Some years ago I wrote a post on Life’s Lessons in which I said that life continues to teach us certain lessons until we master them. Recently I came across Wayne Dyer’s ‘Real Magic: Creating Miracles in Everyday Life‘ and got myself a copy. I’m enjoying reading it and love his concept of Three Paths to Enlightenment. I just thought I’d share my understanding of it with you and ask you think about what’s your path to enlightenment.
What’s Your Path To Enlightenment
Path 1: Enlightenment through Suffering
You go through a bad experience and the whole process of suffering during which you wonder: ‘Why me?’ But as time passes you look back on this experience and realize why you went through it. By suffering and hindsight you are enlightened. Some people go through their entire life like this – suffering – questioning – and learning from hindsight. According to Dyer such people will never really experience ‘real magic’.
Path 2: Enlightenment through Outcome
At this stage you’ve moved on from asking ‘Why me?’ You are aware that there is always a positive outcome and even as you are going through a bad experience you are looking for the outcome. You have moved from a poor-me approach to a what-am-I-learning approach. So these are people who are goal-oriented and outcome oriented. Again, according to Dyer, such people will also not experience ‘real magic’.
Path 3: Enlightenment through Purpose
Dyer quotes Viktor Frankl, who having suffered all the pain of Auschwitz, wrote, “Nothing is more likely to help a person overcome or endure troubles than the consciousness of having a task in life.” In other words, one must shift from outcome to purpose. Realizing that everything in the Universe has a purpose and discovering your own, leads you to find your true place in the world. And that is real magic!
As I read, I wondered at what stage I am at. I’m certainly past Path 1 and definitely quite comfortable in Path 2. I have been attempting to move to Path 3 but it’s going to be a while. As I make a journey through the book (and life), I’ll let you know how I’m progressing.
What path are you on?
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