Enlightenment is not a state of overall awareness that one remains in as a permanent finite mental condition. There are too many parameters a person has to contend with of a subjective nature unless having transcended physical reality, and that is hardly possible unless complete detachment from earthly matters prevails; the nuthouse is rife with persons of such a mindset.
It is necessary to understand your personal illusions and entertain no qualms with changing individual perception through comfort seeking redefinitions. This is essential if change is to be actualized regardless of existing circumstance, and even though based on chance constructs, change does not always happen according to perceived desire. There must be substance of passion tied in with the correct amount of emotion if change is to be brought about consciously. Preconceived ideas of luck and unconscious desire of an experience works as well, but that is generally based in ignorance even when a desired outcome is manifested.
In comparison, it is interesting to note the value in examining the so-called "criminal" mind. A criminal mind functions on a higher level by the acceptance of a "matter" as being simply cut and dried with no room for vacillation or tolerance, both of which create errors in judgment and are based on an incomplete demanding of a result by a conscious and conclusive desire. This is usually based on weakness of character and a personal need to be accepted and adored by others and is not necessarily a bad thing if personal intention is acknowledged. The burning darkness of enlightenment abides in the aloneness of the seeker, and enlightenment is essentially a fundamental demand of the self on the self brought about by conclusive desire—nothing else—it is personally definitive.
There is neither room for doubt nor room for self-examination when seeking enlightenment. What matters only is the manifestation of desire in pure physical and mental form and is always based on self-revealization acceptance and is only possible when there is intent from the Creative Power of the Universe to absorb itself into its own creation. It is why thought precedes action unless one is entirely awake. In the view of most "enlightened" minds throughout time, all manifestation is based on the universal need of the accomplishment to be realized by itself. These thought vibrations are emanated throughout the void and are randomly picked up by someone or something sensing specific value in bringing the idea to fruition.
As a person endeavors to ascend to higher levels of accomplishment, that individual's thought processes direct the subconscious mind into alignment with the idea. The idea, now having a 'home,' can reveal more of itself if the receiving vessel petitions the Creative Power of the Universe, and based on the sincerity of the devotee to the ideal, the Spirit of the Thing Itself will deliver all that is demanded of it.
Man did not create himself out of the void; there would be no 'place' to originate the idea. Void, here, is not to be confused with 'nothing' or 'emptiness.' Those things are 'something' by definition and are, therefore, less than the totality of wholeness. Universal consciousness, still a 'thing,' is also limited in the higher totality of no-thing.
In terms of enlightenment, a concept perpetrated on man's desire to ascend to ultimate reality is just that. Buddha took the idea and went 'straight to heaven.' He didn't ask for anyone's or anything's permission; he just, through thought, accepted it as his own reality. Others having capitalized on it—yes—capitalized on it—are entirely subjective in their own thoughts and use the 'Buddha' merely as a reference point; whether they would agree with this or not is moot.
Illusory enlightenment is all that a man can ever attain. This is one reason why priests, gurus, rabbis, spiritual leaders, etc., always assert that the state of pure enlightenment is unexplainable. You can only know it by knowing it, then realize it as something, then be it, which in its own essence is no-thing. You must ascend or descend in order to comprehend your own burning darkness.
Stephen F. Kaufman is an authority on management strategy, reality facilitation training, and a world-renowned martial arts master. He provides solutions that empower audiences and corporate clients to turn challenges by demonstrating definitive working techniques guaranteed to bring about advantageous results. He is the founder and author of "Self-Revealization Acceptance - Your Divine Right to Live in Joy and Freedom" and "Practicing Self-Revealization Acceptance - 52 Weekly Ascensions to Empower Your Life," the first, foremost, and original reality facilitation concept ever presented to the modern world, in 1993, guaranteed to bring immediate and permanent results. Author of the best-selling interpretations of Musashi's Book of Five Rings, Sun Tzu's Art of War, along with The Living Tao, The Shogun's Scroll, The Way of the Modern Warrior, and The Sword in the Boardroom, which focuses on business management based on honesty, integrity, and morality for the contemporary negotiations. His work is considered essential study for individuals and organizations interested in progressive management/motivation development that includes life enhancement skills.