Self-Realization and Other Awakenings

different reality, we are quickly shuttled away to the
sidelines: not accepted, not allowed into the fold of
family and society.
Now, as you know, there are tens of thousands of
people now claiming to be enlightened. I get emails
every week from people who claim to be awakened,
and indeed they are if you accept the definition of
awakening offered by Neo-Advaitins, or other Face
book-style gurus. The common thought now is that the
whole world is awakening on an unprecedented basis.
This is absolute nonsense. What has happened is
that the bar measuring awakening has been lowered so
far that even the most minor of “spiritual”
experiences are accepted as awakenings, and then
those awakened ones join groups where they
congratulate each other.
Yet, essentially they remain the same, but now
feel special, enlightened, above humanness in some
cases.
You see, they are still blind; in fact even more
blind than when they were simple seekers, wondering
what was real, wondering what the ‘true’ way was.
Seventeen years ago I had my first “awakening”
experience after 27 years of thousands of different no-
mind, oneness, and Kundalini experiences. But looking