Lifewave: unity experience is not enlightenment

Why a Unity Experience Is Not Enlightenment: A Clear Overview

Many spiritual practitioners have powerful “nondual” or “oneness” experiences where:

everything feels like part of them
the boundary between self and world dissolves
they feel merged with the universe
all experiences seem equally meaningful and connected

These events can be life-changing — but across the classical meditative traditions, they do not equal enlightenment.

Here’s why.

1. Unity Experiences Are Common on the Path

Almost every contemplative tradition describes a stage where the practitioner feels:

no separation between subject and object
oneness with everything they perceive
the world appearing as a single field of awareness

In Mahamudra, Zen, Dzogchen, Advaita, and mystical Christianity, this is recognized as a genuine nondual insight.

But it is not the end of the path.

2. Mahamudra Places Unity at Stage Three — Not the Final Stage

Mahamudra describes four major stages (the Four Yogas):

One-pointedness
Simplicity
One Taste
Non-Meditation (Full Enlightenment)

The unity experience corresponds to Yoga #3: One Taste, not to enlightenment.

At One Taste:

everything feels like one
the world seems made of the same “substance”
thoughts and emotions lose their weight
meditation feels natural and open

But a subtle “experiencer” remains in the background.

3. Partial Nonduality vs. Full Nonduality

Partial nonduality (unity experiences)

profound sense of oneness
fewer boundaries
reduced reactivity
powerful peace or bliss
but still a subtle someone who is experiencing unity
and the state can fade

Full nonduality (classical enlightenment)

no center anywhere in experience
not a state — continuous and effortless
self-liberate instantly
no preference for clarity over confusion, bliss over pain
no returning to duality under stress
compassion and wisdom flow naturally
awareness is present even in sleep

This shift is radical, and irreversible.

4. Why Unity Is Not the Whole Path

Unity experiences can still include:

a subtle spiritual identity: “I am one with everything.”
preferences for calm over chaos, clarity over confusion
emotional patterns that reappear under pressure
the need for specific conditions (retreat, meditation, inspiration)

Classical enlightenment requires that:

the “one who experiences” dissolves completely
awareness is effortless in all circumstances
the realization can never fade
no type of experience is preferred over another

5. Why Many Modern Groups Mistake Unity for Enlightenment

Some organizations or teachers redefine enlightenment as:

a powerful nondual breakthrough
a temporary or semi-stable unity experience
heightened bliss or clarity
for a period of time

This makes it easy to claim:

“dozens of enlightened members”
“rapid awakening methods”
“simple steps to enlightenment”

But these claims use a much lower bar than the classical traditions.

6. Real Enlightenment Is Simpler — and Deeper

In Mahamudra, full enlightenment (Yoga #4: Non-Meditation) is described as:

completely natural, ordinary, effortless presence
no grasping, no reactivity, no center
no oscillation between clarity and confusion
the same awareness in meditation and daily life
nothing special, nothing to maintain
compassionate responsiveness without ego involvement

This is not a dramatic state but a profound freedom that cannot be lost.

In Summary

A unity or oneness experience is a real milestone, but it is not enlightenment.
It is an important doorway — not the destination.

Classical enlightenment is:

deeper than unity
simpler than mystical bliss
free of any center or observer
effortless, continuous, and irreversible

Understanding the difference helps practitioners avoid confusion, inflated claims, and premature conclusions — and stay oriented toward genuine liberation.

All of the above I have copied and pasted from what an AI system told me. We all know that AI can be unreliable but what it has said makes a lot of sense.

I know that there will be people saying in response that enlightenment is not an experience. That is something that it seems John Yarr said often and his followers have repeated it. People like Arthur Naylor in his book. I remember Paul Bennett saying this in a talk.

Firstly, what they have experienced is not Enlightenment. I have been saying that there are two forms of enlightenment, one of them where everything seems to be part of you and the other where there is no you (no Self). Now that I can see that the first experience is intermittent, it comes and goes, I can see that it isn't enlightenment. This is what few of them will tell you.

It is a form of nonduality. It can never become permanent though. It can last days but people return to their 'normal' state of consciousness. Ken Wilber experienced what he calls One Taste, this seems to be the same as the Lifewave enlightenment, but he said it lasts hours or sometimes days. He said he thought that for some spiritual masters it could be permanent.

Nonduality can be permanent but it can never be just a continuation of One Taste. It can't be a continuation of perceiving everything to be part of you. It has to be the cessation of the Self.

John Yarr said that enlightenment is not an experience. To have an experience, you have to have duality. This doesn't make sense. An experience is a perception: is he saying that it is impossible for someone to perceive anything while they are in this nondual state? They do perceive things, they perceive objects to be part of them. They are aware of various objects coming into their field of vision, it's just that they perceive them as part of themselves.

It could be that John Yarr's statement is a distorted version of what someone else has said. It is impossible to experience God or Brahman. You will never see God. You can be God though.

The problem with this is that they never have that. What they have is sometimes walking along the street and seeing everything to be part of them. They see the lampposts to be part of them, the pavement to be part of them. From that they get the idea that for this to have happened they must be Brahman or God. It is not their experience, perception or awareness that they see God or become God or Brahman.

I don't believe in Brahman or God though, or whatever you want to call it. I agree with the Buddhists on this. They don't have to believe in something supernatural. Nothing in their experience on their path leads them to believe in anything supernatural. Lots of Buddhists now don't believe in reincarnation or karma.

With a truly enlightened person, there is thinking but there is no thinker. There isn't a Self that thinks, sees, hears, speaks or moves. The parts of the brain that perform thinking, seeing etc continue as before, just without a Self. They always have done: the Self is an illusion. Thinking does not collapse the nondual state when there is no Self involved. Thinking does cause the nondual state to fade away with those who have taken the Lifewave Path as far as it goes.

Lifewave

unity experience is not enlightenment