When I was a kid I was fascinated by the martial arts. Plus, I grew up in the era of Chuck Norris, Arnold, and Jean Claude. Bruce Lee was still alive and I had the poster of him in the yellow jumpsuit with the double nunchucks from 'Enter the Dragon'. Dojo's everywhere were full to the brim and the movie of the day was the first 'Karate Kid'. I read a book called 'Wisdom from the Ninja Village' (or something close to that) by a Westerner who went to live in the mountains and became a ninja. For some reason I had never associated the violent side of things like Ninjas. When you're a kid violence and death is just a part of the game. We would run around the woods near my childhood home, swinging from the branches, running through the bushes hunting each other, yelling, "Bang, bang! I got you!" "No, I saw you first! Timeout! No fair!" Even when you're a kid taking martial arts classes, they're not associated with hurting or killing. It's like playtime. Running, jumping, rolling, cartwheels, punching the air and yelling, "Keeeyaapp!" The goal of teaching children martial arts is to introduce the idea of self-discipline and structure in a fun way, combined with core principles such as fairness, kindness and good will. One seldom knows from the start that the ultimate goal of every martial art is a connection with the self and one's place in nature...essentially, the search for enlightenment and non-violence (inwardly or outwardly).
Since I was a child, my main goal had been getting my black belt. I spend countless hours working toward that goal (years in fact). The understanding that martial arts is also associated with violence and death grew as I got older and I embraced my board-breaking, weapon-wielding, fists of fury. I had mastered the double nunchucks I had seen in the Bruce Lee movies, I could do the splits, I could do the flips, I was even attacked by three guys once and defended myself in a combination of moves Bruce, Jean-Claude, and Chuck would have been proud of.
So after all those years of blood, sweat and tears I finally got my black belt. After all those years of training to achieve what I thought was the pinnacle of those efforts, what did I realize with my shiny black belt in hand? I realized I was still essentially the same person. I wasn't fending off bad guys coming from all sides, tough-guys weren't running away from me at a glance, and women weren't swooning at my feet. It was kind of a let-down. What it did, however, was make me realize the goal I had set was a false marker. Because once I got there, like a mirage on the desert floor, it was gone.
It's kind of like that with a spiritual journey. You set your goal of living a spiritual life. You go to the gym, oops, I mean your place of worship, on a regular basis (of course, going to the gym is in no way related to going to church). You perfect your skills at defending your spirit from evil intentions, you practice the art of 'Goodness and Light' in order to banish the darkness. Some even tell you that you need to kill your ego or at least engage in a form of divine battle to save your soul. If all the circumstances are in place you will achieve the first step (beyond the initial decision to embark on the journey in the first place). This is a moment of supreme clarity. It's a blindingly joyful experience. You don't need anyone to tell you what it is. You'll know it when it comes my friend. In Japanese it's referred to as Satori. Here's the Wiki definition of Satori:
Satori (悟り) (Chinese: 悟; pinyin: wù; Korean 오; Vietnamese ngộ) is a Japanese Buddhist term for enlightenment that literally means "understanding". In the Zen Buddhist tradition, satori refers to a flash of sudden awareness, or individual enlightenment, and is considered a "first step" or embarkation toward nirvana. Satori is typically juxtaposed with the related term kensho,
which translates as "seeing one's nature". Kensho experiences tend to
be briefer glimpses, while satori is considered to be a deeper spiritual
experience.
My own 'Satori' occurred almost seven years from the moment I decided to embark on a spiritual path and a year after I pulled the plug on my father and watched him die in front of me (making death very real for the first time). Once I hit that moment in time; after all the blood sweat and tears (sound familiar?) I thought, "This is it! I've arrived!" That was close to four years ago...
When I look back at the video I posted of Jim Carrey, I can see the same thing. He's experienced a sudden and unexpected flash of understanding. The dark clouds momentarily parted allowing a glimpse into the blinding light of clarity. The good news is your life will never be the same again...the bad news is your life will never be the same again. Now here's where a choice MUST be made as you see the house of cards you've worked so hard to build slowly start to crumble. All the lies you told to yourself and others, all the family and friends who begin to label you as a nut, seeing the veil of lies and manipulation that's been perpetrated against you by you, seeing the path of destruction you've left behind in your selfish wake all those years before come flooding back to you. You're now face to face with something very real in your fantasy world. Listen to what Jim says as he appears stunned by his new-found revelations. He describes discovering something monumental adding that since that moment he's been desperately trying to get back to it. That's perfectly normal. So is placing all your faith in a guru whom you mistakenly think can lead you back to whatever it was and make it stick this time. What? Now that you're 'ready' you can handle the big secret? Okay, here it is...you should sit... The big secret is there is no secret...
Like any major achievement, black-belt or spiritual there are different stages involved. Each stage must be celebrated, accepted and understood. The decision to embark on the journey, the satori moment, the pious times, the guru search, discovering the guru in you, learning to understand and pacify the ego, the search for the like-minded, coming to terms with the real world vs. the REAL world, seeking out and accepting the path others have taken (whatever their faith), among other stages. Each one has it's own set of circumstances that you need to come to an understanding of before you can move on.
Even Eckhart Tolle in his book 'The Power of Now' talks about spending 10 years after his moment of realization sitting on park benches wrestling with the stages that followed his moment of clarity. Speaking of which, that book is on my all-time favorites list and I would highly recommend it. Just don't make Mr. Tolle your guru. Remember, he's simply one of those signposts along your path. Think of him as one of those people who hands you water from the side of the road in a marathon.
I'm going to say this once. Spirituality, the spiritual path, the search for enlightenment, your quest to find the light within etc. is FREE!! You should NEVER, NEVER, NEVER pay anyone to guide you in this quest and they should never, EVER accept a monetary reward for doing their duty. Shame on them all...
Also, one of the stages you'll go through is expressing your new-found way to the world. If you are moved by the Buddha and his own journey, that doesn't mean filling your mansion with Buddhist artwork or adorning yourself with crystal prayer beads, exotic jewels and clothing. It means you've discovered the timeless connection you share with countless others over many eons who have sought the same destination and walked the path before you... both living and dead my friend, both the living and the dead. And if you want to get back home, you need to get there in the most simple, silent, and peaceful way...alone. Don't be afraid my friend. They're all still here with you...all-ways and forever.
Oddly enough, one of the first things that popped into my head upon the moment of my own paradigm shift, was the movie 'The Matrix' (the first one). Make no mistake. It is the story of enlightenment. You could say it's a blueprint for what this life is. It's also combined with one of the stages I wrote about earlier following Satori. That is the absolute clear understanding of having been lied to, manipulated, and brainwashed your whole life and the firm knowledge that remaining in that world goes against the specific set of circumstances needed to keep from getting sucked back into that life, (but now under the guise of leading a life connected to the light inside). Are you Neo who takes the Red Pill or the character of Cypher who wants to remain in the Matrix with no memory of the real world? Fortunately, in this case, there is no going back once you've had a glimpse of the light inside. You can't have your cake and eat it too so please don't be a hypocrite. It's the greatest lie you can tell now that you know the truth.
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