When was the last time you woke up and said, “I can’t wait to be enlightened?” It isn’t something most people think about regularly, perhaps never. If they do, it comes later after walking on a spiritual path for a few years.
Enlightenment isn’t a destination where fireworks go off and bliss reigns. It’s a gradual process of addressing the mind–the ego-mind. This is the part of the mind that is often helpful but sometimes controlling, arrogant, and fearful.
Enlightenment and nirvana refer to the stillness of mind after the fires of desire, aversion, and delusion have been finally extinguished. Afterward, there is a sense of freedom both emotionally and mentally. Who doesn’t want that? This type of freedom means you are free to live your life as you want it. You are no longer burdened by fear and feelings of not being good enough. You become the truth of yourself.
Many people live life by what others want from them. Whatever is expected is how they live. It’s easy to fall into this trap of living for others and there’s a lot of ego reward from it. More people will like you if you do it their way vs living your life, which is often different from your parents, spouses, and friends.
Freeing the mind is resolving the looping narrative in the mind and that is emotional memory. Enlightenment is achieved when the ego no longer controls the outcomes of life.
The attainment of enlightenment is beyond any thought or feeling. It is not about love, although there is love; it is not about being worthy, although you feel worthy. Enlightenment is a change in perspective that, at this point, the ego-mind will not allow you to see.