How can you achieve enlightenment

The Infinite Consciousness is so powerful that their intent to play the personality role at the party of life keeps them in the role for years, sometimes even a whole life time. In this way they have completely thrown themselves into the role of their costumed personality. They are acting in a silly personality of pretend and are ignoring the consciousness and power of their Divine make up.

Seeing something all knowing and powerful pretending to be a human personality is a phenomenal performance of folly. One of the particularly funny aspects is how seriously the personality believes everything when another part of their consciousness knows it is just made up.

I went to see a hypnotist once. During one of the sessions he took a group of people and hypnotized them into believing they were in the first day of kindergarten.

I was rolling off my chair laughing at adults really believing and acting like they were children. In another session he had a man acting like a chicken. You know these people are capable adults just temporarily believing they are something they are not.

It is belly aching funny to watch. What makes us laugh is not logical. When you try to explain it with words the direct perception is lost in the symbols. The symbols of words start engaging the mind and analytical thinking takes over. When the analytical program of the personality is engaged our opportunity for direct perception is lost to the mind.

When we are laughing at something funny our internal dialogue is generally turned off. We are not analyzing or being logical with our thinking mind.

We directly perceive and we know something is funny. We may not be able to explain what is funny, but we know by direct experience. Having a quiet mind allows a person to perceive directly and is an attribute of an enlightened state.

If you are evaluating spiritual teachers take notice of their sense of humor and how much they laugh. The measure of their humor, happiness, and laughter can be a measure of how clearly they see the world as it is.

No need to make this the only criteria but consider it with many others. What keeps us from seeing the beauty and humor of humanity dressed up in personality masks is that we interpret through our mind.

The mind adds dialogue of descriptions and interpretations about what we see. Most come from the voices of the inner judge and victim.

We then hypnotize ourselves by believing what we think about what we see. Our attention fixates on these descriptions and we perceive our descriptions instead of perceiving the world directly. Spiritual traditions will describe this paradigm as being steeped in illusions. Our eyes are closed and we are asleep in a dream of our own interpretations. Some will call these interpretations filters, lenses, stories, projections, or false beliefs.

Consider the woman who is anorexic. Instead she sees what she believes her body looks like. To measure this distorting dialogue you might notice the opinions you have about this article, your body, or other people. When we dissolve the dialogue in the mind and start living in a realm of silence we open our eyes to see a different world. Rather than see a world made of descriptions and opinions, we see one that is orchestrated by a conscious intelligence that transcends words.

It is the force that makes plants and grass grow, the planet spin, and the sun and stars shine. And darn smart too. If it is enlightenment that you seek you will need to engage in experiential practices. These are actions that will quiet your mind so that you can perceive directly. Spiritual traditions around the world each have their own methods. They quiet the internal dialogue by eliminating the false beliefs, dissolving personal importance, and they train you to focus your attention into a silent world.

Meditation and prayer are practices that engage you towards direct experience. The more you read the more you fill your head with concepts, descriptions, interpretations, and expectations that form the matrix that traps perception. Reading conceptual ideas makes our analytical mind more dominant instead of more silent.

There are wonderful books that can help you with small epiphanies, but do not expect them to take you to your final destination of direct perception. Use what you read to give you some guidance and new perspectives if you like but more importantly practice something directly.

Much of the chatter in the mind is born out of the beliefs we have invested in. Some of the major beliefs to be eliminated have to do with our self importance.

Self importance relates to believing that you personally are the cause or center of what happens. This kind of belief paradigm comes in two forms. In one direction we are the greatest person in the world and in the other direction we are the worst person in the world.

I use to think that if everyone approached their life the way I did the world would be a better place. I just thought I was right. In either case our mind focuses on us in the story.

You might find the inner judge and victim use these references to our selves to do comparisons between us and other people.

Use this time to do something that reminds you why you enjoy living your life, such as listening to a favorite record, playing with your pet, or enjoying a special treat.

Let your thoughts pass without judgement instead of fighting them. Thoughts can be a great source of distress, especially if you hold onto them.

Overthinking will prevent you from finding wisdom and mental peace. Instead, acknowledge what you think and feel, then let it pass. Instead of dwelling on that thought and letting it upset you, acknowledge how you feel.

Express your gratitude for what you have in your life every day. Practicing gratitude will help you combat negative emotions, like envy and jealousy, that can block your path to enlightenment. Instead of focusing on what you lack, acknowledge what you have in your life. Method 2. Be kind to yourself and others. Extending loving kindness to yourself and the people around you can improve the way you think.

Plus, it spreads goodness around you. Change the way you speak to yourself by replacing negative self-talk with positive self-talk. Additionally, assume the best about others, and forgive people when they slip up. For example, you might notice that a particular coworker is often late in meeting deadlines. Act according to your beliefs and values. List your goals, core beliefs, and what you want in life.

Additionally, think about what you think is most important in life, such as how you want to live and how you think people should be treated. To reflect these ideals, you might spend any extra money you make on travels, volunteer or donate to help others, treat others as you would like to be treated, and become a vegetarian. Keep an open mind when learning about the world and other people. In some ways, this means that truth is relative.

The only way you can really understand things is to open your mind to how others see the world. Be open to learning more about how others live and why. You can be more open minded by reading more and venturing outside your comfort zone. Find the lesson in your mistakes. Every person makes mistakes, but there can be value in your slip-ups. Instead of being down on yourself, think about how that mistake can help you grow and progress toward enlightenment.

Additionally, look for ways you can avoid making that mistake again in the future. Sometimes experience is the best teacher. Read what others have written about enlightenment. You may not be able to become enlightened purely by reading the words of others, but learning what others think can help you understand more about your own thoughts.

Read books written by great philosophers and teachers, especially those you believe have reached enlightenment. Method 3. Commit to mediating at least 10 minutes every day. You can sit or walk in meditation wherever you are. Just focus on your breath. Over time, you can expand the length of your meditations if you desire. Do a sitting meditation to calm your mind. Sit in a calm, quiet environment with your legs crossed or in a comfortable position.

Close your eyes and notice how your body feels. Then, focus on the sensation of your breath. When your mind wanders, return your thoughts to your breath as soon as you notice. Do a walking meditation to encourage greater awareness. A walking meditation changes the way you think. You can either wander or walk in an established path.

As you walk, thoughts will come into your mind. Let them pass without judgement or holding onto them. This allows enlightened thoughts to enter your mind and raise your awareness.

Just let your thoughts come and go. Look for guided meditations online or through free apps. You may prefer a guided meditation, depending on your experience level and goals. Fortunately, you can find many options online or through the app store. Experiment with different meditations until you find one that works for you. For example, Headspace, Calm, and Insight Timer are all meditation apps that offer a free version. Join a meditation class or center if you want to work with a teacher.

Although you can meditate on your own at home, you may prefer to work with a teacher. You can find one by searching for classes in your area or looking for a local meditation center. As another option, you might go to your local buddhist temple or community center.

You may be able to take classes online. Additionally, check sites like Meetup. Did you know you can get answers researched by wikiHow Staff? Unlock staff-researched answers by supporting wikiHow. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 7. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 5. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 1. Stay conscious of the your surroundings, and more importantly, be aware of the thoughts running through your mind without being judgemental about them.

All life is situational. Our reactions are completely different, dependent upon situation. This has real-world consequences. Incredible research shows that inmates up for parole have a 90 percent chance of receiving it if they appear in front of a judge first thing in the morning.

First up in the afternoon? Back to 90 percent. Because the judge has eaten. Situation matters. Same with students. Children and undergrads learn better later in the day.

Yet for many the hardest classes are first thing in the morning. Is the child stupid for failing? Not necessarily. The science is in on this one. Which gets to the heart of the enlightenment question. We do. According to Wright, that means a daily meditation practice. As he says, the more time you put in, the better the results.

The more you invest, the more it translates into everyday life. The heavens might not open, but perhaps you can breathe a little more easily. Maybe you smile a bit more. Enlightenment is a process and a discipline.

A tall order, certainly, but one that puts us in control of our emotions throughout the day. We do have means for achieving this.