A person who is curious about why he is the way he is. Someone who tries to find meaning in things he
does or finds meaningful things to do. It could be anyone who asks the question “why do we laugh?” or
someone who questions own behavior like -“Why do i like to paint? Why am I so drawn to it?”
A seeker learns from both the environment and within. I’m one too.
Questions like above pave way to a line of thinking seen in philosophy and spirituality. When the word
‘spiritual’ is used, it’s very common to instantly think of a religious basis. Hence it should be clarified with respect to this text that such connections to religion don’t exist.
As I’m still exploring, my definitions of things like enlightenment and spirituality are subjected to continuous changes. Spirituality, in my opinion is paying more attention to oneself, how one functions- moods, habits, communication with self and others etc. That is why exercises like meditation are emphasized. When there is nothing the body is doing i.e. when you’re sitting motionless with eyes closed, the mind lights up like a Christmas tree. So many thoughts spanning a variety of topics start to flood in, making it a humongous task to concentrate. We are not used to being calm and taking a good look at our minds. After a bit of practice, the ability to keep focus appears and the thoughts which come in are acknowledged but not built upon you know, making stories in the head. Knowing oneself leads to a better structure in thinking and feeling emotions.
After the observatory stage, there is a spark of the most natural thought Can I function better than I am doing now? If so, how?
This is where the brooding begins and a conscious effort is made to come up with ways to live better.
This might include making a note of how you spend your day(or night for a nocturnal) and reviewing them later to know if something can be done to make yourself more productive or picking up a hobby instead of lazing around and watching a LOT of TV shows(No, I’m not against TV shows for the record). When new skills are learnt, new ways of thinking open up which in effect means more ideas.
Also, implementing the things you learn and making something out of it leads to an enriching experience and of course, a sense of accomplishment. Functioning in a better manner is without doubt what everybody wishes and at the same time most of us a lazy. It takes an effort to push oneself over the edge and start doing things, but once it’s done it becomes a habit to do something productive.
A need maybe felt to communicate better with peers. When you open up to people, communication becomes easier. It doesn’t feel like an effort to talk to others. When you’re calm on the inside, the actions reflect that on the outside.
Finally, my idea of enlightenment is a system of body and mind where everything is working at the most optimum level possible. A state of complete coherence and awareness about everything. An existence of understanding oneself, others and beyond.