Enlightenment Through Empathy
By: We Know Nothing
Tags: Religion, Self Improvement, Life Lessons, Life, Meditation

Like many others, I am searching for enlightenment — a mind-state where my Ego is no longer the loudest voice in my head; and what remains is calmness, silence and stillness. I envision this mind-state as being permanent — as if after my moment of enlightenment, I will never be burdened by the Ego and his delusions ever again.

This is a pipe dream — an unequivocally unobtainable pursuit that may grow to haunt those who become obsessed with obtaining it. But, we can do our best to come close to perfection: through conscious analysis of our own delusions, and through deep conversations with others, helping each other see past our own internal barriers to enlightenment. We can better understand ourselves as individuals by truly taking the time to perceive and interact with those around us.

By putting in the effort to understand and empathise with the thoughts, feelings and actions of more and more individuals, I am embarking on a quest to use the knowledge and wisdom of others to enlighten myself. Since we are all so alike, I came to the conclusion that trying to understand and analyse myself is not enough — not even enough to truly view myself for who I really am. One needs more than their own perspective to perceive reality for what it really is — reality is not individual, and it does not only exist in your mind.

Spirituality has always peaked my interest, mostly because of my parents’ open and non-denominational views on the matter — and because I heeded their warnings on religion. Religion is one of the longest-held traditions of the human race, and has served a very valuable purpose in many instances, for many communities; but, it remains the root of a variety of forms of flawed and imperfect decision-making.

Religion may help individuals feel part of something greater than themselves — but, alone, it will rarely help an individual understand themselves any better. No belief in any external dogma can achieve the degree of self-awareness that open and honest internal discourse and analysis can. More importantly, it is much easier to connect and empathise with others if you are open to their perspectives, and do not view your own beliefs as the only valid truths available to choose from. Solipsism is the enemy of empathy.

Spirituality, on the other hand, in the more general sense of the word, can mean many different things to each individual — but, these meanings themselves are rarely perceived as individual. Note: Spirituality is never about one person’s belief or opinion being more valid than another’s. One’s feelings of spirituality may be brought about by feelings of sentiment towards others, feelings of connectedness to the world, feelings of purpose and divine destiny, or simply through observing and exploring our wonderful internal and external environments.

Spirituality places its emphasis on the internal human mind, and avoids assigning importance and meaning to external manifestations and creations (i.e. materialism). Sometimes I step back from the situation that I’m in — whatever it may be — just to let my brain breathe for a moment: to enjoy the beautiful landscape, to enjoy the company of friends, or to simply enjoy the nature of existence itself. I take a moment to appreciate the moment — to appreciate my humble part in my own life, in the lives of others; to appreciate all life, and to appreciate life itself.

It is these moments of unbiased gratitude and appreciation, free from the loud vagueness, ambiguous norms and contradictory traditions of everyday life, which have become disparagingly rare in our empty yet busy, “interconnected online but disconnected offline”, post-modern attempts at living “normal” lives. Social anxiety and over-connectedness has lead individuals to leave dual lives: online and offline; forcing themselves to deal with the consequences of when one life rubs into the other. Conformity has become comfortable and commoditised.

The rarity of silence and nature in our surroundings, but more importantly, the rarity of silence in our minds — is often missing. Nothing can make you as calm as having a profound, sustained silence in your internal and external environment. One must make the effort to purposefully seek out and provide these environments — individually and in groups.

Silence can allow you to become a truly silent observer, by letting the mind finally rest by settling down, relaxed, doing nothing but observing and accepting the stimulation of your senses, the feelings and thoughts floating through your mind — without trying to interpret anything. Simply observing things pass you by — without engaging with them on a conscious level, but consciously letting them come and go freely. This relaxed state of mind is very refreshing to us, due to its scarcity, and is often followed by calming feelings of relief and groundedness. There are many spiritual guides which try to teach their students to reach this state with meditation — and meditation can be very useful, but I believe that finding and accepting silence is even more important.

What may be even more important is your ability to share silence with another — a stranger, or family member, or a friend. Interaction with friends — touch, eye contact, body language, verbal communication — along with an appreciation for the moment and for silence, can be a perfectly enticing combination. This, like any other environment, is a perfect playground to empathise with another human being, and to slowly teach each other more about yourselves and your own perspectives.

This is what I strive for in my spiritual journey: not feelings of accomplishment, or even accomplishing any level of self-understanding — those may come with the journey, but should never be the intended destination. I desire simply to have the opportunity to be: to be part of the collective human journey; to experience, observe and explore unexplainable circumstances, unvisited locations in my internal and external environment, and un-imaginably infinite topics of conversation with others.

I wish to avoid purposeful thinking, and prevent my mind from creating its own unintentional thought-loops — always distancing expectations from reality, and never leading anywhere productive or real.

I wish to see through my own barriers and delusions through empathising with and truly understanding the views of others. By helping others, we can all help ourselves. Through empathy, we can all achieve enlightenment — and live better lives, with more diversity of perspectives, and an enhanced appreciation for life itself.