The number one obstacle to enlightenment is trying to attain enlightenment.

Enlightenment is a present fact, not a distant goal.

When you sit quietly, you realize “you” are not there, and there is only stillness and peace.

You try to get “yourself” to validate this incredible discovery.

But “your self” would rather pursue stillness through its own approved program of activities.

Seeking stillness through activity is redundant and impossible, of course.

You can’t stop juggling by juggling.

This is why enlightenment isn’t a spiritual goal to be attained through spiritual striving.

It’s seeing through the sense of estrangement that causes such striving in the first place.

Enlightenment is the spiritual equivalent of not having a headache, or forgetting what you and your partner were arguing about.

photo by Fall Maple