Source:
"How to Not Get Enlightened (I tried all of these and they really do work)," is a well-known piece of writing in spiritual and non-duality circles. While it is widely shared and attributed to various people, especially Tom Thompson, there is no definitive source that confirms it was written by a specific individual. The content of the piece aligns with common themes found in non-duality and certain modern spiritual teachings, which emphasize that enlightenment is not a future goal to be attained, but a present reality to be recognized. The popularity of this text and the lack of a clear author suggest it might be an anonymous piece of wisdom that has been passed around and resonated with many people.
Based on a comprehensive review of the available sources, the text is not an official title by an author named Tom Thompson. However, it accurately captures the central, paradoxical philosophy of the non-dualistic spiritual works of Madhukar Thompson, specifically his books Enlightenment May or May Not Happen and Enlightenment? Who Cares! These books are not original works by Madhukar Thompson but are transcriptions and compilations of the teachings of the Indian sage Ramesh S. Balsekar. The initial misattribution is likely a result of a common conflation of names and ideas within the spiritual community. The core teaching is that enlightenment is not a goal to be achieved by the individual "me-entity" but rather a spontaneous occurrence that unfolds when the ego's striving ceases.
Tom Thompson is a meditation teacher and personal consultant based in North Carolina, USA. His work focuses on an inclusive approach to enlightenment, drawing on various traditions and psychological frameworks, including Kundalini Yoga, Western Psychology, and Direct Path Teachings. In 1990, he and his wife, Bonnie, founded The Awakened Heart Centre for Conscious Living to support individuals in realizing and living their true nature in everyday life. While Tom Thompson is a legitimate figure in the spiritual community, there is no evidence in the provided sources to suggest he authored a text titled "How to Not Get Enlightened." An automated search of his website, The Awakened Heart Center, failed to find any such document. The misattribution likely stems from the shared surname, "Thompson," and the fact that both individuals are involved in the broader spiritual domain of non-duality and consciousness, a common point of confusion for those navigating this complex field.
In contrast to Tom Thompson, the provided sources consistently link Madhukar Thompson to works that explore the very concept articulated in the user's query. Madhukar Thompson is identified as the author and editor of the "Enlightenment Series," which includes books titled Enlightenment May or May Not Happen and Enlightenment? Who Cares!. The content of these books is directly relevant to the theme of "not getting enlightened." A crucial point of distinction is that Madhukar Thompson is not the originator of the teachings in these texts. The books are compilations of conversations that he recorded, transcribed, and edited with the late Indian sage Ramesh S. Balsekar. This role as a compiler and editor places him as the correct author for the physical publications, but the intellectual and spiritual source of the ideas lies with Balsekar.
Thus the text may not be an official title and is not by an author named Tom Thompson. The concepts explored in the query are instead found in the works of Madhukar Thompson, specifically his books Enlightenment May or May Not Happen and Enlightenment? Who Cares!, which are compilations of the teachings of Ramesh S. Balsekar.
Limited understanding by ancient humans about life and the world led to the development of beliefs and concepts surrounding the soul.
Ignorance of fundamental principles of the universe gave rise to notions of sin and virtue, associating moral value with taking of life or preservation of life.
Since he has not realized it, he is actually at Delhi. Keep on discussing ways to go to Bombay. Do some practices to reach Bombay. Describe the experiences at Bombay. He cannot simply go and realize that he is at Bombay; he has to go through Indore and Gwalior. Do everything except to understand that he is actually at Bombay. This is traditional vedanta. This is religion.
1. Tom, absent in the class - denotes the relative absence of Tom and the absolute presence too.
2. Tom, even if absent, has the absolute potential to be present at any time. This is awareness. Awareness, the absolute potential, always is. Awareness is not an entity to shower grace upon you.
3. Tom, when present, is the manifested consciousness. Conscioussness - the relative presence, comes and goes. Conscioussness is not an entity to give you blessings.
4. Tom, to listen to the class, needs to be relatively present. To experience anything, you need consciousness manifested.
![Traditional Spirituality vs. [Direct Truth] 1 Organized system of beliefs originated from culture. Structured doctrines vastly shaped by geographies. [Independent & Universal thinking.] 2 Based on fear. Hates questioning. Surrender. Follow. Obey. Rules you. Restricts you. Manipulates you. Intimidates you. [Freedom. Questions everything. Seeks inward. No one above you to control.] 3 Mob or Herd mentality. Attacks if questioned. Yells blasphemy. [You walk alone. Search alone. No ideas to defend.] 4 Discriminating. Exclusion and prejudice based on differing beliefs. 'We are special'. [No beliefs. Anyone can inquire. Earnestness alone matters.] 5 Leadership hierarchy, Institutionalism, Hero worship. 'Initiation' and 'Lineage' for dominance. [Nobody above or below. You are the ruler. You are the guru.] 6 Feeds you with baseless concepts, stories and dogmas. Gurus, Gods, Scriptures, Karma, Sin, Heaven, Hell, Symbols, Idols, Rituals, Visions, Miracles. [Discards all such concepts as sheer ignorance.] 7 Promises achievements and advantages if you follow. Makes you feel lost if not. [No advantages. Nothing to achieve. If you want to understand, do it. Nothing wrong otherwise.] 8 Salvation, Realization, Enlightenment, After-Life, Re-Birth. Great offers.[Rejects as false concepts. There is no such entity to realize or reincarnate.] 9 Practices, Dos and Don'ts, Duties, Rules, Prescriptions, What to think, Eat, Drink and Wear.[Nothing to practice. Nothing to become. You can understand it now, this moment.] 10 No basis for anything claimed. Packed with anti-science and pseudo-science.[You know that you are! Simple.]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLwvvJubh3aLDldatSeE9cnDOfEflPutxKn4r-U3mJfpL1a3PatFln1WTQdHvvLULD8XEjoEiL9Vir1a_GNzv9Qht_KJkCSymhe_pPCyKKaG9b2iCjM6EHsGkZBps9ERdyNiFPhd98YUVdNqEqi0AhTpo8I-6Pn9krpRpd_Cve_3k-f3Qs9GsaZ3_Mqe73/s2040/Spirituality_vs_Truth.jpg)
Planarian worms cut into pieces, grow into separate organisms. If each organism has a soul, where from did these extra souls come?
Individual soul, jiva, atman is a religious superstition. That it can carry karma is a myth. That it will take rebirth is a myth. That it will go to heaven and hell is a myth. Individual soul is an imagination out of misidentification with the body. The very purpose of realization is to remove this false idea. Then, how can believing in fairy tales built on the misidentification, enlighten you?
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Your expectation of something unique and dramatic, of some wonderful explosion, is merely hindering and delaying your self-realisation.
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
People mistake bliss for self-realisation.
Bliss is connected to serotonin in the brain. It comes and goes.
Yoga means union, joining. What have you re-united, re-joined? Even to talk of re-uniting the person with the self is not right, because there is no person, only a mental picture given a false reality by conviction. Nothing was divided and there is nothing to unite.
~Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. I am That. Ch.34
All the concepts of religions including traditional vedanta - like karma, reincarnation, progress, do this, don't do this, etc., - are all based on the presupposition of a pseudo-entity which seeks enlightenment. Such an entity does not exist. Anything that prescribes a definite set of dos and don'ts which guarantees your upliftment, is religion, not nonduality. It is as simple as imagining a dragon in your backyard. The only way out is to stop imagining. You will never achieve anything by learning more about how the dragon moves.
● Are the buildings, land, and the trees - Bombay?
● Bombay is a concept superimposed on the totality of things viewed collectively.
● If some of them or all of them are reproduced somewhere, will that be Bombay? No.
● Can such a concept called Bombay have karma or rebirth? No.
● Your present identity is also the same. It is a concept superimposed on the tendencies, emotions and thoughts viewed collectively.
● It cannot have any karma or rebirth.
● Karma and rebirth are religious superstitions.
• Your body contains about 7x1027 atoms.
• All of them are billions of years old – as old as this universe.
• You don’t own any of them.
• They were once part of other people, animals, birds, trees – all the good and bad things.
• Where do you figure in these atoms?
What you believe to be yourself is a conceptual entity superimposed. All qualities of that identity are derived from this body and its environment. It exists only in the minds that perceive it.
Such a conceptual entity cannot be reborn. Such a conceptual entity cannot carry any ‘karma’. Those are religious superstitions.
