Understanding Enlightenment: The Illusion of Attainment

Enlightenment is not something to attain; it is the realization of our true nature already within us.

### The Illusion of Attaining Enlightenment: Embracing Our True Nature
* 🧘 Attaining Enlightenment is deemed impossible, as even revered figures like Buddha and Jesus never reached it, since Enlightenment is **not an external achievement but our inherent nature**.
* 🌟 The belief that **Enlightenment is a distant goal** prevents individuals from realizing their true selves, leading to a **continuous cycle of striving and exhaustion** through various spiritual practices.
* 🕊 "What we are looking for is what is looking," as St. Francis said, emphasizing that **Enlightenment is not about obtaining but recognizing what already exists within us**.
* 🧠 Meditation serves as a tool to **clear the mind of distractions**, allowing us to **experience our true being**, which **transcends the body and mind**, rooted in the **present moment**.
* ⏳ The present moment is all that truly exists; the past and future are merely **constructs of the mind** that distract us from experiencing our **true nature**.
* 🚫 The ego, a mental construct rooted in separateness, dissolves when we awaken to our true selves, which are **not bound by time or identity**, revealing that **Enlightenment is simply a realization rather than an attainment**.
* 💡 "You are what you seek," signifies that everything we strive for is **already within us**, and true liberation comes from **knowing this truth** rather than merely believing it.
* 🌈 Ultimately, Enlightenment is about **embracing the peace and joy of our true nature**, which is always present, waiting for us to **simply be**.

attaining Enlightenment is impossible, and no one ever has. The Buddha never attained Enlightenment, or Jesus, or Krishna, or Lao, or Meister Eckhart, or Paramahansa Yogananda, or Ram Maharshi. None of them attained Enlightenment because what all these beings realize is that you can't get there; you can only be there because you are there. Enlightenment is not something to be attained. Enlightenment is who we really are; it's our true nature. And the mindset, the belief that we can attain Enlightenment like it's some kind of super spiritual status, and like it's something that's out there, it's external, it's futuristic, is the very thing that prevents us from realizing who we really are and what we've always had. And so that's why St. Francis of Assisi said, What we are looking for is what is looking, and Rumi said, You are what you seek. This is enlightenment. Enlightenment fundamentally is who you really are. Now, what prevents us from seeing this, like I said, is the mindset of it's out there.

and we don't have it already, but there's also all this conditioning and programming that we receive growing up, and a lot of this is things that say that we are unworthy, we are sinful, we are separated from God, and we start to believe all these things about ourselves in this form, our egoic identity. And then we spend our whole lives trying to get there. We spend our whole lives trying to climb this heavenly ladder, trying to attain this super spiritual status, and we meditate for hours a day. We partake in all these different spiritual practices. We go to church, we pray, we fast, we read all these holy books, we hang out with people who we think are spiritual so that we can get their spiritual status and their spiritual powers. We do all this stuff. It's all about doing, doing, doing, doing, and it's exhausting, it's tiring, and we never get there. We never have the mystical experience, we never have the extraordinary encounter of God, and we never attain that enlightenment that we're seeking. Why? Because what we are

searching for is something that we already have. It's like looking around the house for your lost keys that are in your pocket. And what meditation does, meditation is simply a method that removes all the different things that is coming from the mind that prevents us from experiencing what we already have: Enlightenment, the truth of our being. And so, I forget who said this, maybe it was the Buddha, but they said something about meditation is not about gaining, it's about losing, it's about letting go. So, as we start to meditate, what we're doing is we're letting go of all these egoic identifications and labels and beliefs and indoctrination and conditioning that really is the veil that is preventing us from experiencing our being, our true nature. And what we realize in meditation is that who we really are is beyond the body, it's beyond the mind, it's beyond space and beyond time, it's pure awareness and it's infinite and it's eternal and it just is, it's pure.

isness. It's pure I amness, and it's rooted and grounded in the present moment. Because the present moment, this is another thing we discover in meditation. The present moment is all that exists. The past and the future are simply thoughts, memories, expectations, anticipations that are occurring in the mind. And if you sit back and really analyze your thoughts, you'll learn this. You'll see that the majority of the thoughts that you're experiencing are either fixated on the past or the future. But the one thing the mind really can't do is be fully absorbed in the present moment. The mind cannot be here now. So, meditation brings us beyond the finite mind into the heart space, and the heart space is in the present moment. It's right here, it's right now. So, being in the heart space allows us to experience our true self. It allows us to experience enlightenment, but we're not getting it, we're not attaining it. We're simply going from this consciousness of doing into the consciousness of pure.

being, and this is liberating. This is the truth that sets you free that Jesus talks about. And what does he say? He doesn't say you'll believe in this truth or you'll hope in this truth. No, he says you'll know the truth, and in knowing the truth, you'll be free. So, what is the truth? The truth of your being is that you are Enlightenment. Everything that you've been seeking and searching for out there and in the future is Right Here, Right Now, within you, and it is you. But we have to awaken to that. We have to see that if we're in the headspace, if we're living from our analytical thinking minds all of the time, we're going to be lost. We're going to be trapped. We're going to be chasing. We're going to be doing all these things, thinking that in doing whatever we're doing, we're going to attain something. And that's the cycle. That's the treadmill of religion. And like I said, much of this is programming, it's conditioning that we were brought up.

with that led us to believe that there is something inherently wrong with us, like we have some kind of sin nature, and in order for us to be whatever it is reconciled to God or saved or enlightened or whatever, something has to happen. We have to be fixed, we have to be changed, we have to be born again in order to then be okay. Then we're Sanctified, then we're holy, then we're loved by God, then we're forgiven, then we're one with God, then we experience Nirvana or Satori or Enlightenment, whatever it is. It's the same Paradigm, it's the same mindset of separation as the fundamental truth, and you don't have it, and something has to happen. Either you have to earn it through your works, or someone else has to do something for you on your behalf in order for you to then be all right, in order for you to then be your true self, or enlightened, or saved. There's so many different ideas around this, but

essentially, it's all the same thing. What I'm telling you is none of that is true. You don't have to do anything because it's already right here. Everything is in the present moment. The present moment, present moment awareness, is simply pure isness, and you can rest in that. You can simply be. You don't have to do. You can simply rest in your being. And when you're fully absorbed in the present moment, I remember the first time that I had this experience of simply just getting out of my headspace and being fully absorbed in the present moment without all the distractions of the thinking mind. I started crying because I was amazed at how beautiful and how just ineffable the present moment, present moment awareness really is. And what I noticed was that there is no separation between who I really am, my true nature, and the present moment. The present moment, the Eternal now, is one. It is my true nature. It is your true nature. It's everyone's true nature. There's only one I am. There's only one awareness. There's

only one infinite being. There's only one Consciousness, and this is Enlightenment, realizing this, recognizing this, but it's not attaining anything. It's simply a realization, and it's a return home to who we really are. It's a retreat back to the inherent, innate peace and joy and fulfillment and happiness that is our true being. It is who we are. It's not something we have to get, and as a matter of fact, like I keep saying, the more we TR, the more we keep trying to get it, the harder it becomes to get, the more impossible we realize it's impossible to get it, and then we burn ourselves out, and we get exhausted, and we give up on all these different spiritual practices, and we give up on the hours of meditation and reading all these holy books and going to church because it's just too tiring, and it just seems like it's never going to happen. And a lot of times, in that moment of giving up, in that moment of saying

I've had enough of the religious treadmill and all the hamster wheels of trying to get there. I'm done with this. I'm just going to give up. That's typically when Awakening happens. That's typically when there is some kind of realization, and there is some kind of experience of Enlightenment—not attainment of Enlightenment, but experience of Enlightenment. And then, that's when true transformation happens. But the ego, the false self who we think we are, doesn't actually exist. It's a mental construct; it's an illusion. It has no substance to it; it's not an entity. And so, when we awaken, when we wake up to who we really are, when we have our experience of Enlightenment, of what we've always had, what's always been true, then simultaneously, the ego dissipates into the illusion that it is. And so, we don't have to try to fight off the ego; we don't have to try to get rid of it because, again, it doesn't actually exist. It's an illusion in the light of

our true nature. Enlightenment, when we realize this, that light causes the darkness of the ego to fade away, and that's what true ego transcendence is all about. But the ego is this belief, it's this idea that we are a separate self, some kind of independent, separate identity, and that's all we are, and we're finite, and we come into this world, we have a birthday and birth date, and then we live for however long we live, and then we die, and that's it. That's the ego. The ego is the false self, it's the belief in separateness. Now again, that doesn't actually exist, and so if there is no separate self, then what does this mean? This means that there is no separate self that can become enlightened, there is no separate self that can attain the spiritual status, or that can achieve some kind of holiness or righteousness, because the separate self, the egoic identity, doesn't exist. It's an idea, it's a mental construct, and so all that actually exists

is consciousness, is awareness, and consciousness awareness, whatever you want to call it, is who we really are beyond the ego, beyond the mind, beyond the body, beyond space, and beyond time. And that is enlightenment. Enlightenment is the recognition of that, but there is no one that can become enlightened because there is no one. There is no separate self. That is an illusion; that is a mental construct. So, that's something that when I experienced this through meditation, when I had this experience of true self, which is not as extraordinary as people make it out to be. It simply is, is. It's not like, I mean, for some people, they can have a mystical experience that surrounds that experience of enlightenment, but it doesn't, it's not always like that. And we have to, we have to be okay with that. The ego will try to hype the experience up, and that's all part of like, you know, making it something that's out there and it's external and only a few have attained it and only a few know what

it's like that's all the ego. That's all a mental construct. That's all just things, more ideas, more beliefs that set us back from the simplicity and the availability of the present moment, of awareness, of pure consciousness. So, don't get hung up on that. Don't get trapped with all the different ideas and all the different theories on enlightenment and what has to happen and what you have to go through, what needs to be experienced and how the experience is supposed to be, and it's got to be this and it's got to be that. No, that's just more ideas. That's just the mind. But I'm trying to bring you beyond the mind, beyond the ego, beyond all the thoughts, beyond all the concepts, into present moment awareness. Present moment awareness is fundamentally what we are. And as we sit back, as we're fully absorbed in the present moment, the peace, the joy, the love, everything we've been searching for, everything we've been trying to attain, the

Enlightenment is discovered in the last place we would have expected, right here, right now, within us, and not just within us, but as us. This is Enlightenment, and you don't have to get it. You already have it because you are it. And knowing this truth, not believing in this truth, but knowing this truth, is where true Liberation lies. This is the peace that surpasses all understanding. It's the Peace of your being. It's the Peace of your true nature that is its pure isness. What you are looking for is what is looking, as St. Francis says. So, if you found this video helpful, informative, or insightful, please leave a thumbs up at the bottom of the screen, and be sure to subscribe to my channel if you haven't already. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next time. Namaste.

Attaining enlightenment is IMPOSSIBLE & no one ever has (not even Jesus or Buddha)… here's why

Logan Barone

Enlightenment is not something to be attained; it is our true nature and what we already are.

The belief that it is external and futuristic prevents us from realizing our true selves.

Meditation serves as a method to let go of egoic identifications and conditioning, allowing us to experience our true nature as pure awareness, infinite and eternal.

The present moment is the only reality, while the past and future are just thoughts in the mind.

Meditation helps us move from the finite mind to the heart space, where we can experience our true self and enlightenment.

Awakening to our true being, which is enlightenment, liberates us from the cycle of seeking and chasing, challenging the conditioning that makes us feel inherently flawed.

Present moment awareness is the key to realizing our true nature and experiencing inner peace.

The more we try to attain enlightenment, the harder it becomes, often leading to exhaustion and burnout.

True transformation and awakening typically occur when we give up the relentless pursuit and recognize that the ego is just an illusion.

The ego is the belief in a separate, independent self, which is a mental construct that doesn't actually exist.

True enlightenment is the recognition that consciousness and awareness are our true nature, beyond the ego and the illusion of separateness.

There is no separate self that can attain enlightenment, as the idea of a distinct identity is an illusion.

The Essence of Enlightenment and Present Moment Awareness

Enlightenment is a mental construct, often overshadowed by ego and beliefs.

True liberation and peace are found in present moment awareness, which is our true nature.

We already possess enlightenment within us; it's about knowing this truth rather than believing it.