Peaceful as a Monk - er, Borg?

Some people worry that if they become "awakend" or "enlightened", they will become so peaceful, and so still and quiet, that they will be bland, lifeless and lack emotion. They think they will lose those very emotional qualities that make them who they are. They are afraid they will no longer be passionate, creative, or different than any other "peaceful" monk-like awakened people.

I can understand this, because at one time I entertained this thought too. I worried that some of the more fun stuff, like flirting, sex, and snow machining wouldn't appear very "enlighted," and so it'd all have to go. But I laugh at this old belief now, because it just isn't so, not from my experience. And most of the awakened spiritul masters who are alive in this day and age are deeply and happily in love, and many are married ... and according to them, having great sex!

From my experience, since starting my own awakening just a few years ago, I have had more beautiful, passionate feelings and expressions, stonger and clearer discoveries and epiphanies, than I ever did in the 40 years prior. They only get more frequent and more profound as I become more of who I really am, as I let go of old fears and the need to judge myself and others.

The difference between me then and now - and what this whole "awakening" thing is about - is that I am simply becoming aware of those negative emotions that no longer serve me: anger, fear, stress, and thoughts that arise from judgments and criticism. When I recognize a negative thought, I just notice it as a thought, and the negative feelings that go with it, like anger, stress, grief, or fear, dissolve.

From my experience, when we awaken, you become even more disecrning in your thoughts, and tend to simply think higher, more positive thoughts. There is room in this world of awakening for growth, change, expansion, and even desire. It is hardly a state of being tedious or dull or "the same" as others. And just like a finger print on a finger, we're all different, and we all choose different thoughts no matter how enlightened we are - and there are millions of thoughts! Just because we choose to awaken doesn't mean we choose to never think a thought or choose to never make decisions.

The thing that most awakened people do choose, tends to be those thoughts that are positive. And so, no, you don't see stress, fear, anger, annoyance, judgment and frustration. And then again, sometimes fearful thoughts do arise, but the awakened person just notices them, and in that noticing, they are dispelled.

This Q&A came from the Eckhart Tolle website, and I delight in the Borg metaphor and it's turnaround.

October 8th, 2008 by Eckhart Tolle

Dear Eckhart,

Do people really have the ability to choose? As an enlightened being, do you feel that your will and the will of God is the same? I worry that I will become like the Borg on Star Trek, just part of one collective. Thanks for your time, Eckhart.

Dear Gregory,

You are already a Borg. You have already been assimilated. As long as you are unconscious (spiritually speaking), you ARE part of the collective, and the belief that your thoughts are “your” thoughts is an illusion, an illusory personal identity. Both the content and structure of your mind (i.e. what you think and how you think) are forms of conditioning. You don’t think: thinking happens to you. You are being thought by the collective mind. So it’s not a question of not being assimilated into the collective, but stepping out of the collective dream of unconscious thinking, that is to say stop being a Borg.