Throughout history thinkers
have sought to define and encourage
"enlightenment". Like the concept of
consciousness itself, the issue of enlightenment naturally is complex and murky. The Wikipedia entry for the word enlightenment
is a directory that fans out to six more entries, each spawned
from at least that many perspectives. With
a basic understanding of the temporal aperture model, the
notion of enlightenment is relatively clear and
easy to comprehend, if not to practice. Seeking
enlightenment amounts to the deliberate expansion of one's
temporal aperture surround volume. In other words,
enlightenment grows from inclusivity. A large temporal
aperture is highly inclusive. The infinite temporal
aperture of a Deity would be absolutely and totally inclusive
of all events and knowledge of the entire Universe. An
infinite temporal aperture is beyond the grasp of mortal human
beings, but the aspiration to that infinite inclusivity
denotes the process toward enlightenment. Enlightenment
means inclusivity - that is the basal message of the entire
temporal aperture concept.
As applies to an individual, this connotes a tendency and drive to read underlying patterns and find a unitary meaning
in all diverse every day events and situations. The drive is conscious and
deliberate in assembling semi-occult meanings to conclusions that have a
reasonable statistical reliability that can survive criticism, whether external
or internal. "Iterative Convergence" (see FAQ) plays a key role in this
process in that ongoing conclusions have to be validated to the greatest extent
possible. They are therefore subject to incremental "fine tuning".
Tools such as analogy, inductive reasoning, and lateral thinking are essential
to the process of "enlightenment" at least in the context of the Open
Mystic
essay set. |