So what exactly IS spiritual enlightenment anyway?

Simply put, spiritual enlightenment is a concept mostly associated with Buddhism and Hinduism, but it also has unrecognized connections into most other religions as well. Enlightenment implies complete understanding of life and the universe, which usually is accompanied by a detachment of all things impermanent and a complete awareness of everything that is, at the moment that it is. The spiritual belief purports that non-enlightened life is full of suffering produced by desire and other emotions that attach the mind to worldly things; suffering is the inevitable result of attachment to these necessarily transitory things. A person thus becomes enlightened when they remain in the world yet becomes free of attachment to it. Enlightenment is considered the end of a beings spiritual journey, be it within one life or across many.

In Buddhism, enlightenment is called nirvana. Nirvana is believed to be a state of peace and unity with the cosmos. Different forms of Buddhism teach different techniques for achieving nirvana. Orthodox Buddhists, for example, try to directly follow Buddhas teachings: in particular, the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. Others, such as Zen Buddhists, may use challenging mental exercises, such as koans, which are solutionless riddles designed to jerk ones mind out of conscious thought into enlightenment. Most forms of Buddhism also use regular meditation as a central element of the path to spiritual enlightenment.

Hinduism also uses the concept of nirvana, called moksha, considering it a representation of freedom from desire and other worldly passions. Spiritual enlightenment is also part of the conclusion to the Hindu cycle of reincarnation. In this belief, souls enter many different bodies through the course of their existence. In each of the lives they lead, they develop spiritually. The ultimate goal of this spiritual development is moksha, a liberation from the system of earthly suffering, which includes the idea of spiritual enlightenment.

Christians who have passed through the portal of enlightenment have historically been deemed by the church to be mystics; one who through direct communication with God commands a mystical understanding of God and all things spiritual; one who has a mystical understanding beyond those who have spent a lifetime in religious study and servitude to God. But the two other major Abrahamic religions of Judaism and Islam have enlightened congregants as well. In fact, both religions have subset sects who focus on the attainment of enlightenment as their primary goal. Judaism has Kabballah. In Islam, the Sufis chase the mystical experience. It is because of this non-denominational foundation that enlightenment is generally considered a mystical concept. That is, it contains the promise of a spiritual clarity lying beyond description by words and attainment by action, regardless of religion. For example, one cannot become enlightened by reading, even if one can recite the words of every religious sage. Enlightenment is a potentially universal experience, but each being comes to it through a unique path. Teachers may provide assistance and provocation along the way, but they cannot impose enlightenment on their pupils; one becomes enlightened alone.

The concept of spiritual enlightenment in Buddhism and Hinduism is related to but distinct from ideas such as salvation and transcendence associated with Christianity. Whereas most versions of Christianity emphasize love of Jesus Christ as a prerequisite to spiritual completeness, enlightenment usually implies liberation from teachers and doctrineone famous Zen koan suggests: If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him! Enlightenment also does not involve the existence of a heaven distinct from earth, although it is also noted that even Jesus mentioned there may not be a separation of the two in the Gospel of Thomas and other Gnostic gospels. It places more emphasis on a transformation of the souls relationship to the world of objects. The enlightened being continues a corporeal existence after having gained awareness of the illusory nature of reality. There is no separate space to which one ascends.

As a person who has passed through the portal of enlightenment, I can say that there is a huge difference between simply deciding to reject worldly suffering and attachments trying intentionally to be enlightened compared to actually passing through the experience of spiritual awakening that is most commonly called enlightenment. There is an actual experience where you tap into the universal intelligence and energy that transcends our own lives and individual existences. It grants spiritual knowledge, wisdom, and ultimately inner peace. It grants immediate universal understanding of God, the Universe, the meaning of your own existence. Most importantly, it answers the question why.

To answer the question of HOW one achieves enlightenment. the answer is to simply stop all conscious thought in your mind, while listening for God. I say the word simply very tongue in cheek, because frankly, it is not a simple task to accomplish at all. But it is the process of stopping conscious thought that allows for the process of enlightenment to occur. You must cease the voice in your head to hear the voice that comes without sound. You must stop thinking about today, tomorrow, yesterday, what youre going to watch on TV, that youre hungry right now, or thirsty, or that theres a dog barking, or that you thought this answer to this question was too ambiguous, or too simple to be plausible. Stop all thoughts of color, of noise, of the fact that youre trying to clear the thoughts in your head. It is only when you silence the sights and sounds within your mind that you will see and hear what exists just beyond your minds grasp. The Energy, the Intelligence, God.

Let me clarify further:

Numerous people globally have found enlightenment in many various ways throughout history many spontaneously without even searching for the phenomenon. But the one common denominator that has not been noticed (until recently) is that every instance of enlightenment almost always come from a place where the mind has been stilled within the person who has experienced it.

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