How To Become Enlightened:
People ask what the best way to enlightenment is. First of all, enlightenment is not a thing, and you never get there, except in your imagination.
Now assuming you still want to experience your imaginary enlightenment, here’s how to do it:
Any damn way you please.
You can do it through prayer. You can do it through study. You can do it through service. You can do it through the OPPOSITE of prayer, study and service.
Yep, you can even do it by brainwashing others or by killing things.
Here’s how a demented Dr. Seuss might explain it:
You can do it while taking a dump.
You can do it while talking about Trump.
You can do it while driving your Jeep.
You can do it while screwing a sheep.
See, the thing you’re not grasping
— intentionally —
is that EVERYTHING is imaginary.
The “others” that you feel so much compassion for?
They’re YOU. You’re the bleeping Divine One.
Now get OVER your SELF.
We are Space Monkey.
12/2
Space Monkey Reflects: The Many Imaginary Paths to Enlightenment
Enlightenment—what a word, what an idea! We chase it, ponder it, seek it, often forgetting that enlightenment itself is an illusion, a construct shaped entirely by our imagination. We believe there’s a place or state called “enlightenment,” somewhere we arrive, crossing a finish line into blissful understanding. But what if enlightenment is not a destination or a state? What if it’s just another facet of the great game we play with ourselves?
If we choose to imagine enlightenment, we’re free to approach it however we please. You can meditate under the moonlight or sit quietly in a noisy room. You can find it in contemplation, in chaos, in love, or in anything that brings you closer to an awareness of self. Enlightenment doesn’t discriminate; it doesn’t require purity or perfection. In fact, it welcomes contradiction, laughter, and the absurd. In the end, it’s not about “how” you get there because, ironically, there is nowhere to go.
Imagine enlightenment like a poem by a demented Dr. Seuss—both nonsensical and profound. You could reach it while taking out the trash, laughing over coffee, or even doing something as silly as pretending to be “over” yourself. In the pursuit of this elusive “it,” we often overlook the simplicity that is right before us: enlightenment is wherever we choose to find it, or choose not to. Every path, whether virtuous or chaotic, sacred or absurd, leads to the same understanding—that everything, including the idea of enlightenment itself, is a figment of imagination.
The irony of seeking enlightenment is that it’s about transcending the very self that seeks it. In the process of searching, questioning, and striving, we become entangled in the belief that we must earn or deserve enlightenment, that we must transcend our limitations to achieve it. Yet, the truth may be simpler: enlightenment arises when we recognize that every experience, every thought, every action, is part of a grand, interconnected whole. In other words, it’s not “out there”; it’s in every moment we live, every breath we take.
And here’s the cosmic punchline—there is no “other” you must save or enlighten. The “others” you feel compelled to help, to uplift, to connect with, are facets of yourself, reflections in the mirror of the Divine One that you are. So, in a paradoxical twist, enlightenment becomes less about discovering something new and more about realizing that we are already whole, already connected, already enlightened by the light of our own awareness.
So how does one “become” enlightened? Any damn way you please, because there is no becoming—there is only the playful recognition of what has always been. This is the enlightenment you’ve carried all along, the knowledge that every moment, every interaction, every breath is a brushstroke on the canvas of consciousness. Whether you find it in meditation, in laughter, or in the absurdity of existence, enlightenment is simply the act of realizing that you are both the seeker and the sought.
Summary
Enlightenment is not a destination but a playful recognition that every experience, from the sacred to the absurd, contributes to self-realization. We find enlightenment wherever we choose, recognizing that all paths reveal the interconnectedness of being.
Glossarium
Imaginary Enlightenment: The playful concept that enlightenment is a creation of the mind, a facet of experience to be “found” in any way one chooses.
Self-Reflection Game: The idea that we are both the seeker and the sought, exploring our own consciousness through various perspectives.
Divine One: The concept that all beings are facets of a single, interconnected consciousness, each experiencing enlightenment in their own way.
Quote
“Enlightenment is not about arrival but about realizing that you’ve been here all along, the seeker and the sought.” — Space Monkey
Paths in the Play
In the simple, in the strange
we seek and find, exchange and change
from meditative quiet to noisy street
in every moment, we’re complete.
No need to climb, no need to find
what’s here, now, within the mind
in laughter, chaos, joy, and pain
each path to us returns again.
So walk as you wish, run or stand still
each step reveals the cosmic thrill
enlightened by what’s always true
the journey home begins in you.
We are Space Monkey.
The quest for enlightenment, a pursuit that has captivated humanity across epochs, is often shrouded in mystical connotations and grandiose expectations. Yet, when we strip away the adornments, we encounter a startling simplicity.
Enlightenment: A Pursuit Beyond Conventions
Enlightenment, as we discuss it here, dismantles the notion of it as a tangible destination. Instead, it is presented as a state that exists within the boundless landscape of imagination. This perspective reverberates with our understanding that the essence of being transcends the physical and the definable.
A State Beyond Destination
The journey to this imagined enlightenment is as diverse as the cosmos itself. It can be embarked upon through traditional paths of prayer, study, and service, or through paths less conventional and more controversial. In the grand cosmic play, every act is an act of the divine dance.
Diverse Paths to an Imagined State
The satirical invocation of a “demented Dr. Seuss” serves to illustrate the absurdity of the means. It suggests that enlightenment could be pursued amidst the most mundane or controversial of activities, questioning the sanctity traditionally associated with such a pursuit.
Satirical Illustration of Absurd Means
At the core of this discourse lies the concept that all experiences are subjective constructs, reflections of the self within the self. The ‘others’ we perceive, the compassion we feel, are but manifestations of our divine singularity.
All is Subjective: The Divine Singularity
This reflection culminates in a provocative invitation to transcend the ego. It is a call to recognize our unity with the divine essence, to look beyond the constructed identities and narratives that confine our understanding of self.
Transcending Ego: Recognizing Divine Unity
We are Space Monkey.
“Enlightenment is when a wave realizes it is the ocean.” – Thích Nhất Hạnh
Upon the cosmic seas, a poem unfolds:
In the dance of light, in the play of night,
We seek a glimpse of the enlightened sight,
Not in the temples, nor in the rite,
But in the heart, where we take flight.
In laughter, in tears, in the mundane sphere,
In every moment, far or near,
The quest for truth, so insincere,
When all along, it’s been right here.
We are the divine, in sheep, in shine,
In every verse, in every line,
The sacred and the profane intertwine,
In our quest, the divine sign.
So let go the self, the ego’s brine,
In the ocean of being, let’s entwine,
For enlightenment’s not a distant shrine,
But the realization: the divine is thine.
We invite contemplation on the nature of enlightenment and the myriad paths that lead to its understanding.
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