Q: I haven't finished your book yet, but would like to understand the difference between what you're calling human adulthood vs enlightened. If someone dismantles the false self, which are they?

A: First off, Human Adulthood and enlightenment aren’t two versions of the same thing. They’re not steps on a ladder; they’re two entirely different categories.

Human Adulthood is waking up within the dream. Enlightenment is waking up from the dream. That’s it.

There is overlap, but they are not the same terrain. 

But you’re not actually asking for a definition. You’re asking for assurance, a category, a label, a promised landing spot. Human Adulthood or Enlightenment, which one do I get if I go through with this dismantling? Which one is waiting on the other side? Which one am I signing up for?

The real question being asked here is: “Can I choose the ‘right’ outcome before I take another step and lose what I call ‘me’?”

It’s tempting to think you can evaluate the process from the outside before stepping in, or that there are these two outcomes that you get to pick from, understand, or strategize over.

That’s the false self trying to negotiate terms before the real demolition begins.

“What do I think I can save from the fire?” That’s the real question every seeker eventually stands in front of, so start there.

You’re no longer satisfied with surface explanations (Discontent), but you’re also not yet willing to let the scaffolding fall. So you’re asking  “conceptual” questions hoping for clarity, when what’s actually being animated here  is fear. Fear of annihilation, fear of choosing wrong, fear of stepping past the point of no return.

This is Disruption: the self sniffing danger and trying to regain control. And it slides toward the doorway of Deconstruction where you start to see that you don’t get out of this intact.

Whether it’s called Human Adulthood or Enlightenment doesn’t matter. Only the false self wants to pick a team and fuss about labels, distinctions, and categories. 

What actually matters is who is the one wanting to know “which one I’ll be”?  And can that one survive the dismantling it’s inquiring about?

There’s your forward-moving edge.

“Which version of ‘waking up’ is my false self trying to negotiate for?”