Thread: The stages of enlightnement :P

Disclaimer: this is a pretty arrogant and materialistic attempt to summarize my understanding on the process of reaching nonduality, that is, enlightenment, specially in the lines of Tibetan approach, although it is completely secular. I think it could be easily tested by anyone.

I might be terribly mistaken, so don´t take my words for truth, but examine it like you would do to fake money or fake gold

Stage 1: You understand the concept of mind and the difference between distraction and nondistraction***. This can be learned through secular and even scientific teachings and, specially, after you tasted equanimity in calming meditation. You glimpse the nature of mind, again and again, altough it remains sporadic and uninteligible - and only a memory of a little nice nonsymbolic experience remains. You want to learn more about that, you know it is possible to live in an upgraded state of consciousness. The desire to leave suffering behind is the main drive

*** you understand that distraction is simply attention collapsing, becoming small and narrow, and attached to an object. You understand that the nature of mind is openess and nonfixation. You understand that distraction is effortful and nondistraction is effortless ( that´s why you need less O2 in meditation )

Stage 2: You discover how to glimpse the nature of mind, by total relaxation and openess, and more and more you open the grip of attention, again and again. You get confidence that this is the training that will lead to nonduality. You apply deliberate effort or mindfulness to do it, to remeber to do it. You meditate for short moments, repeated many times - everytime you noticed your mind caught in a storyline. Confidence in the training is the main drive.

Stage 3: The habit of relaxing and opening your constricted attention, becomes easier and automatic. You remain much of the time in Being, desidentified with the former self but enjoying what happens. You understand that every experience is simultaneous with great openess and letting be. There is less and less desire for special personal experiences. You begin to experience natural lucidity in sleep. You have irreversibly shifted your nervous system and only increasing insight and stability. Confidence has given its place to unshakable understanding.

Stage 4: By the power of opening your attention and relaxing, increasingly you see that every experience you can have lost all the the power to distract you and your mind remains spacious amidst what negative or positive experience you might have. You actually enjoy every experience, as your identification is gone - and there is no more hope and fear. There is no more rearranging of what happens, and you extract the power of life out of every moment. Lucid dreaming happens most of the time.

Stage 5: This the far extreme of the spectrum of nonduality, only a few people are said to have reached it. There is no more distraction, ie, attention collapsing into the experiences of the former self. No clinging at all.There only remains a field of pure perceptual openess, in which phenomena and mind are experienced as consubstancial and equal. Compassion is spontaneous. You have mind over matter powers. Sleep is said to become utterly lucid or devoid of dreams. You can attain many different death signs and you will navigate the afterdeath and choose to remain in formless Being or get into another life for the purpose of helping deluded beings.