The Lotus Mud Law: Why Those Who Suffer the Most Are More Likely to Achieve Enlightenment "Spiritual awakening is a slow process for the majority of individuals. When it happens, however, it is frequently the result of excruciating pain "Eckhart Tolle writes. "Enlightenment is another name for sanity, and insanity is required for enlightenment to occur." In other words, only those who are insane enough to seek truth will find it. And once they do, the truth sets them free. People often ask me if there's any correlation between suffering and enlightenment. The answer is yes, although not everyone who suffers becomes enlightened "spiritually awake" as Eckhart calls it. However, those that do achieve enlightenment most often do so because of their extreme suffering. Indeed, suffering is one of the key factors that differentiates humans from animals. Only human beings suffer and no other species on earth suffers like we do. This clearly shows that we have the ability to control our minds and this leads some people to believe that we can eventually learn to eliminate our pain completely. In Buddhism, enlightenment is known as satori. Satori means sudden awareness " Dan Harris explains in his book A Guide to Greatness. "Sudden awareness is what happens when you realize something important about yourself or your life. It can be good or bad, but either way, it changes everything.