What is the Social Mind?

The Social Mind is your inherited internal model of the world. It helps you function but limits true perception of the Tao.

What is the tao mind?

The tao mind is an internal representation formed through insight and direct contact with the Tao. It gradually replaces the Social Mind.

How do you become enlightened in the 4AS Tradition?

You undergo repeated insights, each reshaping your perception. Eventually, you begin to learn from the Tao directly rather than human instruction.

Is enlightenment a goal or a natural state?

It is both. While often treated as a distant goal, Taoist doctrine teaches that it is your original and rightful state of being.

What Is Enlightenment in Taoism? Understanding the Social Mind and the Natural State

What is Taoist enlightenment? This foundational teaching from the 4 Ascendant Sphere Tradition explains how the Social Mind shapes perception and how true clarity arises through contact with the Tao. Enlightenment is not a fantasy—it is your natural state, waiting to be recovered through insight, exposure, and the quiet restructuring of internal truth.

Taoist enlightenment is the natural state of a human being—one in which perception aligns with the true nature of reality. According to the 4 Ascendant Sphere Tradition, this journey involves transforming your internal model of the world (called the Social Mind) so that it reflects the true, underlying reality of the Tao. Enlightenment is not mystical or unreachable—it is the process of becoming fully human through repeated insight and alignment with the Tao.

Introduction: Why Define Enlightenment?

Before you can undertake any real pursuit of enlightenment, you must first define what enlightenment is—and clarify the role it plays within Taoism.

Enlightenment is the spiritual goal of Taoism. Achieving this state is also referred to as becoming a Complete, True, or Real Human, with subtle variations in meaning depending on tradition.

While Taoism has expressed its teachings in many forms across history, at its core lies a single focus: the activation of full human potential. In this present age, the dominant expression of that goal is the state known as spiritual enlightenment.

The Taoist Foundation for Enlightenment

Taoist enlightenment rests on a few simple but profound assumptions about the nature of the universe and the human mind.

1. All Things Are Tao

You are composed of the Tao, just as all things are composed of the Tao.

2. Enlightenment Is the Natural State

Enlightenment is not a special condition—it is the natural state of a human being. It is how we are meant to live and perceive.

3. You Live Within a Constructed Mind

Each person carries a mental model of the world shaped by society. This is known as the Social Mind. It gives you a functional but filtered version of reality.

The Social Mind is a learned structure. It helps you interact with others, understand language, behave within cultural norms, and even imagine your role in the world. But it also limits you. It filters your perception and prioritizes survival over awareness. It is a map, not the terrain.

Understanding the Social Mind is essential because enlightenment begins with recognizing that you’re living within its boundaries—not within the full reality of the Tao.

4. The TAO MIND: Reality Beyond the Picture

Beyond the Social Mind lies the actual truth of existence: the Tao. We refer to this unfiltered, total reality as the TAO MIND (capitalized for emphasis).

As you begin to engage with the TAO MIND, your internal picture slowly transforms. You start to develop a more accurate representation of reality—known as the tao mind (lowercase to distinguish it as a model, not the whole).

5. Insights as Catalysts for Change

The process of becoming enlightened is one of repeated contact between the Social Mind and the TAO MIND. These contacts—or exposures—often take the form of deep insights.

Some are dramatic: moments that shatter assumptions and change behavior instantly. Others are gentle and pass almost unnoticed.

Each one rewrites a small part of the Social Mind into the tao mind. This transformation is gradual and accumulative.

6. Enlightenment Is a Label for Progress

Enlightenment is a human label—used to describe how far a person has moved along the path from Social Mind to tao mind.

This label is often applied by observers or early-stage practitioners. Much like a child saying, “I want to become a scientist,” the label is more aspiration than definition.

7. The 4 Ascendant Sphere Definition of Enlightenment

In the 4 Ascendant Sphere Tradition, a person is recognized as enlightened—a True Human—when they learn directly from the Tao rather than relying solely on human teachings.

There is a critical difference between avoiding instruction and surpassing it.
The former leads to confusion. The latter leads to true growth.

A True Human is not finished, but they have shifted. They are no longer dependent on method. They are guided by the Tao itself. When a True Human completes a full inegration of the parts of the self that are fractured, they are typically referred to as a Complete Human. It is also possible for a person to become Complete before they become True. It’s important to not regard these definitions as being matters of status. They are not. They are intended to help people on the path by using the identification to guide them.

8. You Are Meant to Be Enlightened

Taoist teaching holds that enlightenment is not exotic or unreachable. It is your birthright. It is the state of being for which you were designed.

The role of the 4 Ascendant Sphere Tradition is to teach you the correct structure, context, and methods to realize that state.

Enlightenment is not an escape. It is a return.
It is the natural unfolding of your original potential.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Taoist enlightenment?: Taoist enlightenment is the process of returning to your natural state by reshaping the Social Mind into a more accurate reflection of reality.
What is the Social Mind?: The Social Mind is your inherited internal model of the world. It helps you function but limits true perception of the Tao.
What is the tao mind?: The tao mind is an internal representation formed through insight and direct contact with the Tao. It gradually replaces the Social Mind.
How do you become enlightened in the 4AS Tradition?: You undergo repeated insights, each reshaping your perception. Eventually, you begin to learn from the Tao directly rather than human instruction.
Is enlightenment a goal or a natural state?: It is both. While often treated as a distant goal, Taoist doctrine teaches that it is your original and rightful state of being.

Conclusion

Taoist enlightenment is not a destination reserved for sages or mystics—it is a natural state waiting to be uncovered through honest effort and correct exposure. The journey begins with recognizing the limits of the Social Mind and opening to moments of insight that reshape your internal picture of the world. Through repeated contact with the Tao, your perception evolves, and your nature reasserts itself. The path may be long, but the clarity it brings is real, stable, and unmistakably human. You are not chasing something foreign—you are returning to what you already are.