit. As you do that, each time you reveal a little more, of the person underneath, your conviction will grow and your fears subside. Your love of the “new” you will blossom and you will be driven to remove more and more. Stress will be on the down swing and happiness will be on the upswing. When you have finally completely removed the costume (the “you” that you thought you were), you will realize that you have been fooled all along. You will discover the true you. Enlightenment.

If you have not already done so, I encourage you to read Powerful Wisdom, which will help you remove your costume, at your own pace, so that you are not fearful. Your true inner self is waiting to be set free! It has been nudging you for a long, long time. That is why you are continually looking for ways to make yourself happy (self improvement) and reduce stress. It's time to get off the treadmill and be happy, content and stress-free permanently, and I am here to help you every step of the way, so be sure to tune in to my next post on the subject of “doubt.” Have a great day!