Awakening is not Enlightenment: Understanding the Difference

[dreamworld]

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In Buddhist texts, the terms awakening and enlightenment mean the same thing. But they do not mean the same thing in usage by contemporary spiritual seekers.

First, what is awakening?
Awakening is an experience when the ego self collapses and there is an awareness of the unity of all things, and an identification with the “all things” instead of the ego self. The term “awakening” is also called “expansion of consciousness”, “unity consciousness”, and “Christ consciousness”.

Types of awakening:
There are two types: temporary and permanent. When people say that they’ve had a spiritual awakening, they are referring to the temporary experience. People who are in a state of a permanent awakening will never say “I had a spiritual awakening” because they don’t identify with their egos anymore.
The first temporary awakening (there can be more than one) typically begins at the start of the 3rd initiation on the path of ascension. In practical terms, it means that one’s emotional and mental bodies have been developed enough to the point that it is now possible to choose the spiritual path, if so desired. Everyone will eventually attain the goal of permanent awakening (i.e. enlightenment). However, by choosing the spiritual path, that goal can be achieved in 1-2 lifetimes vs. thousands of lifetimes.
Not everyone has a temporary awakening to start their journey. For some people, it begins via a personal tragedy and/or major life crisis. In any case, think of the spiritual awakening as an invitation to begin one's spiritual journey. Although the journey is "solo", there is plenty of help along the way; simply use intention that whatever you need will come to you at the appropriate time.

Non-Attainment
Some people love to point out that there is nothing to attain. That is from the perspective of the non-ego self, and technically, it is correct. In other words, it is not the ego that is attaining or doing something. Instead, it is the “undoing of something” (in this case, the identification with the limited ego self).

The Spiritual Path AKA Path of Ascension
Once a person is committed to the spiritual path, there is a lot of work to do. Don’t let anyone tell you there is only one way or a certain set of rules to follow: that is religion, not spirituality. Each person has their unique karma to work through, and thus their unique path. As such, walking the spiritual path involves using one's own inner guidance (and also implies refraining from telling others what they must do).
If you are unsure where to begin, I would suggest focusing on learning to accept, love and appreciate life and others as they are, without judging anyone or anything. The more that you can love with non-judgement, the higher you will raise your vibrations. And this will eventually lead to a permanent state of unity consciousness.





this is not mine just wanted to share this cool post i found

https://www.reddit.com/r/awakened/comments/nqkr21/awakening_is_not_enlightenment_understanding_the