Riding the Cycles: My Journey with the Enlightened Lifestyle

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Blog by Dathane Turner

When I first began articulating what I now call the Enlightened Lifestyle (EL), I thought the journey would be mostly linear: more clarity, more energy, better habits, deeper insight. What I’ve learned instead is something far more human—and far more honest. Growth doesn’t move in straight lines. It moves in cycles.

My life, especially over the past year, has been a rhythm of expansion and contraction: high-energy periods of creativity, inquiry, and momentum, followed by dips into low energy, withdrawal, and cocooning. For a long time, I misunderstood these lower phases. I labeled them as depression, failure, or personal weakness. EL practice has helped me see something different: these phases are not malfunctions—they are part of renewal.

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At my best, I feel alive with inquiry. I write scripts, refine ideas, engage deeply with philosophy, Buddhism, and critical thinking. My body feels energized through yoga, Tai Chi, walking meditation, and devotional movement. My mind is curious rather than defensive. Joy—what Buddhism calls pīti—arises naturally when investigation meets meaning.

Then the cycle shifts. Energy drops. Motivation wanes. Old triggers surface—especially around finances, relationships, and security. Sloth and torpor appear, not as laziness, but as heaviness in the body and fog in the mind. In the past, I fought these phases or numbed them with distraction. Now, EL invites a different response: presence rather than panic, inquiry rather than judgment.

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What has changed most is not that the cycles disappeared—but that I no longer feel trapped inside them. Mind inquiry helps me stay with sensations, emotions, and uncertainty without collapsing. Critical inquiry helps me examine my thinking, separate signal from noise, and avoid spiraling into distorted narratives. Together, they form a stabilizing axis.

Equanimity has become central. Not indifference, not emotional shutdown—but the capacity to remain steady amid fluctuation. I’m learning that liberation doesn’t require constant high energy. It requires a mind that can ride energy without being owned by it.

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My relationships, especially my marriage, have tested this practice deeply. Financial stress, distance, and differing life conditions have exposed old fears and karmic patterns. I’ve stumbled. I’ve withdrawn. I’ve also learned to pause, soften, and repair. EL is no longer just a philosophy—it’s how I navigate real tension, real responsibility, and real love.

The Enlightened Lifestyle, as I now live it, is not about perfection or perpetual positivity. It’s about cultivating a disciplined, compassionate, and curious mind in the middle of ordinary life. Some days are expansive. Some days are quiet. Some days are hard.

And all of them belong to the path