So what is enlightenment and why should you be interested?
Enlightenment, as an experience, is a state of mind achieved when the brain
rewires itself to see things differently. It is a state of mind that enables
later revisiting of questions such as: “What’s it all about?”, “Why am I here?”, “Is there a meaning of life?”, “What’s the point of it all?” and “What came before
and what’s going to happen after?”
The great surprise is not that answers appear, but that the insight experience can bring a different kind of understanding to
the questions. The experience itself can result in you laughing at yourself for
not having seen things before, maybe similar to when you suddenly see the answer to a crossword puzzle question that has been
eluding you for ages. That “Doh!” moment.
So do you become an 'enlightened being'?
You certainly become a being who has gone through the experience, but of course this is only a fleeting encounter, which ends when you become conscious of it and thoughts start to flow once again. So you are left with the memory of the experience. Enough to be life-changing, but unfortunately a memory which can be open to many different interpretations and influences as time passes.
In my opinion, it is others who hijack the experience after the event, defining what enlightenment should mean, and so changing the aftermath of the experience for those who have gone through it. An enlightened being by my definition is one who has gone through the experience, no matter what it means to them later.
How can you tell if someone is enlightened?
Well, you can't. There are no defining features of enlightenment, no moral code bought into, or accepted behavior patterns followed. What you have is someone living in the aftermath of the experience, who, if you know them well from before, may show changes, but may well be outwardly the same. An enlightened being, for me, is one who decides for themselves what it means, whether in the context of a belief system and all it entails or not.
So do you become an 'enlightened being'?
You certainly become a being who has gone through the experience, but of course this is only a fleeting encounter, which ends when you become conscious of it and thoughts start to flow once again. So you are left with the memory of the experience. Enough to be life-changing, but unfortunately a memory which can be open to many different interpretations and influences as time passes.
In my opinion, it is others who hijack the experience after the event, defining what enlightenment should mean, and so changing the aftermath of the experience for those who have gone through it. An enlightened being by my definition is one who has gone through the experience, no matter what it means to them later.
How can you tell if someone is enlightened?
Well, you can't. There are no defining features of enlightenment, no moral code bought into, or accepted behavior patterns followed. What you have is someone living in the aftermath of the experience, who, if you know them well from before, may show changes, but may well be outwardly the same. An enlightened being, for me, is one who decides for themselves what it means, whether in the context of a belief system and all it entails or not.
