“Enlightenment: the act or means of enlightening: the state of being enlightened”
"The Enlightenment included a range of ideas centered on the value of human happiness, the pursuit of knowledge obtained by means of reason and the evidence of the senses, and ideals such as liberty, progress, toleration, fraternity, constitutional government, and separation of church and state." - Age of Enlightenment - intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries with global influences and effects.
In my personal experiences, I have found that I am surrounded by unique beliefs and philosophies and I am open to understanding perspectives of the evidence that is proposed, no matter how out there it may seem. The one that always struck me in this New Age Movement/Spirituality is the topic of Enlightenment. Specifically, how it’s something we must in this lifetime, attain or achieve.
The way I see my philosophy in this word, “enlightenment” is something I’d like to share and how we can make our meaning for the word.
A casual occurrence I hear is that enlightenment is just another goal to attain. To hurry or even slow down the process of our lives. There is no wrongdoing in this, but when we use it as a means to an end, I believe that is where it becomes a burden and disvalue to our own life. Enlightenment is not something to chase or a goal that is too rare and hard to understand. Honestly, it is already within us in every waking moment of our lives.
That may seem impossible or even hard to believe, but this is what I mean when I say this – We already know ourselves deep down. It’s just an unraveling of coming back home, a path of learning and unlearning. Trial and error. A feeling of fulfillment. A relationship between mind, body, and soul. The opportunity to see that enlightenment is available to reach right now arises in every situation. Through our actions and intentions, enlightenment can be defined.
It has no form, no shape, no look to it. If within ourselves we feel as if we have a purpose and give meaning to life in a way that speaks to our hearts. That is Enlightenment.
Let’s listen to an example : If we look at a person who expresses anger and rage, we can see in an enlightened state -( which for me is the source of love, love is a connection to all truth of emotions). We will come to find through the practice of understanding, is that this person underneath the mask of anger is asking to be loved and cared for. Depth comes into play after understanding…Giving us the option to uncover within ourselves in that moment of stillness.
In addition to connecting to ourselves, we can connect to a higher source, the truth. All things are an opportunity to interpret in whatever way we choose. The world is truly our oyster. It’s not only our responsibility, but our true calling to always find this enlightenment – in the way that this word fits us best. Of course, it is not always easy. We will not always see the light in the circumstance that unfolds. Awareness, compassion, and love are active practices of attaining enlightenment now.
– Enlightenment awaits for us here and will continue to do so.
Let me know your thoughts on this theory and what it means for you x
Neena
