{"id":55142,"date":"2021-11-28T21:55:52","date_gmt":"2021-11-29T01:55:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=55142"},"modified":"2021-12-09T18:27:07","modified_gmt":"2021-12-09T22:27:07","slug":"path-to-enlightenment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/","title":{"rendered":"The Toltec Path to Enlightenment: A Quest for Freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What is the path to enlightenment according to the Toltec? What do they mean by enlightenment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Toltec path to enlightenment involves three stages: the mirage of \u201cthe real world,\u201d the seed of doubt, and the freedom of control. Authors don Miguel Ruiz and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/don-jose-ruiz\/\">don Jose Ruiz<\/a> describe these three phases as subjective realities. The Ruizes believe that, once you break through these stages, you reach total personal freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Continue reading to understand the Toltec path to enlightenment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-toltec-path-to-enlightenment\">The Toltec Path to Enlightenment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The naguals describe three subjective \u201crealities\u201d we can inhabit. <strong>Each subjective reality is a stage in the Toltec road to total personal freedom (or path to enlightenment),<\/strong> culminating in the ability to choose what we believe and thereby determine our own satisfaction and happiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In short, the naguals contend that our perception of reality\u2014and therefore the way we think, feel, and behave\u2014changes based on what we believe. As we begin to challenge and overcome the false \u201ctruths\u201d we accepted as children, we grow progressively freer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The following are the three stages of the Toltec path to enlightenment:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Stage 1: The Mirage of \u201cThe Real World,\u201d<\/strong> in which we take what we see at face value<\/li><li><strong>Stage 2: The Seed of Doubt,<\/strong> during which we challenge our perceptions and beliefs<\/li><li><strong>Stage 3: The Freedom of Control,<\/strong> in which we grow beyond what our society teaches<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Enlightenment is a simple concept that\u2019s easy to understand logically, but difficult to understand intuitively. It often evades explanation or description for the same reasons the naguals say that language is flawed; it\u2019s a felt, lived experience. Many cultures and philosophies discuss the concept, however, and agree that an enlightened person has found freedom through understanding some fundamental truth. Until we \u201cget it,\u201d it\u2019s hard to achieve <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/lasting-happiness\/\">lasting happiness<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To the Toltec, enlightenment is achieved primarily by discarding the set of beliefs that lead us to judge ourselves and others, returning to a state in which we\u2019re content to live and let live. Each of us, they say, inhabits one of the three following stages\u2014or perceptions\u2014of reality. Most of us inhabit the first stage, but those who seek enlightenment\u2014the third stage\u2014must first progress through the second. Let\u2019s look at each stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-stage-1-the-mirage-of-the-real-world\">Stage 1: The Mirage of \u201cThe Real World\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of us, the naguals say, aren\u2019t critical of what we perceive and learn. <strong>We trust what our culture, society, and teachers tell us, innocently and without reservation.<\/strong> We believe that what we\u2019re seeing is all there is\u2014we think we live in \u201cthe real world\u201d and never realize that it\u2019s only a mirage. This is the most common way to live, the naguals say. We\u2019re handed a flawed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/your-belief-system\/\">belief system<\/a>, and we accept it as-is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-stage-2-the-seed-of-doubt\">Stage 2: The Seed of Doubt<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>To reclaim our freedom, the Toltec say, we must replace judgment with acceptance. <\/strong>In other words, we must stop demanding everyone be \u201cbetter\u201d and just love them as they are. To love <em>ourselves<\/em> as we are, and experience the world as it is. In short, the second stage of the Toltec path to enlightenment involves learning to accept what\u2019s already here instead of focusing on how flawed it all is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-stage-3-the-freedom-of-control\">Stage 3: The Freedom of Control<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The final stage in the Toltec path to enlightenment is the freedom of control. Let\u2019s take a look at what enlightenment looks like for the Toltec:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The naguals say that the best stage of your life begins as soon as you completely stop judging.<\/strong> When you can allow yourself and others to simply exist, you lose the need to find yourself, to try to be someone else, or to \u201cfix\u201d yourself. Your personal story no longer describes a struggle against yourself, others, or the world\u2014instead, it becomes a record of your existence, of the message you carry from the universe, to the universe. In short, because you\u2019re no longer actively making yourself unhappy, <strong>you regain the childish freedom of being what you are without burden, expectation, or demand.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(Shortform note: Like the Ruizes, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/tao-te-ching\"><em>Tao Te Ching<\/em><\/a> says enlightenment is about living in the here and now, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/tao-te-ching\/section-3\">following the natural pull of your moment-to-moment experience<\/a>. It\u2019s about being at peace with the reality you live in\u2014without expectations, self-consciousness, or attempts to control the actions of others. Similarly, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-bhagavad-gita\"><em>Bhagavad Gita<\/em><\/a> explains that an enlightened person is content to exist in every moment, believing that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/the-bhagavad-gita\/chapters-17-18\">their purpose is simply to be a part of this world<\/a>. In short, there aren\u2019t any rules; you\u2019re free to simply experience the moments you get to experience.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-to-do-when-you-re-enlightened\">What to Do When You\u2019re Enlightened<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>In doubting and re-examining our beliefs about reality, as the naguals recommend, we reclaim the power to decide for ourselves what we \u201cshould\u201d be, how we\u2019ll behave, what we care about, and why. You may still feel that you should dress nicely for work, but instead of that belief being an unthinking obligation, it\u2019ll be a decision you make\u2014and you\u2019ll have your own reasons to back it up. This is a major component of the freedom of control\u2014it\u2019s the power to shape your own reality. You\u2019ll never again be forced to do something just because you think you\u2019re supposed to. It\u2019ll be genuinely up to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you\u2019ve reached this point, you\u2019ve eliminated the influences\u2014both external and internal\u2014that drove your unhappiness. Most of us want more than that, though: We want to be happy. How do we do that? According to the Toltec, happiness is found through connection and service. When you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/find-your-peace\/\">find your peace<\/a> and no longer feel driven to fix, acquire, and win, the naguals suggest it\u2019s natural to discover desires to give, share, and experience cooperatively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Living an Enlightened Life<\/strong><br><br>Other than connecting with and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/living-a-life-of-service\/\">serving others<\/a>, what should you do with your newfound freedom? The Ruizes don\u2019t say, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/taoist-practices\/\">Taoist philosophy<\/a> provides recommendations on how to spend the time you\u2019re no longer wasting on trying to live up to expectations.<br><br>For example, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/app\/book\/tao-te-ching\"><em>Tao Te Ching<\/em><\/a> suggests embodying \u201cthe supreme virtue,\u201d putting aside all personal perspectives or biases and making decisions based upon the flow and call of the universe only. Remember that in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-tao\/\">the Tao<\/a>, there is no good, evil, right, or wrong\u2014only what <em>is<\/em>. When you embody <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/taoist-virtues\/\">the supreme virtue<\/a>, you help someone up after they fall simply because you feel like it\u2014it doesn\u2019t matter who they are or what you think; just that you feel drawn to act. To the Tao, that\u2019s the best reason to do <em>anything<\/em>.<br><br>In both Toltec and Taoist philosophy, what you do when you\u2019ve found your freedom is up to you.<strong> <\/strong>For the rest of your life, you only have to do exactly what you want to do.&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Which stage of the Toltec path to enlightenment might you be in today?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the path to enlightenment according to the Toltec? What do they mean by enlightenment? The Toltec path to enlightenment involves three stages: the mirage of \u201cthe real world,\u201d the seed of doubt, and the freedom of control. Authors don Miguel Ruiz and don Jose Ruiz describe these three phases as subjective realities. The Ruizes believe that, once you break through these stages, you reach total personal freedom. Continue reading to understand the Toltec path to enlightenment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":55156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,6],"tags":[539],"class_list":["post-55142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-philosophy","category-spiritual","tag-the-fifth-agreement","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Toltec Path to Enlightenment: A Quest for Freedom - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Toltec path to enlightenment comprises three stages. Discover what the naguals believe you must to do achieve total personal freedom.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Toltec Path to Enlightenment: A Quest for Freedom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Toltec path to enlightenment comprises three stages. Discover what the naguals believe you must to do achieve total personal freedom.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-29T01:55:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-12-09T22:27:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/path-to-enlightenment.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"375\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\"},\"headline\":\"The Toltec Path to Enlightenment: A Quest for Freedom\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-29T01:55:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-09T22:27:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/\"},\"wordCount\":1174,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/path-to-enlightenment.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"The Fifth Agreement\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Philosophy\",\"Spiritual\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/\",\"name\":\"The Toltec Path to Enlightenment: A Quest for Freedom - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/path-to-enlightenment.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-29T01:55:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-09T22:27:07+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Toltec path to enlightenment comprises three stages. Discover what the naguals believe you must to do achieve total personal freedom.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/path-to-enlightenment.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/path-to-enlightenment.jpg\",\"width\":750,\"height\":375},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Toltec Path to Enlightenment: A Quest for Freedom\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\",\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\"},\"description\":\"Elizabeth has a lifelong love of books. She devours nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, theology, and philosophy. A switch to audiobooks has kindled her enjoyment of well-narrated fiction, particularly Victorian and early 20th-century works. She appreciates idea-driven books\u2014and a classic murder mystery now and then. Elizabeth has a Substack and is writing a book about what the Bible says about death and hell.\",\"sameAs\":[\"rina@shortform.com\"],\"award\":[\"Contributions to joint task force efforts (FBI)\",\"Contributions to Special Operations Division (DOJ & DEA)\",\"Efforts to fight the war on drugs (NSA)\",\"Contributions to Operation Storm Front (US Customs Service)\"],\"knowsAbout\":[\"History\",\"Theology\",\"Government\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Senior SEO Writer\",\"worksFor\":\"Shortform\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Toltec Path to Enlightenment: A Quest for Freedom - Shortform Books","description":"The Toltec path to enlightenment comprises three stages. Discover what the naguals believe you must to do achieve total personal freedom.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Toltec Path to Enlightenment: A Quest for Freedom","og_description":"The Toltec path to enlightenment comprises three stages. Discover what the naguals believe you must to do achieve total personal freedom.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2021-11-29T01:55:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-12-09T22:27:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":750,"height":375,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/path-to-enlightenment.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Elizabeth Whitworth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elizabeth Whitworth","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/"},"author":{"name":"Elizabeth Whitworth","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13"},"headline":"The Toltec Path to Enlightenment: A Quest for Freedom","datePublished":"2021-11-29T01:55:52+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-09T22:27:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/"},"wordCount":1174,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/path-to-enlightenment.jpg","keywords":["The Fifth Agreement"],"articleSection":["Philosophy","Spiritual"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/","name":"The Toltec Path to Enlightenment: A Quest for Freedom - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/path-to-enlightenment.jpg","datePublished":"2021-11-29T01:55:52+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-09T22:27:07+00:00","description":"The Toltec path to enlightenment comprises three stages. Discover what the naguals believe you must to do achieve total personal freedom.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/path-to-enlightenment.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/path-to-enlightenment.jpg","width":750,"height":375},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/path-to-enlightenment\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Toltec Path to Enlightenment: A Quest for Freedom"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13","name":"Elizabeth Whitworth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elizabeth Whitworth"},"description":"Elizabeth has a lifelong love of books. She devours nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, theology, and philosophy. A switch to audiobooks has kindled her enjoyment of well-narrated fiction, particularly Victorian and early 20th-century works. She appreciates idea-driven books\u2014and a classic murder mystery now and then. Elizabeth has a Substack and is writing a book about what the Bible says about death and hell.","sameAs":["rina@shortform.com"],"award":["Contributions to joint task force efforts (FBI)","Contributions to Special Operations Division (DOJ & DEA)","Efforts to fight the war on drugs (NSA)","Contributions to Operation Storm Front (US Customs Service)"],"knowsAbout":["History","Theology","Government"],"jobTitle":"Senior SEO Writer","worksFor":"Shortform","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/path-to-enlightenment.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55142"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55912,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55142\/revisions\/55912"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}