What Does it Mean to be Spiritually Enlightened?

It would appear to me that the concept of spiritual enlightenment (and what it means to be spiritually enlightened) would differ between various individuals/ groups based on the simple fact that everyone has their own personal subjective opinions and perceptions of what being spiritually enlightened actually means. Also, different people follow different religions and/or spiritual paths. No two paths will ever be exactly the same... and that is okay! I believe it is important for each of us to follow our own path... a path that feels right to us. Not a path that is forced upon us is any way. In the end, we will all find our way home. There is no need to fear or worry about how close we are to reaching spiritual enlightenment. We are all exactly where we need to be right now. Be at peace with that. If there are concerns then voice them... Ask and ye shall receive. The answers are but a thought a way! The spirit/ God awaits your questions. The spirit/ God already knows your concerns! Stay receptive and you will be guided for sure!

A spiritually enlightened person always knows when they are in the presence of another spiritually enlightened person. It is just a feeling they get... an intuitive feeling... a gut feeling... an invisible etheric energy that resonates between the two (or more individuals). It's usually a feeling of love, peace, harmony, non judgment, comfort in one's own skin and pure happiness. And sometimes, if one is truly empathic, they can feel just how spiritually enlightened the other party is and what may be missing from their spiritual enlightenment equation.... or even what is missing from their own equation. We can all learn a lot about ourselves from the people we encounter on a daily bases. I believe there's many levels to spiritual enlightenment. And each of us is exactly at the level we are supposed to be at in this present moment. We are all divine beings of perfection... always in the process of perfecting that perfection... but yet, always perfect. There is no right or wrong. There is no better or worse. There just is. Be at peace.

I'm quite sure that this planet is filled with many spiritually enlightened human beings right now... and more and more are becoming spiritually enlightened everyday. If one is on the path of spiritual enlightenment, resonating that frequency, resonating that desire, than they will most definitely find themselves in the presence of other spiritually enlightened people from time to time. Even in a city that appears to be devoid of spirit! It's the Law of Attraction and never fails. We are always going to attract to ourselves what is within is. So if one is attracting negativity and/or unfortunate events,... situations that they would rather not be involved in, than it is definitely time to reevaluate one's thoughts, feelings and energy and work to improve their own internal situation. Everything that manifests outside of you starts within you! It's universal law!

Besides the fact that the word is full of spiritually enlightened people and people who are becoming more and more spiritually enlightened everyday since we are now living in the Age of Aquarius... The Age of information... The Age of Enlightenment!!!... There's also the high probability that the many opinions and perceptions out there regarding spiritual enlightenment are being given by people who are not even close to being spiritually enlightened themselves! Anyone who programs themselves, their beliefs and spiritual practices, by way of the mainstream media is going to be at a spiritual deficit as the mainstream media is simply a medium to promote hate, anger, anxiety, jealousy, and fear (and stupidity). These emotions constitute the exact opposite of spiritual enlightenment! Watching television on a daily basis will only lead one further and further away from spiritual truth and enlightenment. Yes, I believe many are deluding themselves, perhaps even experiencing immense ego trips... delusions of grandeur... Thinking to themselves... "Oh Yes, I am so spiritually enlightened. I am so beyond the rest of you peasants." People who think this way, well, I don't necessarily think that they are spiritually enlightened. Just high on a massive self-centered ego trip.

It would seem that quite a few of these so called "spiritually enlightened" ego maniacs live in LA. You can find them in yoga classes, meditation classes, crystal stores, etc. It has become trendy to be spiritually enlightened. So if you're meditating, doing yoga, shopping in crystal stores or engaging in any other so-called spiritual activities just so you can be noticed and appreciated by others for your greatness... Just to fit in and look trendy and have people say to you,"Wow, your so spiritual!" Then I'm sorry but I don't believe that is the true definition of spiritual enlightenment... Although I do commend you for taking a step in the right direction! It's like attending church or synagogue, sitting in the front row in a thousand dollar outfit, having your name engraved on plaques for giving grand donations to the church or synagogue, but you don't even believe in God or a higher power... you just want to be recognized! I think that has always been my issue with organized religion. I could feel these types of people and really didn't want to have anything to do with them. The world is filled with these spiritual fakers. But the good news is, if you go to church or synagogue enough times, if you pray enough, even with ego centric intentions, a person is always likely to have a realization or a revelation and all of a sudden become spiritually enlightened. I do believe this is most definitely possible... as the reality is... we are all spiritual beings in physical bodies... Even if the spiritual experience is currently an ego trip that can always change! Remember...there is no right or wrong, better or worse. We are exactly where we are supposed to be in our spiritual evolution right now. All of our experiences, the good and the bad, are intended to be lessons to make us better... and eventually lead us to spiritual enlightenment...or back to God.

I actually read a very interesting article a while back about the effects and dangers of taking monoatomic gold. This monoatomic gold is a substance that when ingested helps to open one's third eye/ pineal gland. It makes you more intuitive and psychic. However, the real danger is the possibility of an ego trip. The monoatomic gold opens the third eye, but it doesn't necessarily open the heart chakra... and without the heart chakra being opened, you've got a super psychic intuitive so called "spiritually enlightened" a-hole that doesn't give a sh*t about anyone. This is the type of person that knows all, sees all, feels all, but lacks compassion and love for their fellow man. These are the so-called spiritually enlightened egomaniacs that want everyone to bow down to them because they are so great. Then they will step all over you! Yes, you will find many of these people in materialistic LA! So that is the real danger of monoatomic gold! Thinking your spiritually enlightened when your just ego tripping. Playing God if you will... Although in reality Ye are all Gods! Just be humble with it you know?

FYI I took some seriously potent monoatomic gold a few years back and began to notice that I was being haunted by quite a few negative entities. I was dealing with quite a bit of anxiety and just felt way too much... So that's another danger of taking monoatomic gold. If you're not too careful monoatomic gold can drive you to the brink of insanity.... especially if you are not ready to have that experience. Some people do go insane and never come back from it! I suppose I was ready to take the gold because I got through it all and learned how to protect myself from the various vampires that were living off of my energy. I became very aware of these invisible creatures that most people don't even know about! So if you do not know how to protect your energy and you take a lot of monoatomic gold, you may end up encountering a lot of devious spirits. You may end up having trouble sleeping at night or walking through a dark room or being around crowds of people. Yeah! It got bad for me! Ofcourse I also encountered quite a few beautiful friendly spirits as well! It's just like the world we live in... There's all types of characters to meet! But back to the topic at hand... As you can see... being empathic, psychic and/or super intuitive does not necessarily mean that one is spiritually enlightened!

I believe that besides opening one's third eye/ pineal gland and becoming super intuitive and even psychic, true spiritual enlightenment also encompasses the opening of the heart chakra. In fact, I think the heart chakra opening is even more important than the third eye opening. Without this heart chakra opening one will not possess compassion for their fellow man, animal, insect and even plant life. Without this heart chakra opening one will be unable to forgive those who hurt and/or mistreated them. One will not even be able to forgive themselves! I believe forgiveness is a very important part of the "spiritual enlightenment" equation/ process. I believe that helping people is part of the equation. Being charitable and loving! This all encompasses spiritual enlightenment. Also sensing a closeness and/or developing a bond with the most high divine creator is part of it. Knowing that you are one with God and in reality, one with everyone and everything. Knowing that how you treat others is going to affect you because everyone is a reflection of you. We are all connected. We are all one. Therefore everyone should be treated with kindness and compassion....and forgiveness.

Being spiritually enlightened also means knowing when to walk away from toxic people. If it's difficult to show kindness and compassion to certain people because there energy if just too negative to bear,... if this person just seems to bring out the worst in you... Then one must forgive them and simply walk away! Even if it's your own family member(s)! Life is too short to deal with bad energy! Walk away and don't look back. You are not wrong for doing so. And if someone feels that they too must walk away from you, then let them go and forgive them. Being spiritually enlightened means seeing the good in the bad... understanding why bad things happen... being able to see how this so-called bad thing manifested and learning how to practice the law of attraction so bad things do not keep happening over and over again. We all have the power to break cycles... We all have the power to create cycles. It's all thoughts! Ye are all Gods! Use your power wisely and for the greater good.

Being spiritually enlightened means knowing that on quite a few occasions things we consider to be bad are actually blessings in disguise. I always like to say "There is a blessing in the curse." In reality, there is no bad, everything is good. What we are dealing with is duality... mercy and judgements! Being spiritually enlightened means knowing how to invoke mercy and eliminate judgments that we receive from the spiritual realm here in the material realm. Invoking mercy and/or judgment has quite a bit to do with our own thoughts, actions and intentions. So it would be wise to do good and pray for your sins to be forgiven on a daily basis. No one is free from sin. All we can do is try our best to be better!

I believe spiritual enlightenment encompasses a certain level of fearlessness. In reality, there should be no fears. No fear of death or anything else! Death isn't real. It is an illusion. Likewise, all fear and negative thinking is an illusion. Example: I used to be afraid to touch bees. I thought they would sting me. However, I've been feeding sugar to bees on my balcony for many months now. I discovered that I can hold them in my hand and allow them to land on my skin with no problem whatsoever. They do not sting me. I doubt they ever will. In fact, I feel a peaceful loving energy coming off of these little creatures and I too feel love for them. My fear of bees has converted to love. In my opinion converting fear into love is part of being or becoming spiritually enlightened. I think we should all work on converting our negative thoughts and emotions into a love vibration. Transmutation if you will...

This past week I was studying a torah portion (parashah) called "Vayikra." This torah portion/ parashah, goes into great detail about the rules of animal sacrifices that took place in the ancient Temple days. It's actually pretty graphic and could be considered quite disturbing until one reads the commentary and starts to understand what the animal sacrifices actually represent. The sacrificing of animals was actually intended to sacrifice/ kill the animal soul within man and help draw him (or her) closer to God. Supposedly we as humans have a Human Soul also called the "Godly Soul" which always gravitates toward God, and we have an animal soul which is the self that man shares with all living creatures: self driven and fulfilled by its physical needs and desires. Left to its own devices the animal soul tends toward corrupt and destructive behavior.

Sacrificing the animal soul is not necessarily about suppressing or uprooting the beast within, but rather harnessing that energy, training it and transmuting it into an energy to be used for the greater good and Godly end. Basically, if one allows there animal soul to run amok, there is really no chance for spiritual advancement or enlightenment. That type of human is no different than an animal. You cannot act like an animal and be spiritually enlightened! Part of the reason why kosher meat exists is because ingesting the fat or blood from an animal contributes to our animal nature and makes us more destructive and less Godly. This is why many people on the spiritual path stop eating meat altogether. Meat (filled with blood and fat) is not something one should eat if they are attempting to ascend spiritually.

From a Kabbalistic point of view, when our desire to receive for the sake of sharing replaces our desire to receive for self alone, then we've made it! That may just be one of the truest definitions of spiritual enlightenment! Til next time... Stay humble, do good and just know that if you are reading this article you are most certainly on the divine holy path to spiritual enlightenment! Blessings! (And Happy Purim!)

Jennie H is a Reiki Master Energy Healer, Co-Founder of Self Saviorz Society California Non-Profit 501(c)(3), Poet, Author and Entertainer with goals to help raise the vibration and consciousness of humanity!