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After Enlightenment Then What?

By: Drs Bil and Cher Holton Every swept floor prompts another sweep. Every child washed invites another washing. Each lawn mowed demands another mowing. Each breath taken requires another breath.
The sun ascends each morning and sets every evening. The moon glows each night. Tides ebb and flow every day. Birds sing perfect songs today and sing them again tomorrow.
Oysters open their shells when the moon is high in the sky. The chambered nautilus forms another chamber in its spiraled shell every lunar month.
When we breathe, we do not stop inhaling because we have breathed in all of the oxygen we will ever need. We stop because we have all the oxygen we need for that particular inhalation.
When we exhale we stop breathing out in order to prepare for the next inhalation. We will need to repeat the process, however, no matter how perfectly we have inhaled and exhaled.
What these scenarios are telling us is what is finished invites refinishing.
So what do we do after we become enlightened? We become more enlightened. Once we are aware that we are one with the Infinite Isness there is a tendency to think we are done, that we are finished, that we have reached the height of our perfection.
But nothing can be further from the truth. There is a Zen koan which goes like this: Before enlightenment, mountains are mountains and rivers are rivers. At the moment one becomes enlightened, mountains are no longer mountains and rivers cease to be rivers. After enlightenment, mountains are once more mountains and rivers are once more rivers.
An updated version of this Zen saying comes from Unity minister, Jim Rosemergy who has this to say: "Mystics do not turn from the world because they turn to God. They remain in the world but not of the world. Even mystics have bills to pay.".
Once we are enlightened, that is, once we positively, absolutely, without a doubt realize we are God expressing as us, we remain in the world, but not of the world to show others the way to enlightenment.
That is our spiritual mission: to fully demonstrate our divinity and help others to do the same. It is the same commission expressed in Matthew 28:19-20.
We will share the New Revised Standard Version and then sprinkle an ontological interpretation from the New Metaphysical Version of Matthew to add spiritual depth.
After His resurrection Jesus told His disciples in verse 19:
"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."
Metaphysically Jesus was referring to three specific nations: our body, mind, and soul. Baptizing the nations means purifying our body, mind, and soul from unhealthy worldly attachments.
We must do this 'in the 'name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.' Name means 'in the nature of.' And, ontologically speaking Father, Son, and Holy Spirit refer to the three phases of Divine Order (Mind, Idea, Expression).
So, we are to cleanse our body, mind, and soul by becoming one with the nature of the Christ Presence within us so we can divinely order our experience.
Matt. 20 says in the New Revised Standard Version: "Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you, remembering that I am with you always, even to the end of the world.""
Ontologically 'teach them' means to walk our talk with integrity. 'I am with you always' means we have an indivisible, unshakable, eternal connection with Spirit. To the 'end of the world' means moving from one level of spiritual awareness to another.
Matthew 20 invites us to walk our talk by letting our Christ Light shine as we achieve one level of enlightenment, one level of completion, to another.
So, what will we do after we are enlightened?
We remain in the world but not of the world. We live as enlightened beings in cities, towns, and communities. We light up the world with our presence. Like the enlightened beings who became enlightened before us we will teach others how to teach others.
We will look like typical men and women, but our values and the manner in which we live, move, and have our being will show our acceptance of our higher calling.
We might have human challenges, but we will not be bound by them. We may wear glasses or contact lenses, hearing aids or pace makers, but we will not be limited by them.
We may take medicine or require hospitalization, but we will not be imprisoned by them. We may find ourselves in a world that is imperfect, but we will not be bound by that imperfection.
We will be in the finishing and refinishing business. We will pot and repot ourselves every day. We will renew and continue to renew ourselves. We will tool and re-tool ourselves constantly.
We will continue to seek enlightenment because enlightenment is a verb, not a noun. It is a process, an unfolding, a movement from one exhilarating cusp of consciousness to another.

Article Source: http://www.lifeweightloss.com

Drs. Bil & Cher Holton are Spiritual Leaders at Unity Spiritual Life Center in Durham, NC, where they practice positive, practical, progressive Christianity. Visit their website at www.unityspirituallifecenter.org">Unity Spiritual Life Center and sign up to receive a complimentary 4-week e-course.

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