Enlightenment is Not an Ambition to Have
- Aug 18
- 5 min read
Written by Guy Van de Putte, Spiritual Guide & Mentor
Guy Van de Putte works as a guide for those looking for help navigating life's challenges or finding themselves at a crossroads. Blending shamanism, breathwork and constellation therapy with the non-dual and yogic traditions, he has a wide toolkit to support the power of presence and the healing words to accommodate lasting change.
The spiritual buffet these days seems endless, with more options than ever to choose from. They all promise healing, the end of suffering, and everything we ever longed for. All leading to that one ultimate goal, enlightenment. It is the Holy Grail, the ultimate prize for only the most devoted, the most spiritual amongst us. It is the place to get to, the final destination. Failing to get there means another turn on the hamster wheel of death and rebirth.
So we race to get there. We only need to read one more book or take one more workshop. If only we meditated more or finally quit alcohol, we might already be there. But why do we want it so badly? Why does it seem so important?
We all come from different backgrounds, so embarking on a spiritual path is different for all of us. Some of us have seen glimpses in the families or surroundings we grew up in. Most of us, especially in the West, have not.
Some of us felt like the black sheep of the family, or the weird ones. We never felt like we fit in, like we belonged. We tried everything to conform. Everything we were told would bring happiness and a sense of belonging.
But the job did not do it for us. Nor the car or the beautiful house. Not even the gorgeous partner and amazing children.
So we shifted our attention. Something new came along, a new promise of inner peace and happiness. We heard about the enlightened masters in the Himalayas, about the ecstasy and the joy they experience all the time.
So enlightenment has become the new thing on the horizon, the next hope to bring all that has been missing from our lives so far.
We think we are making progress, but without realizing it, we are still caught in the same loop of self-deprivation. We are still putting our happiness on the horizon. I will be happy “when”. I will be successful “when”. I will finally be good enough “when”.
We might have stopped setting material goals, such as a required amount of money in our bank account, or a fancy job title to impress people. Now it has become a certain level of spirituality, the amount of time we meditate, the cups of ayahuasca we consume, or the number of spirit guides we interact with.
The ego is strengthening itself in a new, innovative, and devious way. The spiritual ego is born, disguised as a promise, as the savior we have been waiting for our entire life.
According to the Buddha, all life is suffering, and the source of suffering is desire. Dressing your desires up in fancy clothes or words, or covering it with a spiritual sauce, does not make it anything different.
We are still aiming for something that is not there yet. Our life can get better for a little while, because there is something new to look forward to. But in the end, it will still leave us feeling empty and flawed because we are not yet enlightened, spiritual, free, or happy enough.
No amount of workshops, ceremonies, or healings will change that, since the source of that unhappiness is our own mind. The way out of this eternal loop is the total acceptance of where we are now and honoring the path we are walking.
The core message of every true spiritual teaching is the realization that all we ever longed for is already there. We are actually already that. We already are enlightened, we are whole, there is nothing wrong with us.
So there is no place to get to, nothing to aim for, except to live our lives the best way possible, with respect and love for everyone and everything.
It is the egoic mind that is trying to reach enlightenment. The same mind that is telling us we are not. It is a saboteur in disguise.
To say it in the words of the Indian sage Ramana Maharshi, the mind is the thief, dressing up as a policeman to catch the thief.
Once we realize, or rather remember, that we are one with all of life, that we are an expression of the divine, just like any saint in the Himalayas, or any other master from the past, the mind is out of business.
Or so it feels. Therefore, it tries to convince us that we still have work to do. That we should listen to it, follow its guidance, and that it will help us reach our goals.
It will try to keep us in that loop out of fear, the fear of becoming obsolete and disappearing altogether. It is fighting for survival, and as long as we listen to it, it is winning.
Enlightenment is like the blue sky. It can get covered with clouds, but it is always there in the background. It never ceases to be there. It is what we are, our natural state.
So there really is nowhere to get to. There is no trophy to be won in realizing our true self and starting to live life from that state.
The only trophy is probably a new way of experiencing this life and its beauty, as well as its challenges. When the ego subsides, when the mind becomes still, you will not care whether you have reached enlightenment or not.
It does not matter anymore because you have finally reached what you desired all along. That sense of inner peace, of happiness, of acceptance with and despite all that is.
There, the terminology will not matter anymore. You will no longer compare yourself to others, whether they are still caught up in the drama of their lives or not. There is no race. The ego likes to compare itself to others, it even needs others to get its sense of identity.
Once you reach that state where you can feel the oneness with all, because that is all enlightenment is, nothing fancy, there are no others left to compare yourself with, and you can fall in love with all of life.
Read more from Guy Van de Putte
Guy Van de Putte, Spiritual Guide & Mentor
Guy Van de Putte works as a guide for all those looking for help navigating life's challenges or finding themselves at a crossroads. His passion is helping people who are ready to wake up go beyond the stories and patterns that unconsciously run their lives. Thereby helping them to debunk the lies they told themselves, that are at the root of all the drama in their life, and take back the power over their own lives. So the old wounds from the past can be permanently healed and a new life of true freedom can emerge out of that. A fulfilled life in service of and in harmony with their true calling.
