 Hey tribe, so not all of you might know that for more than a decade I was a deeply devoted person to spirituality kind of all different practices from Indian Advaita Vedanta, the non-dualistic teachings to Tibetan Buddhism Dzogchen and obviously Zen Buddhism, the Japanese traditions and also the Westerner teachers like Eckhart Tolle, Andrew Cohen Gangaji, like I was listening to and reading about everyone and obviously there's a story about that and also to obviously I did also practice a lot and Throughout those years. I was actually even taught about that I was an instructor of meditation for a while a kind of a spiritual teacher myself believe it or not and It was a wild and interesting journey and through all of it Oh well, since I am naming stuff There were also significant moments where I Was learning about spirituality when I went to India and I lived in you could say a spiritual school for a few years in Switzerland so again, it was a wild journey and full of a lot of discoveries and insights But the thing is I went through various stages You could say the first stage was the stage of recognizing that I don't have a clue what enlightenment is because all those teachings pretty much were all about enlightenment So initially I had I came to initially I thought I kind of have an idea of what enlightenment is Then I moved on to the stage of having no clue what enlightenment is Then I went to the stage of Figuring out what it means and and of course it may sound like a controversial subject or or idea But as I will share with you for this story, I actually Did figure out in my belief what? Enlightenment with what people refer to as enlightenment like in a legit way And after you hear the story maybe can start with her. It's an accurate Kind of thought or not But eventually I went to the next stage of realizing that There is that thing which you could call enlightenment like I see what people are talking about even like spiritual gurus I I am pretty certain. I know exactly what they're talking about and I will even explain it a little bit in scientific terms, believe it or not but in the end it's There is something to it like there is something that It happens like there's something legit about it, but a lot of it is also bullcrap and in this video I am looking forward to share with you a bit of a bit about my wild journey through the pathways of enlightenment and spirituality and I might not go as deep into the whole spiritual topic. Maybe I will but Maybe that deserves another video a different video, but we'll primarily focus on What the heck is enlightenment and why I personally think you shouldn't really Give that much thought about it like it's not you shouldn't be as hyped as spiritual people are About the subject of enlightenment. So all about that in this episode of the journey So as you can see my doggo the Grinch That's his name or an Lithuanian. It's Grinchus. He fell asleep. Hopefully you didn't fall asleep for my intro It was a bit long-winded as usual, I guess, but yeah, let's get to the topic and let's get going. So One of the first stories that I'm interested to share with you is well first of all I was always Inspired to make a difference. I was always inspired to inspire people and and I always wanted to have us to live a Significant life which would have a positive impact on other people and the long story short that let me to become an Aikido instructor or to choose To want to become an Aikido instructor and after high school I moved to Switzerland initially for three months and then for two and a half years To study with an Aikido instructor who was also a yoga instructor and meditation instructor and turns out he was Spiritual guy, so you could say spiritual guru. I think he wouldn't mind if he would call him that And he had a long background. He traveled the whole world but in Japan spent years in India met with some of the most famous Spiritual teachers alive back in the day and some of them are still alive like Papaji And he was a direct student of Andrew Cohen if you know those names you don't don't fucking don't don't don't worry about them so so he he was very knowledgeable at what he did and I became a student and devoted to Live at his school and And study there all the time until I would become an Aikido instructor and obviously meditation I was always interested in meditation. I used to In my teens as I was searching for answers. I would meet Its priests and monks and and and I spent some time with Buddhists and and I would keep asking them questions And and I was always interested in the meditation. I felt like they're something to that that will Actually benefit me and and funny enough the first time I think I caught up to meditation It caught on to meditation was when I was watching a episode of Dragon Ball If you don't know it's it's funny that that's that way anyway But but there's a moment where he's taught meditation the young sangoku and I was like something to it and I think I was like 10 11 next 12 years old and Probably around 10 and and that's when I first tried out the meditation And I liked it and then I start I initially meditated by my own and then I learned some meditations through the people I met and From books and internet, which was still developing back day imagine that but yeah, and eventually I met my Aikido instructor and He as I said was a very spiritual guy Kind of modern to contemporary as well like he had his own way out and approach but in one of our meetings First meetings would have like a weekly meeting where we would sit down and talk about life and he would he would push his students to Pursue their goals, which is actually a good good part of the teaching and one of times we he started talking to me about Enlightenment like if I know what that is and it was interesting because as he was talking about it And I was like what 19 years old Straight out of high school didn't have much life experience, but he was talking to me about enlightenment and I realized he He he didn't say that out loud, but I realized that he considers himself to be enlightened That he not only knows what enlightenment is he has experienced enlightenment And that was kind of a awkward moment because beforehand I thought That enlightenment means that you become perfect and that's a big Misunderstanding I think that's a universal misunderstanding, which hopefully it has evolved and it's not there anymore back in the day was definitely there it's an immature understanding or perception about belief about enlightenment probably From the days of Siddhartha Gurtama the Buddha Initial Buddha got enlightened and people see him as perfect and that's why they think oh so as soon as become enlightened You're perfect, and and that's not the case on any level and like enlightenment is not about that but But then back in the day, I thought that especially as you know as a young adult having little experience of little knowledge and I thought In the back of my mind I didn't say that to him, but I was like You think you're enlightened and also I had that also stereotype like oh only Indians can be enlightened or only Japanese can be enlightened or whatever And then back when I was like, okay, that's kind of weird. I was still open-minded, but that was that kind of Caught me I've got us. I think like does this guy think he's enlightened. Okay, that's kind of interesting But you know as we moved on in our relationship. I developed a huge amount of respect for him and and I started I listened more and more about enlightenment and he kind of directed me to the direction of that If I remember correctly there was kind of that notion that unless you become enlightened you can't really be a great human being capable of Achieve creating great Change in the world and that's that's bullshit. I mean, there's so many people who would never consider this and those items or wouldn't be enlightened by the standards of enlightenment, but you know, they they changed the world and Including some of entrepreneurs and Bill Gates Steve Jobs the first two names that come to my mind and Again argument if you would say what they changed, but you know, you can name anyone and Martha Luther King, you know, was he enlightened? I don't think that was the point. So it was kind of a faulty idea But I think that that was kind of the the idea I got from him that I need to learn if I really want to create major impact I need to learn and understand what enlightenment is and and become enlightened and then I will be like a super human being super useful and And my value to the world will increase and that's when I went wild You know, I went nuts. I am kind of that person. I'm like a hundred percent or nothing and I completely devoted myself to the Pursuing what enlightenment is I read all the books and metadata all the time I kept asking him questions and asked him for challenges and did the challenges and and Also, like all the practices that were there in the school that I learned By the way, I'm checking if the audio is recording last video. It it bailed on me. So So I'll do that some once in a while, but just I won't say anything about it So, yeah, so so the whole three years I studied there was a lot about a lot of that was about Enlightenment a lot of conversations we've had in practices. So I was all into it and Interesting enough again like keep your pants on Let me let listen to the whole story until the end before you make jumpy assumptions and and think whether this is bullcrap or not But one day for the practices with with my instructor He I I got it. I was like something clicked in me And it's a long story again. I don't want to I think I don't think it's as valuable as The main story that I'm guiding you through right now of you know, what that means what that whole thing means, but But that there's a huge question of like who you are who am I the miss main question in spirituality and most of spiritual traditions And when you realize who you are and the idea is Basically theoretically, it's like you realize you are not your body But theoretically if you understand it theoretically, it's like it's there's not much to it Like if you think you understand that that was one of the stages I mentioned to you initially thought Enlightenment is about being perfect and then I wasn't sure when enlightenment is but then I realized, okay, it's about not Thinking you're the body but not thinking you're the body is not the same The thing is you have to you that moment when it clicks with you on that click is like universally Described about an old pretty much spirituality when the person comes quote-unquote enlightened that click happens that that deep Clear realization that you're not the body kind of it's a sense of where your mind opens And I think a lot of people have kind of that glimpsed it And I'll talk about it more in scientific terms like what that really is or what I figured out it is But that thing it clicks with you and you have that kind of mind expansion experience similar to drugs, but you're not on drugs and Then you don't associate yourself as the body and if you have like a spiritual teacher Or you're smart enough yourself he points that He points that finger at that subject, which my instructor did and then you realize deeply like shoot That's true. I'm not the body, you know, I'm like like you get the direct experience of realizing You're part of the whole or you're not even the whole you are the holder You don't exist like all that stuff which spiritual books tell you about in that moment I got it and it was really interesting because kind of my mind did shift and might switch and From then on it took me a while to kind of localize myself again and get into a rhythm of life But from then on when I read spiritual books beforehand, I read them and I thought I understand them But but it was all an idea. I wasn't sure I had to guess but After that click moment, I Just like all the spiritual books became so clear. So I was like, I know what these guys are talking about It's like I know I know it. I've tasted that apple and so it was really interesting experience and it did change me to some degrees but now the thing is that's the other side of the thing which I want to get to and The thing is I lived like that for a while, you know, like believing that I achieved enlightenment and and but I started to also see like, okay enlightenment is not what I thought It's that understanding but the idea is that in enlightenment you lose your ego your ego dissolves Because you realize Kind of the theory is like that If you don't have that click and don't think it's so awesome. It's not as awesome as as I think people make it But let's let's just talk about it in In neutral way as best as I can So until you have that click the individual in the world is all about you It's all about you. It's like you are the center of your world and even if you're altruistic or the center of the world It's the ego's core would be but when you have the click moment you you realize you have a clear realization that you are not the body your your ego is just a construct and then you have a chance to kind of Dumb dim down your Your ego and not be self-centered and and with that realization kind of become a servant of the world Now the thing is I think the degree it has that effect, but I spend enough time With the whole spiritual scene to also start seeing the other side of the picture and that was Your ego doesn't disappear It kind of gets into a different shape and I think you can work hard To keep it low But then also to especially if you're like a guru if you're a spiritual teacher people love you people worship you people are like You know, especially that culture it's so guru focused and it's so easy to develop that sense of I'm the enlightened guy even if you don't say it even if it's subtle and not everyone that I met had it I mentioned to you I went to India I met some spiritual monks spiritual teachers who were officially enlightened and that's some Westerners who were officially enlightened Recognized as my human beings and some of them were humble, you know and everything but they were still human They still had the same crap and some part of me is like I respect them on a huge level especially Some of them like who devoted themselves to extreme levels of servitude like some of the monks I met in India Actually Westerners but also to some of the monks and spiritual teachers I met in India were just they're actually were douchebags You know, they were self-centered in a spiritual way And I'm actually I will make a video and talk to tell you a story about a specific encounter with a well-known spiritual teacher that I had Which is actually very interesting story, but it's for another day, but he was self-centered. He was like Playing the the spiritual guy the spiritual dude. He was playing the role, but then he was still human You know, he I could see especially now when I look back. He still had the same flaws that everyone else It's just an idea that after you become enlightened all of that disappears and When I started realizing that enlightenment is not What? People make you think about that it is I Started my I started to open up and I developed more critical thinking especially for my martial arts journey And I started to look back and look at the details and I started to see a lot of shit In the world of spirituality enlightenment As I said, I'll probably make a different video about The bullshit of spirituality itself, but but in terms of specifically focusing on enlightenment like one of the probably one of the most famous Enlightened Westerners dudes is Andrew Cohen He was the also he created this famous magazine called enlightenment next But yeah, so he was very famous had a huge following until eventually but also he turns out he was very abusive apparently he was disrespectful towards women and He was just a douche. He was like he was like you're either with him or you're with No one and I noticed that pattern is a lot of spiritual schools and teachings worse Even if it's subtle they don't say it but sometimes you can feel it's it's us and it's them and Eventually what happened to Andrew Cohen is what he was all about how the ego dissolves with enlightenment and yadda yadda yadda but Eventually his top students wrote a book about him where they also asked a Psychologist or psychotherapist I think for help and they identified They shared a lot of dark stories about him like what a douche he was and also They the psycho psychotherapist I guess professional pointed out that actually He credited some Like narcissism and and what not like specific diagnosis where that that that guy and to Cohen was as he was a bit of a mental mental guy And that was like a deeply respected huge following spiritual guy officially recognized as enlightened So so he thought he dissolved his ego, but his ego was just on a different level There's also a story actually my kid instructor He told me that he once met one of the well-known spiritual teachers in India and There's a specific moment where she was really giving apparent based on him. She was getting awesome spiritual teachings and and By the end of that somebody asked somebody mentioned that they have a teen Teenage girl who's like really What sort of word She's really like a rebel and she's not following the rules and etc. Etc. And They asked her like what's your advice and she suggested them to put her in like in a psychiatry clinic Because that shows that If you get what enlightenment is if you have that quick moment You're part of your mind shifts and you get a realization that some people haven't yet had you could say But that's it It doesn't make you that much of a better or smarter person Not at least in my experience It's still In the end it's still all about the individual and who you are and how you are Personally for me, I always wanted to serve people are always wanting to Do good to the world before it had that click and after I had that click It did help me somewhat but like not that much like most of the work I did was beyond that with myself the crap I had the crap I keep working with you know It could call it ego stuff and whatnot that stuff That stuff is like enlightenment doesn't take care of that or that click moment It's it's it's all about just working with yourself constantly and never letting yourself off the hook Always realizing you'll never be perfect and you always have to be vigilant because there's always you're always going to slip and there's there's no nasty stuff we Take culturally and we're all human beings and we have our limitations And you always have to be mindful of what you do and and you always have to again work with yourself And I think the dark side of that whole movement of enlightenment is Because to some people the idea that they became enlightened or that click moment Makes them think that that that was it Well now they can Go wild and now they know the truth and and that covers everything and that's kind of similar to martial arts if you practice martial arts It's that phenomena when you have a black belt in a martial art Some sometimes it gets into people's heads and they think now they're black belt at everything Which is nonsense. No, you're only good at you're only a black belt at throwing or breaking people bones and stuff Nothing else doesn't make you a better husband doesn't make you a better Business guy all those kills have to be trained separately and same with the notion of enlightenment That's as much as it does and some people spend decades to become enlightened so last part of the video I think I Mentioned you I will break down the scientific part behind it, which I eventually kind of caught on to just by accident actually so Couple of years ago when I was living in the States. I became fascinated about by a book Called the rise of Superman and I'm not enthusiastic about the name. I keep saying that I think it's a funny name It's funny name, but also I think it just doesn't doesn't do the justice to the book But the book is incredible in short. It's about the state of flow Which is like an actual scientific state where your mind goes into a peak performance It's kind of like being in the zone, but it's all scientifically, you know measured and everything It's it's that capacity of human beings to To turn to switch on To switch on where the brain becomes super focused and your whole body It's like you're you're it's like a super focused state where you're actually like in a peak state Where you you are much more capable than anytime before or after and you can repeat that But anyway, long story short Scientifically this guy went through the journey the book the writer for the book he went through the journey to learn what that is and It's all science-based, which is awesome and turns out and he wasn't even talk about enlightenment But I just realized that's the same shit was he he turns out for the use of science and When you're in that flow state in that peak performance state Your mind the mind part there's a apparently there's a brain part which helps you realize Where you are localize yourself as an individual It's kind of these this the self-centeredness aspect where but that would if it's if that part is dead Let's see and that could be a mental Psycho psychological issue if that part is dead you Then you can go mad because you don't realize that you're here That's your body and and sunny that there's no Tool to localize yourself and to identify yourself as a separate human being that part is specifically responsible for that and in the flow state Which is a feeling of a kind of mental Consciousness kind of expanded consciousness expanded consciousness state which see I talked about that and When you're in the flow state that part Temporarily turns off it doesn't function which means in the flow state Which is almost like a the the guy proves that it's almost like a survival state That that when your your whole system your whole organism realizes you need to Have peak performance and often people have that experience it's not limited to it Otherwise you wouldn't have that in life moment besides that but it's often in the moments of life or death when the flow state happens because your whole system turns on to do this one thing and through meditation You can achieve that too And but that's it It's only that What I'm trying to say to you is that In the state of flow or in the state where people think they became enlightened Temporarily it's the same state Temporarily their brain sheds that the part of the brain which localized themselves sheds down and you feel limitless you feel like I am the universe I Am nothing. I'm not my body because that part is off That's all there is to it in my understanding. I'm pretty sure I have pretty certain Belief that I'm right especially because I was in that world of the crazy belief of spirituality and And I went through that whole journey and I met people who were on it And now I can look back at it through this having this knowledge. I think that's all there is to it and Yes, as I mentioned you can utilize that to kind of dim down your ego for a bit But that doesn't solve all your problems. That doesn't make you a saint To be honest doesn't make you that special either In the end your long-term performance and how you are good as a human being. I think that's What makes you special not that one moment where oh you saw into something that most people haven't Fuck that So, yeah, let's drink a sip of coffee before we end I guess I could continue But I really want to make sure that whatever I say is kind of condensed in the message would be clear enough So I want to expand more I'll probably make a video and episode about spirituality specifically the dark sides of spirituality that I said and talked about it went through and even for a period of my life spread myself But I hope this story gives you a bit of a better glimpse into what potentially enlightenment is and that it's not such a big Deal as people make it. It's not the end-all solution. I think there's better things to to spend time on and To focus on and to yeah work on And if you're on that path, I hope that that makes you think and hopefully you Direct the same energy or you are investing into becoming enlightened Into something more useful in my opinion Obviously, that's just my opinion, you know, but that's why stories are great And that's why I'm inspired to share stories with you that hopefully my lessons will be valuable to you and you'll learn from my mistakes and yeah, hopefully You can come to your own conclusions through my story versus me telling you what's right. What's wrong. This is just my opinion I'm just my experience So yeah, thank you for watching. Let me know in the comments what you think about the whole thing and As always Keep questioning