To become enlightened you need an uncluttered mind. Buddhism calls this “monkey-mind” - to be awake, alert and without thought. To be awake, alert and without thought you need to meditate. The form of meditation I employ, and teach, is informal meditation - There is no ceremony and no ritual. There are no sacred texts. There is no holy place. This is where your life, “as it is” becomes your meditation. As a Zen master said 900 years ago: “There’s no meditation like no meditation.”

Successful meditation guides you to a place where you are awake, alert and without thought. This is not an unusual place to be. You are there much of the time - Whenever you get lost in a book, a movie, a hobby…even a conversation; a place where you lose track of linear time, you are in meditation.

When you follow your heart and intuition, instead of your head, you focus on what’s truly you at that moment. Our heads tell us what we “should” do. Our hearts tell us what we want to do. To engage in “right” activities, activities where you lose track of time through focus on the now, you must listen to your heart. Formal meditation can be one of your “right” activities. There are multiple right activities for each of us at all times.

Zen says: “When hungry, eat. When tired, sleep.” Simplistic? Yes. We, being complex, find these universal truths to be difficult. If you wish to replace stress with inner peace and to bring passion back into your life, you must learn to lose yourself in your life…as it is happening.

This is not only doable, it is your destiny. And, you are programmed for success. As you turn within, to the presence not detectable by the five senses, and you focus on your behavior, without judgment, your are on a direct, and prompt, path to enlightenment. Your witnessing of your behaviors, without trying to change them, causes undesirable behaviors to disappear. Observe well and change will take place naturally and quickly.

As Socrates said 2,500 years ago: “The unexamined life is not worth living”. Now, examine yourself. Observe you in all your behaviors, without judgment. And, don’t be shocked when you find undesirable behaviors. We all have flaws and weaknesses, We’re all imperfect. But, we all qualify for unconditional love. Unconditional love is love without conditions.

Nonjudgmental observation leads to forgiveness and acceptance…Acceptance of life as it is, leads to no stress, which leads to following your heart, which leads to doing what you love and loving what you do, which leads to being the best you you can be…not the best in the world, simply your best, at that time.

With an open heart and intuition to guide you, your true, inner self emerges and blossoms. Although we all come with flaws and weaknesses, we all come with gifts and talents, too. With your life as your meditation, from moment-to-moment, your are in constant meditation (because you are lost in your life, without thought).

At this point, you are ready for enlightenment. – to wake up to the fact that you, (eternal) spirit, are having a (temporary) physical experience, and are part of something greater than yourself. In fact, you are that thing greater than yourself.


Don Lubov, author, artist, teaches classes in "Spirituality With A Touch Of Zen", Creativity and Drawing, at three local colleges. His "Six-Step Path" can be seen on his websites: Spiritshare.net and donlubov.com.