The Enlightened Vision
Ram Dass believed everyone achieves enlightenment at death. In that final nano-second of life, every human being–no matter what life they have lived or what suffering they have gripped onto–experiences a total surrender to the present moment. It is a final letting go and acceptance of what is: the ultimate, undeniable destination that results in pure presence. There is no problem to solve, no place to be, and nothing to do… there is only this final spark of life in all of its splendor. This is the same endpoint of meditation: to be with what is without any pull to change anything.
Ram Dass asks, “How do we know who we are? We might be one breath away from enlightenment or death or who knows? The uncertainty is great. It keeps it wide open.” This uncertainty can be perceived as frightening or empowering. It is the paradox of choice that we get to lighten now or cling to our righteousness until the very end.
The Enlightened Vision is who you are before your physical body takes its final breath. Enlightenment means to fully lighten: the shedding of all the protective layers… all the beliefs that separated us from the other, all the righteousness we carried that prevented us from forgiving or receiving forgiveness. It is the lightening of the baggage of things to do, money to make, responsibilities to carry, and identities to project.
Millions of people around the world are setting goals for themselves at this very moment. They are plotting the hobbies they’ll adopt, workouts they’ll do, places they’ll travel, and work they’ll prioritize. Our feeds are ablaze with recaps of the past and dreams of the future. This is precisely the time to bring our commitments into clarity. We offer this practice of the Enlightened Vision to frame what is truly important to you–to distill all the things, projects, responsibilities, and tasks down to their very essence… how all of it makes you feel, who you want to be, and what values you are prepared to devote your life to.
Are you ready? Find a comfortable position for meditation and perhaps have something to write with. When you are ready, let’s begin.
Take a deep breath. Allow yourself to sink into this moment, into your body. Feel all the textures and sensations within you; allow all the sounds outside to just exist without judgment; let your thoughts float by like clouds in the sky. Connect to that place inside of you that is stillness.
Now, imagine yourself in a state of transcendent peace, joy, and love with the knowing that your last moments in this body on this plane are here. Settle into the feeling without the need to visualize or justify. Imagine looking down at your hands and seeing them papered with wrinkles. Imagine feeling your body slow with age.
In this vision of your future passing with great fulfillment, ask yourself these questions…
Where are you? Are you in your home? Somewhere in nature? What are your surroundings like? Where is this place of safety and beauty? What is it about this place that brings you peace?
Who is with you and what is their energy? Do you see your family and your beloved friends? Perhaps your children and grandchildren? Can you imagine them smiling and reflecting the same peace, joy, and love that you feel? How have you lived your life so that they feel this way? What relationships have you repaired and invested in where they have shown up here in honor of you?
How will your family and community remember you? How did you show up everyday that they would think of you with great love and fondness?
How did you live your life? What would you have done in your life to pass with love, peace, joy, and zero regret?
What have you created? What values did you devote yourself to? Where did you pour your energy and creative powers into? Who did you surround yourself with that inspired you? Who did you inspire?
While you do this meditation, you might find yourself in states of sadness or grief. That’s okay. Acknowledge that this is there. David Hawkins shares that grief comes from the attachment to the belief in the specialness of something. The very presence of grief implies how special something is to you. This is something worth investing in and your vision honors this.
If these questions lead you into the mind–into practicality or pressures–gently trace your awareness back into the body. Revisit the sense of stillness: what could create this peace? Perhaps there are people that you wish to be in the room that you are currently estranged from. Perhaps there is something that you created to lead you to fulfillment that you have yet to invest in. Perhaps the vision is nebulous or you feel the energy to act.
Whatever came up for you: what does this vision invoke in your waking life? In the preparation phase of Ceremonia’s journeys, we ask: if you knew you would die in one year, what would you do differently? What if you knew you would die in 1,000 years? The first question prompts a reflection to all the things that you could do with your life that you are not. The second prompts all the things that you are rushing to do that you could slow down and enjoy more. Both of these contribute to your Enlightened Vision: who do you want to be when you pass?
You might note that this process is very different from traditional goal setting. Often, we are asked to set objectives for our careers, the things we will buy and the awards we will win, the money we will make and the vacations we will take. But all of this pales in the light of what is truly important: who we are, how we feel, and what we devote our energy to.
Every time we desire something, we are really desiring the feeling that we imagine this thing will bring. When we want a new car or 100 likes on our Instagram, we aren’t actually wanting the car or the likes… we are craving the juice of the pride of owning something new or the validation of our value to the world. Just before we pass away, the car or the likes has no meaning at all–it is only the inward sense of self and how you perceive your time on this Earth that holds meaning.
This Enlightened Vision can be your compass for where to orient your life. Death can arrive fifty years from now or tomorrow: so why are we not living our lives as this vision now? From this place, we can construct a vision for the near future. Take the very same questions that you meditated on when envisioning your peaceful passing and instead project those as the present future, perhaps ten years from now:
Who are you?
Where are you?
Who is with you and what is their energy?
What are you doing that leads you to love, peace, joy, and zero regret?
How does your family and community regard you?
How do you live your life?
What are you creating?
We invite you to answer in the present tense as if you have already manifested this vision. Start with “I am…” and engage your five senses in describing what you see, feel, hear, taste, and touch. With greater definition and specificity, you are able to focus your consciousness more on manifesting this vision. As you carve out this vision in your mind, be clear about your Be-Do-Have: Being are your values; Doing are your commitments and devotion; and Having is your environment that supports your Being and Doing. For an example of a Ten Year Vision, you can see Ceremonia co-founder Austin Mao’s Ten Year Vision that he first wrote in February 2020 and then continued to clarify with the last revision in March 2022.
Finally, as you clarify this ten year vision, start to compress time and plot out what you will do in 2023 towards this goal. Identify where you might feel tension or resistance, and the limiting beliefs that might underlie these. These are knots to unwind… they are inhibiting you from living as your Highest Self in your Highest Vision. This awareness is your companion. When combined with intention, you can create great change in your life.
We hope that this practice of ideating an Enlightened Vision is supportive in your journey into Self. Happy New Year from us at Ceremonia!
