Enlightenment or enlightened can be applied in many situations. Philosophy and history talk about Enlightenment Period. Religions, Spiritualisms, and mystics, also, talk about enlightenment. In our everyday life, when someone or something is one or two step ahead of the rest, we use the word, enlightened.
What I mean with secular enlightenment is finding a certain peace and evenness in myself; in each individual. This is my attempt to make sense of my life, and to stay in harmony with myself.
Philosophical and historical enlightenment came after a long period of dark ages in Europe according to European story tellers. Religious and other kinds of enlightenment come after a long period of hard work.
European enlightenment is blamed by some for the loss of soul, and moral absolutes. In some religions, enlightenment means a soul freed and not the loss of soul. Enlightenment does mean different things to different people.
As a not so religious person, religious enlightenment is way beyond my comprehension. Philosophically and historically, modern men are the product of all that has happened in the past, including the enlightenment period.
My focus is how to become an enlightened person who can live with peace, wisdom, evenness, and insight while, still, maintaining enthusiasm for life.
My most important mentor emphasized confidence as the best way to acquire peace and evenness in mind. The problem is it is not so easy to earn confidence. Not only that but confidence is an elusive entity. Among golfers, there is a famous quote, "Confidence is a feeling you have right before you know better," Anybody who has played golf seriously would understand what it means immediately.
It is not easy to achieve secular enlightenment let alone religious or any other types of enlightenment. Feeling happy, content. and calm is not easy.
In golf, a perfectly pure shot is almost a mistake. Well, it is a mistake. The only thing is it takes impossible amount of practice to make that occasional mistake.
Achieving confidence that can give you peace, evenness, clear mind, and insight takes tremendous effort. But just like the perfectly pure shot, the mistake does happen in secular enlightenment, also. At least, that is what I keep telling myself.
I have to admit, it is very elusive.
