An Awakening moment typically includes a direct experience of our “True Self, a realization of what is True and what is Not True about ourselves — the understanding of how unreal our human experience is, and what exists in the cosmic dimensions beyond our physical experience. It is important to note that “Awakening” is not the Awakening experience itself; it is the Truth gleaned from it. In other words, it is what remains with you once all the physical and mental drama ends. Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) calls this the “core state.”
It is a common misunderstanding to think of the experience as full Enlightenment. It is just a glimpse of what is to come, as more expansion of awareness is about to unfold. Our first mystical experience (there could be many more) is merely a glimpse of what is yet to be revealed. Our first taste must be deepened by letting go of whatever does not fit with what was realized. In other words,full Enlightenment is BEING what was realized, not having more experiences or talking about what has happened to Awaken “you.” By “you” I mean the identity of being a body or a persona. Your True Self is neither, though both are included within the One consciousness of which each of us is an integral part.
Part of preparing to Awaken is to become fully aware of what I have just said so you will actually become Enllghtened and avoid becoming a “spiritual ego.” A “spiritual ego’ happens when someone takes on the belief that they are fully Enlightened and their ego becomes arrogant, instead of dropping its desire to be “special.” The best way I know to bypass a “spiritual ego” is to learn the Enneagram. It reveals the unconscious programming of ego that has become our limited personality. Seeing the Enneagram's map and learning how to use it is like taking a fast train to Enlightenment. I will be offering a basic course of The Enneagram for Spiritual Awakening the last weekend of October and the first weekend of November in Shibuya Tokyo. Space is limited.