Jed McKenna, John Sherman, Jan Frazier

The more I read about enlightenment, the more my opinions have been changing. I am writing this on July 4, 2007, and I think it is appropriate to state my first objection. Many people look to the East for answers to enlightenment, especially India. For anyone interested in enlightenment, Ramana Maharshi is a key figure. There are books of his writings, and there are books talking about his sayings. Some people are so enthralled with the East that they have taken on Indian names.

Now, there is nothing wrong with all of this, except the following – they do not speak my language. Also, the impression is left that all wisdom comes from the East. I find the Indian writers, including Ramana, difficult to understand, especially references to Indian scriptures.

I was raised as an American, and I understand plain English. Enlightenment is available to everyone. A friend of mine goes to self-inquiry workshops. When I questioned my friend, the answer was that when you go up a mountain, if you want to be hit my lightening, it helps to wear tinfoil and carry a lightening rod. My friend went on to state that enlightenment is very difficult to attain.

This raises my second objection. For some people, enlightenment wasn’t difficult to obtain, although the person was undergoing some kind of crisis. Look at Eckhart Tolle. He was considering suicide when he became enlightened. Or Tony Parsons who was walking through a park in England when he became enlightened.

I am currently reading a book by Jan Frazier called, “When Fear Falls Away.” She was struggling with the fear that comes with the possibility of breast cancer. She was a worrier most of her life. One night Jan said a prayer for her fear to go away. The next morning she was enlightened. Her web site is http://www.whenfearfallsaway.com/.

The one thing I should mention, however, is that the one thing that Tolle, Parsons, and Frazier have in common is that they were all spiritual seekers. They had read spiritual books or followed spiritual teachers.

Jed McKenna says that enlightenment is very difficult and that it results at the end of an agonizing two year self inquiry process. Sometimes during this process, madness may win out. McKenna has three books out: Spiritual Enlightenment, Spiritually Incorrect Enlightenment, and Spiritual Warfare. McKenna is a fictional name and his books may be fiction, but they are very interesting. Check out the web site http://www.wisefoolpress.com/.

Another person of interest is John Sherman, who spent 18 years in a federal prison for political bombings. John became interested in Buddhism when there was a presentation by Buddhists at his prison. When Gangaji went to his prison, he became interested in her teachings. He refers to himself as at one time as “Gangaji’s pet.” I believe he has broken off with her. Sherman was supposed to become a teacher but resisted for years. When he realized that he was 61 years old and a convicted felon, Sherman said he had no job opportunities other than to be a teacher. Sherman has a very soothing voice. He has a one theme message — Ramana’s self-inquiry. He has lots of Podcast MP3 downloads, each one of which is over an hour long. His web site is http://www.riverganga.org/.

I may be incredibly lazy, but I tend to be relaxed about enlightenment. Get on the path, head in the right direction, and if it is meant to be it will be. While enlightenment is a goal, it is not an obsession for me. Maybe it has to do with my older years. I will not jump from one spiritual teacher to another. I will not jump from one workshop to another.

Now that it is the Fourth of July, let’s celebrate American writers — Whitman, Emerson, Thoreau, Melville, etc. Why can’t Americans be enlightened? Why look to India or Tibet? It’s all right here, right now.

Is enlightenment easy or hard? I do not know, only that I will not make it hard.