It's never too late for an inner awakening … but when you really think about it … what's the hurry, scurry for enlightenment that so many of us seem to feel? It's as if we think we're supposed to get it for ourselves – or like we're failures if we don't “get it.” It seems to me that such pursuits will prevent, rather than precipitate, enlightenment. And do we know that it's something we have even an ounce of control over anyway?
Let's think this through a minute …
If it is true, and I personally believe it is – that we are energy in form – and since energy can never be destroyed, only transmuted, then REALLY, WHY GET IN A HURRY? 🙂 Unless we think we need to impress God or the Universe as if we must prove our worthiness, or maybe we just want to “get there quick” (or at least look convincing) so we can prove to our friends how spiritually evolved we are … (Boy, do I know THAT one! ;)) Such attitudes drive enlightenment back into the dark.
What would it be like if we were to relax around the whole idea of trying to shape us into the unattainable ideal we think we should be? Why not let Life unfold through us instead.
The simple truth is that we cannot force an awakening in consciousness. Trying to force it only sends us deeper into sleep – where we dream ourselves to be these limiting definitions we have labeled ourselves to be … and where judgment, denial, and blame rule, generating all the unhappiness that goes with it.
Let me mention again, only because it bears repeating, that we cannot force an inner awakening.
We can, however, be awakened through sudden realizations that often come through the painful life challenges we face. And if we can love ourselves through the shocking revelations showing us what we've done to ourselves and others through our unhappy stories about life, we can experience transformed minds, and exponential expansions in consciousness.
It's never too late to awaken. Sometimes people are enlightened, literally, on their death bed. I am awed when I get to be with people who have gotten comfortable enough with their dying that they can use the death process to set themselves free.
I think when Christians speak of being able to “accept salvation” even up to the last breath, no matter how ‘sinfully' one lived before that moment, they are sharing (in archaic language) the spiritual principle of Reality which teaches that enlightenment CAN happen, and can even be precipitated by, harsh encounters with the consequences of our own unconscious choices.
Sainthood is not a pre-requisite for enlightenment, but the harvest of our sins can indeed enlighten us exponentially!
Blessings,