Something changed for me in the past year.

I've become enlightened.

The funny thing is, it's not from meditation.

Enlightenment?

It's hard to say with a straight face. 

Enlightenment is difficult to define. 

Claiming "enlightenment" may be the biggest red flag there is. 

Small "e" enlightenment?

Ok, let's be honest.

When I say I've become "enlightened," I mean with a small "e."

To be more explicit, I've been much more present in life. 

Being "present" has many characteristics, but I boil it down to:

1. Unfiltered, real-time perception
2. No judgment (or as little as possible)

Why should we do this more often? 

There's a ton of cognitive and physical benefits. But let's ignore those, as everyone has been screaming about them for the past 10 years. 

The main reason: Why not? 

The most timeless self-improvement advice is to "enjoy the journey."

That's what being present is. It's feeling life. Feeling progress. Feeling failure. Feeling pain. Feeling pleasure.

And being grateful for the experience. 

We are so lucky to be here.

Pain, pleasure, or boredom. Being alive is fantastic. 

If you have a better goal, let me know.

Big "E" enlightenment may be the better goal. The cessation of suffering, the end of delusion, and the realization of truth.

How do we get there? I don't know. 

But I know one thing: Making it a goal will not get us there. 

Enlightenment is intimidating. 

The best bet is to simply experience what already is.

Because from everything I've heard, the "truth" is the truth whether you see it or not. 

If we can get to a big "E," it's with little "e."

It's not (only) about meditation. 

Mindfulness meditation is the standard approach for learning to be present.

I first tried meditation about 20 years ago. It's been a part of my life ever since.  

But I've always been inconsistent.

And I've been very inconsistent in the past 5+ years.

I give you this background for one reason: I know meditation's impact on me. It has taught me a lot. And it will continue to teach me a lot. 

Practice gives me constant reminders of what a direct experience feels like. I learn to better intake the world's data without overlaying my bullshit over the top. 

But for me, those experiences have been rare outside of meditation. 

Until recently... 

So what changed? 

If your life is chaotic, you'll want to escape.

If you hate what you see in the mirror, you won't look.

Many of us are trying to solve our problems with mindfulness.

Mindfulness has a lot of benefits. Doing it right helps us see clearly and tame our thoughts. It allows us to take in unfiltered reality and consciously respond to it. 

But there is a keyword here. RESPOND.

I had been trying to solve my problems with mindfulness. 

But to be more mindful, I needed to solve my problems. 

The change I made: Aligning my vision, thoughts, emotions, and actions.

I made friends with my human experience.

This had the side effect of wanting to experience life more deeply.

I accidentally became more present. 

I've become enlightened ;)

The system of little "e" enlightenment

I've reverse-engineered my experience of little "e" enlightenment. And now I'm doubling down on it.

Our best bet is to have two approaches.

Each approach makes the other stronger.

In systems terms, we call this a "reinforcing loop."

Those are where all the magic happens. Hockey sticks, bro. 

Approach 1: Being

We become more familiar with the present moment through practice.

We practice "being."

The best tool for this is mindfulness meditation.

This helps us have more direct experiences. We take in better data. 

Approach 2: Doing

We intake data from unfiltered experiences and respond.

i.e., We fix our shit.

We practice "doing."

The more we fix our shit, the more our lives are something we want to experience.

If you want details on how to fix your shit, check out my System of Self-Improvement.

This creates a more profound, more present experience in life.

Conclusion

When we are "doing," "being" becomes more accessible.  

There is a synergistic effect between the two. 

Our biology and psychology sincerely appreciate the "doing."

"Doing" makes life less scary.

When life is less scary, our unconscious allows us to be conscious. 

You don't have to be perfect. Just start.

Momentum will pick up fast.

Wishing you all a very present day. 

Love,
Jake