How to Achieve Enlightenment

In Buddhism, achieving enlightenment represents a spiritual awakening. Even if you aren’t religious, you can use some of the same practices to live your life in a more insightful way.

Instructions

• Step 1: Let go of your ego. Aim to be humble and altruistic rather than prideful and self-centered.
• Step 2: Recognize that nothing lasts -- good or bad. Achieving enlightenment means accepting that everything passes away -- and being OK with that.
• FACT: 57 percent of Americans polled consider spirituality a very important part of their daily life.
• Step 3: Be grateful. Find something enjoyable about every day, no matter how small. Stop wishing for what you don’t have and start appreciating what you’ve got.
• TIP: Many people find that meditation helps them silence negative thoughts.
• Step 4: Treat people with compassion and respect. Be tolerant of other views. If someone wrongs you, let it go. Accept everyone as they are -- including yourself.
• Step 5: Quiet the voices in your head that tell you you’re not good enough. Identify repetitive thoughts that fill you with worry, dread, or despair so they don't take over.
• Step 6: Live in the present instead of wasting time parsing the past or fretting about the future.