Enlightenment is knowledge through one’s own self-awareness, it is knowledge through the senses and not based on study or learning. Enlightenment is thus ‘inner knowledge’ or a person’s basic innate understanding of how the Universe works. It is a never-ending debate whether enlightenment finally depends on innate knowledge or formal education. An uneducated man can be highly enlightened as he gains knowledge from his environment. He learns about the falling leaves, changing seasons, the flow of the river, the sounds of the birds or the direction of the winds. Even if this man living in a natural environment never reads a book, he can become enlightened with the knowledge of the universe if he develops his own powers of thinking by observing the environment. If you’ve read books like Siddhartha or the Alchemist or even other old stories and spiritual scriptures you probably understand that in ancient times, people used their knowledge of the environment, to gain an insight into the workings of the universe.

Excerpt from THE BOHEMIAN ADVENTURE: A Voyage to Free Consciousness

Strange.

The music is loud, but I want it louder. CCR, “Down on the Corner.” I watch all the drunk revelers dancing and the strobe lights flashing.

I feel the hair standing on my skin, the back of my neck, my arms, legs, head. I keep rubbing myself to push the hair down but it feels like my bodily hair is moving like tiny little insects in all directions throughout my whole body.

I realize I am electro-magnetized!

Creativity seeking. An epiphany―Satori. Evolutions of understanding. Searching for great thought vibes. Attuning. Seeking. Refinement. Receptors. Receiving a solid flow. Capturing and writing. Creative lightening. Proof from mind to hand to pen to paper. Solid flow. Get it out. Creative undertow swirling. Sucking. Blasting. Here it comes. Here it comes―the sudden enlightenment from within!

Enlightened individuals have heightened sense awareness, they are self-aware, acutely observant, more perceptive, and more intuitive about the future, they have keen psychological understanding, can pick up people’s motives rather easily and can quickly adapt to the environment. They are also extremely curious, and take in and manage a large amount of information, so every internal and external event becomes a learning experience.

If you are still thinking that enlightenment is some sort of abstract, undefined wisdom or power of insight in individuals; that is only partially correct. Enlightenment is also a definite psychological process. Not everyone who is knowledgeable can be considered enlightened because not everyone experiences this very specific process of enlightenment.

Is it not true that the essence of life is while pursuing our goal? And one who gains Enlightenment merges his identity with the larger whole, the Almighty Himself. Having lost our identity of life it becomes difficult for us to be able to recognize people around us. However, for an enlightened person (someone who has found his true self) it is not difficult to maintain the relationship. This involves maintaining the balance between the spiritual end of life one has achieved and the relationship with the physical world.

The essence of life lies in moving on and on until one gains Enlightenment. And this Enlightenment is the stage when one is totally liberated forever from everything we refer to as the materialistic world. Materialism is a phenomenon of the physical world. On the contrary, Enlightenment dwells in the absolute truth of our life. It is only related to our true inner self, our soul (the true self of us). And the moment our soul realizes and reaches its final potential, the need for the body vanishes.

Read more about Ted’s enlightenment in THE BOHEMIAN ADVENTURE: A Voyage to Free Consciousness by F.T. Burke.

Now available at F.T. Burke’s website and wherever books are sold.