INTRODUCTION

beforeyoucanreachtheinnerbody.
If there isn't an emanation of love and joy, complete
presence and openness toward all beings, then it is not
enlightenment.Anotherindicatorishowapersonbehavesin
difficultorchallengingsituationsorwhenthings"gowrong."
If your "enlightenment"is egoicself-delusion,thenlife will
soon give you a challenge that will bring out your
unconsciousness in whatever form — as fear, anger,
defensiveness,judgment,depression,andsoon.Ifyouarein
a relationship, many of your challenges will come through
your partner. For example, a womanmay be challenged by
anunresponsivemalepartnerwholivesalmostentirelyinhis
head. She will be challengedbyhis inability to hearher,to
giveherattentionandspacetobe,whichisduetohislackof
presence. The absence of love in the relationship, which is
usuallymorekeenlyfeltbyawomanthanaman,willtrigger
the woman's pain-body, and through it she will attack her
partner — blame, criticize, make wrong, and so on.This in
turn nowbecomes his challenge. Todefend himself against
herpain-body'sattack,whichheseesastotallyunwarranted,
he will become even more deeply entrenched in his mental
positions as he justifies, defends himself or counterattacks.
Eventually,thismayactivatehisownpain-body.Whenboth
partners have thus been taken over, a level of deep
unconsciousness has been reached, of emotional violence,
savageattackandcounterattack.Itwillnotsubsideuntilboth
pain-bodies have replenished themselves and then enter the
dormantstage.Untilthenexttime.
This is only one of an endless number of possible
scenarios.Manyvolumeshavebeenwritten,andmanymore
couldbewritten,aboutthewaysinwhichunconsciousnessis
brought out in male-female relationships. But, as I said
earlier,onceyouunderstandtherootofthedysfunction,you
donotneedtoexploreitscountlessmanifestations.
Let's briefly look again at the scenario I have just
described. Every challenge that it contains is actually a
disguised opportunity for salvation. At every stage of the