Where Is My Enlightenment?

by Rev. Rita Scheibeck

Sometimes it seems that I am always chasing after the best technique for finding myself and my true path in life. I often depend on the latest inspirational book, the next self improvement seminar and the easy five, ten or twenty step system to personal empowerment. I frequently find myself with a hole in my pocket where my money vanished, and no more enlightened than when I sought assistance to begin with.

So I ask myself, "Why is it so hard to find the enlightenment that I repeatedly search for?" "Where's the proven method that will get me from my questions to my answers?"

What I find for myself is that the answer to these questions is very simple, but not always easy to do. If I want to find the key to self awareness, I really need to stop searching outside myself and look inward to my "true self" instead.

Don't get me wrong: I have a huge library full to bursting, with the latest and greatest. Some items are dog-eared from so much use. Many were partially and quickly perused and set aside for studying when I get around to it. A few were skimmed and stuck in a corner with a promise to myself that I would take them to the library sale. (They're still in the corner!) The point is that all the books, guides, audio CD's, etc in the world won't usually help me turn inward. They often provide insights to general principles or some "A-ha" moments, but the majority of these tools were actually written for the self exploration of the author who produced the work.

My own self awareness is exactly that-- awareness of my Self. This usually requires time spent in meditation and personal reflection, time in the silence or in nature with my own thoughts, and most especially exploration of my unique connection with Divine Source. Noone else can give that to any of us; it's a very personal process.

We've talked about our connection to Divine Source Energy before. When we get to the heart of the matter, we ARE Divine Source, and we each have our own perception of that concept. The strength of the feeling of Oneness with All-That-Is always deepens when we give our time and attention to it.

Sometimes carving out time from a busy day to go within requires some effort and pre-planning. But the end results are often real answers to puzzling questions about ourselves and our place and purpose in the physical and spiritual worlds. For myself, I almost always come away from a meditation or a session of connection to the Holy Spirit in a calmer, more self aware and more enlightened state than when I started.

The extra bonuses are that meditation doesn't cost any money, self realization doesn't require a week long retreat, and many of those books on the shelves can be traded for one utilitarian journal.

Affirmation: I set aside time for exploration of my connection with Divine Spirit as often as possible. I frequently remind myself that I am One with All-All-That-Is.

I now allow, acknowledge, accept, and affirm that these things are so.