Page 167 - THE ENDLESS WAVE | Skateboarding, Death & Spirituality

THE ENDLESS WAVE | PART TWO
Skateboarding: Empowerment, Enrichment
& Enlightenment
What is enlightenment and how does one reach this state? Is it con- sidered a state of being Saint-like or is it only attainable by the holy, devout followers of a specific path? Which spiritual path is the best and which one is correct? Which path is going to bring peace when so many preach different things?
Typically religions and cults are made up of similar organisational structures consisting of a main driving force, purpose or principle, perhaps a deity or di- vinity, leaders and facilitators and lastly, followers or practitioners. The leader is the one who is the facilitator that manages exchange of knowledge and it is up to the practitioner to practise and apply what they have learnt to their lives. Some of these paths, not all, have strict rules to follow and its facilitators exercise a degree of control over its practitioners through conveying fear. While living by specific rules as part of a religious path may be seen as a form of building discipline and foundation values, it can also drive followers in the direction of suppressing their own needs, embarking on blind faith and ded- ication without questioning what they are doing and why.
What can occur in some of these organizational structures is that followers turn their power over to facilitators and can become dependent on them for their own spiritual nourishment. The facilitators, leaders and figure-heads of some of these groups get put onto a pedestal and they become deified in their
161