“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” ~ Andre Gide

Jafree Ozwald – There truly are no words that can fully describe the enlightened state of consciousness by itself. It is an experience that is beyond the mind and all mental concepts. We can only know that we’ve had a taste of it by the enhanced quality of our life experience.

Our typical normal walk in the park becomes a romantic rendezvous with the divine, and we are greeted with personal messages and sacred signs of inner guidance on every street corner and billboard that we see. When the state of enlightened consciousness shows up, it turns the mundane into the miraculous.

Below are 4 qualities that will let you know you are stepping into the enlightened state. Be aware that each one naturally happens to you, occurs for you, when you make time to create a closer relationship with the enlightened state of consciousness that is within you.

1. Perpetual and Effortless Reverence for Life

In the enlightened state we cannot help but feel totally in awe of life. We are seeing a Divine Intelligence is deeply rooted and alive in all things, objects, situations and people. It is obvious that there is a higher intelligence behind every experience, action and occurrence.

We see there’s no such thing as coincidence, and live in constant reverence for life, participating with ease in the natural flow, celebrating in this spiritual connection that’s all around us.

2. Observing the Mirror Reflection Within Every Interaction

When the state of enlightened awareness is super strong within us, we stop identifying with our physical body as “who we are”. We instead see our infinite nature is everywhere, in all things and people. We see it is the background, backdrop and blackboard that the entire Universe is written upon.

We know we are the Universal body, and find every human being as a glimmering facet, reflecting this unique individuated point of consciousness within ourselves. The mirror ignites a natural realization that everyone is our teacher, pointing us back to us the lessons and messages we most need to hear. The enlightened awareness shows us that we are not separate from anyone, and anything, and we effortlessly live in a state of joy and Universal harmony wherever we go.

3. Feeling of Being Deeply Settled and Completely Still Inside

No matter what chaos is occurring in the outer world, there is always a point of perpetual stillness at our core. We are the center of the cyclone, that no drama, violence or death can threaten. We know our true nature is eternal, and that nothing can destroy us.

We are rooted within this moment so deeply that nothing can shake us, or disturb our inner peace. We laugh with lightness at the trivial stresses that used to plague our daily mind, as we relax deeper into the recesses of our innermost being.

4. A Deep Knowing that All is Perfect in Life

There is a natural understanding that all is well and unfolding exactly as it should. We see the Universal perfection that is here now, and accept that it has the highest vision in sight of how life should be. We stop fighting with others outside ourselves because the fight has stopped within ourselves.

We are the source of non-violence, attacking and judging nothing we see within. There is only a respect for the perfection that is constantly unfolding around us. Knowing the mind can have its fabrications about how things “should be” yet abide instead in the deeper resources of peace that know otherwise.

“Being himself the Supreme Being, but thinking himself to be separate, man strives and struggles to become united; what is stranger than this? ~Ramana Maharshi

How to reach the enlightened state of consciousness?

It’s vital to know that it is available to everyone, at all times, and perpetually lies dormant at the core of our being. The more we rest within ourselves in a life free from stress, desire and activity, the more we relax inside and soon realize it’s astounding power.

As this brilliant gateway is gradually opened, we see how easy it is to create anything and everything that we desire. Our normal awareness pierces like a laser beam through the negative beliefs which normally would have stopped us from moving forward, and we see how fun and easy it is to accept the possibility of instant manifestation.

The more often we sit still, practice quieting the mind, watching the breath rise and fall (doing nothing), the more we the divine consciousness awakens within us. When we stop and meditate on the source of consciousness itself, we discover that it’s everywhere we are. It is our very nature and is as bright and brilliant as the Sun.

It is soooo obvious that it cannot be missed. When we catch hold of it, and let go of our attachment to the outer phenomenal world, we see that this consciousness has a power which is so all-encompassing that we stop looking outside ourselves for answers, and start listening to the omniscient wisdom that is constantly bubbling up from within our core.

“Look at your mind dispassionately; this is enough to calm it. When it is quiet, you can go beyond it. Do not keep it busy all the time. Stop it – and just be. If you give it a rest, it will settle down and recover its purity and strength. Constant thinking makes it decay.” ~ Nisargadatta

With the enlightened state we can live a life that is free from doubt and fear, because we know that something Universally intelligent is guiding us each step of the way. We are never bored with life, nor seeking gratification from our outer world, because ordinary life situations are constantly transformed into a deeply ecstatic spiritually awakening moments.

There is no attachment to our lives, to desires, to possessing anything, acquiring anything, nor escaping from any experience. We meet our lives full on, embracing the divine circumstances that we are given, facing them with complete ecstasy, because we have already found what we were searching for our entire lives. We’ve discovered an eternal source of peace within, that cannot be shaken or disturbed by anything or anyone in the outer world.

The greatest secret to finding the state of enlightened consciousness is when we get in touch with our deepest personal trauma and emotional pain. Our pain is there for a very profound spiritual reason. It pushes us to reach for the divine. We need a propulsion fuel so deep and powerful that it launches us directly into real spiritual awareness.

We are so deeply asleep to our all powerful infinite nature on a day to day bases that the only thing strong enough to break through this veil is a burning desire to be free from our suffering. It is our deepest pain that liberates us, and feeling into it daily will pave the path to our highest freedom.

When we get a taste of enlightened consciousness, everything changes. We see everything as a spiritual experience. We see our mind instantly stops judging the world, ourselves and our lives as we recognize the source of real peace here now. We live in this world, yet truly beyond the judgments of this world.

This non-judgmental approach liberates our energy to relax into the infinite healing presence of our being. This is how we attain the initial taste of our unbounded freedom. It all begins with a simple connection with our own awareness and consciousness. When we drop into what is aware, what is present, what is watching the watcher who is observing this experience of life, we open the doors to 100% pure awareness, free from the mind.

By reopening this door again and again, we soon discover the highest most blissful state of experience a human being can attain.

“Outer circumstances don’t need so much effort to be changed but the inner lethargy is centuries old. The unconsciousness is so primitive, its roots are so deep, that it needs a total determination on your part, a tremendous determination, a commitment, a deep involvement. You have to risk all. Unless that happens it is impossible to change yourself, you will remain the same.” ~Osho

It truly depends on where we are currently at in our inner journey as to how many days, months or years it will take before we discover our natural enlightened state. The more often we can practice resting in deep states of stillness, completely dropping all mind chatter, the faster the enlightened state will arrive at our doorstep.

Ultimately, it is the commitment to ourselves that sparks the evolution to finding higher consciousness. When we are truly committed to unveiling our infinite spiritual nature, diving deeper each day into the discovery of who we truly are, it is only a short matter of time before the Universe delivers us to this ultimate enlightened state of being.

Knowing that which will totally satisfy our hearts and fulfill every yearning within our soul is not a small matter. When it comes down to it, the level of devotion we have to finding real freedom (the enlightened state) is a reflection of how much we actually love ourselves. Life is a test of our depth of self love.

The level of enlightenment we experience along the way determines how often and quickly we can summon the quality of unstoppable inner peace, creativity or compassion for others. The enlightened state is the base factor that determines how successful we are on our spiritual path, and the main reason and purpose why we are all here.

It is only through the infinite exploration of our inner journey that we can experience a real sense of freedom in our lives. It feels like nothing and no one can hold us back from creating whatever it is our heart is yearning to experience.

It is an ironic thing, yet in the enlightened state we see that everyone is enlightened except for ourselves. We realize that there truly is no “self”, and thus there is no more suffering. It may be hard to comprehend because we are so accustomed to being identified with this mind, ego and body, yet the more we realize our true nature the more we discover a life that is free from any form of pain. This freedom is the great spiritual peak that we are each here to climb and conquer.

“Every great work, every great accomplishment, has been brought into manifestation through holding to the vision, and often just before the big achievement comes apparent failure and discouragement” ~Florence Scovel Shinn

One personal word of advice for you on your journey is to be patient with yourself as there are a thousand brilliant obstacles along the way. On this great journey, the difference between illusion and reality is very slim, and will create many veils between the mind and your consciousness.

You may forget many times that the highest state of freedom is here available right now waiting for you. It is like Mount Everest, always there yet often hidden behind the clouds. Very few have the courage to even attempt the climb, so don’t give up if you don’t arrive on your 1st or 100th crack at it.

There will always be another moment in the future (or perhaps another lifetime) when you will have more desire, courage, trust, and a fierce penetrating laser-like awareness to burn through the cloudy veils of the mind.