A Commuter's Guide To Enlightenment - Past Book Reviews

by Dr. Stewart Bitkoff. Llewellyn Worldwide, March 2008

Are you a commuter fed up with the daily grind? I was too until a light bulb went off in my head and I discovered a way to use meditation activity, practical traveling strategies and spiritual exercises to help turn my daily ride into something more. This book’s philosophy and point of view will appeal both to commuters and non-commuters, having something to offer everyone, particularly, those of us faced with repetitive, mundane chores we have to do out of necessity and, if given a choice, would choose not to.

A major question tackled concerns the applicability of spiritual teachings to daily life. In a society that prides itself on outcome, often there is a healthy skepticism about the usefulness of spiritual values in an often hard, bottom line and scientifically oriented and demanding modern world.

Is it really possible to make something more of an annoying, emotionally draining and repetitive commute to work? Spiritual teachings assert that under certain conditions and with a little preparation, we all can reach higher and it is possible to transcend daily activity. Often, it is a matter of attitude, training and expectation.

Hopefully, you will enjoy the following book excerpts and begin to view your commute in a different light.

The Sufis have a saying, “the apparent is the bridge to the real.” In part, what is meant by this is that, we need things of the world to help us experience or see, the underlying unity. I wondered if it was possible to attain enlightenment traveling to work every day.

Somehow, as I drove to work, focusing on the movement of the cars, trucks and buses, my soul learned to sing. Part of me was busy trying to avoid the other cars, yet, another part sang of its place in the cosmos. While my eyes focused on the road and my hands guided the wheel and shifted gears, the higher consciousness awoke. It was like listening to public radio, it had its own agenda and helped me realize, anew, we are more than the guy who sweats and curses the building traffic.

• You have been given enough for the Journey.

• The canvas is the world. You are the artist. Pick-up the brush. Create your own life.

In some traditions, enlightenment is attained in one glorious moment of insight, which is transcendent and unifying. It is an experience which changes the course of the person’s life. Most seek to repeat this over and over, some travelers with success; others not as successful.

In other schools, enlightenment is reached through a gradual building of impacts. These are smaller visions or tastes of the Divine. This is a slower process, but the goal is similar.

Mystic schools teach each person is capable of learning to put aside the normal stream of consciousness in order to allow the higher self to emerge. In fact, this is the goal of the mystical process; stilling the world, so the higher consciousness may operate. Once the student learns to do this, to quiet everyday thoughts something else might happen, the student is ready to travel alone.

Do not let me mislead you, often my commute is boring and repetitious. Many days, I do not want to drive in the rain and snow. I would prefer to stay in bed... This is what life is like. Some days are better than others. Some commutes are easier; but you have to make do with what you are given. Often it is a matter of attitude.

• You are the door that blocks your way. Open it; experience another part of yourself.
If you have ever wondered at the interrelatedness of humanity, consider the effect of one stalled car on the highway at rush hour.

Some will wonder how it is possible to free the higher consciousness while driving a car. How can you do more than one thing at a time? Isn’t it dangerous? Don’t you need your full attention on driving?

Yet we are always doing more than one thing. Simultaneously, our brain is controlling a variety of physical and psychological processes.

On one level, the higher consciousness is just one of the many functions of the brain. All mystics maintain that both sets of consciousness can co-exist. It is natural and the result of training; nothing more.

Yes, it is possible to drive your car down the highway and instead of singing along with your favorite song on the radio, sing along with the rhythm of the universe.

Review by Dr. Stewart Bitkoff