Every religion gives us the message to stay enlightened. To become enlightened, know that there are no special virtues to acquire. Simply remain conscious. The practice of prolonging our conscious state may not give us the power to control the material world. It will, however, give us the power to be absolutely free from suffering due to clinging to things and experience in the material world. Being enlightened is not a special state of mind; it is the mind's and heart's freedom from all clinging which gives rise to an awareness of all human experience without a notion of identity separate from the world around us. Though this is difficult, it is very possible through practice and training of the mind. Just as worldly achievements are difficult, but possible, enlightenment too, is difficult, but possible. If you can't find it where you are right now, where do you expect to wander in search of it?

Many people feel that they must suffer in order to gain liberation. This doesn't have to be the case. We all belong in the universe, the universe doesn't care if we suffer or not. We are our own key to absolute freedom. And there are as many paths to perfect enlightenment as there are beings in the universe. When we become conscious we expand, when we turn away from being conscious we contract. Beyond this, reality will always prove to us that we cannot move against its own self governing laws. All of us are free to choose the kind of "Reality" we wish to know, none of us can break the rules. Every entity in creation has the same freedom of choice.

There are some of us who have preached the dogmatic certainty of one particular path. But in the end enlightenment is there and how you achieve it isn't as important as getting there.

Obviously there's no step-by-step "How to" that points to the correct path for everyone, all of the time. External events aren't as important as how you react to them.

The more you fear, the more there will be to fear especially fear of fear or pain. Originally fear is an appropriate warning of possible harm. It is only necessary to notice the problem to be solved and drop the fear. This is one fundamental mode of "Expansion" and "Contraction"; as you explore your life, you will find many others. To find enlightenment we need only accept the daily rhythms of expansion and contraction. Each of us has complete freedom to choose, you already know this.

Consciousness is real, as real as we are. Whatever we've done in retracting from Cosmic consciousness, (the One source of All that Is, or whatever words you wish to use,) we are doing now. We all come from the same place, we are all going back to the same place.

What I hope you'll find here are some simple attitudes that will assist you on your way.

We have all made mistakes. That seems to be how we learn.' Repeating the same mistakes over and over is what is injurious to our own purpose. However we are free to do that as well. What we should ask ourselves is : "What is the cause of pain and suffering and how can we uproot it at a deep level?" Some say that it is only through excess, that one can know what is enough. Being Here-Now is thought by many to be the first step towards Liberation.

Seek the company of arahats, wise people, and good dharma books.

Create time in your life to be conscious. Too often, we get so tense or stressed with our responsibilities that we forget to take pleasure in the moment.

Sit quietly and let your thoughts and judgments arise and dissipate by themselves. Remain in the here and now. Become calm and clear.

Make special note of the various odors you smell, the noises you hear, and objects you see. Approach other everyday situations in the same way. Doing this often brings you closer to pure consciousness.

Practice meditation, which you can do anywhere, at any time by simply steadying the mind on an object of concentration in the present moment.

Read what others have written about enlightenment and spirituality in general. Many of the great philosophers such asGautama, Jesus, Lao Tzu, Shunryu Suzuki, Mohammed, Dante, Francis bacon, William Blake and others. The Doors Of Perception has much to say about this subject, both directly and indirectly.

Learn about the Noble eight fold path and understand the 4 Noble Truths .

Always be mindful of the moment and take pleasure in all activities that you do during the day (eating, sleeping, even using the bathroom).

The steps listed here are basic possible helpful practices. A real "step" towards enlightenment would be to make something that is now an unconscious part of you conscious. i.e. "integration". Practical steps toward integration can be found in the related how to wikis.

The way to enlightenment as described by Shakyamuni / Gotama Buddha Himself is through developing virtue, concentration, and wisdom.

Enlightenment is not a state of mind that you can force yourself into. We live by the eternal law of cause and effect, which is, if you do something bad you will get a bad result, if you do something good you will get a good result. What matters is the consciousness you experience regardless of what takes place.

When approached with intent, sparking higher consciousness is natural. Walking can spark higher consciousness. Use walking meditation. Just like aspirants learn to count their cycle of breath to consume normal and allow higher consciousness to come forth. The cycles or steps in walking can serve this same purpose. This same thing happens in music with the rhythm, that is, normal consciousness is consumed, allowing higher to consciousness come flooding in for the musician, bringing forth the higher consciousness. Don Juan put the flooding of images into walking for Carlos Castaneda. Carlos hiked with Don Juan while having his eyes crossed in order to flood the vision and insure the total consumption of normal consciousness. This awareness of higher consciousness while walking will motivate more walking/meditation and ability to walk/meditate more and more.

Tips:

• As you become more familiar with simply being aware/conscious, you will notice less thought-activity, and you will begin to experience thought-free awareness more regularly. It can be helpful, especially once some experience with thought-free awareness has made it comfortable, to induce (relax in) thought-free presence, as a practice. This literally helps to restore the body-mind to its natural condition, which is far more free of incessant thinking than a lifetime of conditioning has created, for almost all people.
• Your own "common sense" (or "intuition") is also your best guide.
• Nothing is always correct or incorrect, "things" change. Choose what is best for you at any given moment however, remember you are never alone, what you choose may or may not have an effect on others. Kindness and good manners may be the best trick. In a word, "Compassion" or; "give (do) to others the best you would give (do) if you were in the same situation".
• "Mind expanding" drugs (or psychoactive substances) aren't exactly the most reliable way to try to find enlightenment. They can be compared to using a helicopter instead of climbing to the summit of a mountain however, the fact remains that you're at the summit nonetheless. Be forewarned that Psychotropic substances aren't exactly the easiest way of achieving a certain degree of enlightenment, a psychedelic crisis remains a possibility. At the same time fears may arise remember, they can be overcome or rather they can be transcended. In the end, enlightenment has to come from within yourself.
• Higher consciousness is available to all of us who seek it. You don't even have to do anything. You're not going to fade away by finding out how free you really are.
• Enlightenment is not something that someone else can do for you. No one can "save" you but yourself. The same is true of saving others. The rest is of the order of the Divine.
• Inquiry, or Self-Inquiry as it is sometimes called, can be a stand-alone practice, but is most effective for most people, after meditation has been practiced daily for some time, often a few months at minimum. This is because the "answer" to inquiry is always to notice the pure awareness that doesn't change with the fluctuations of experience which are always changing. The most common form of inquiry is to ask, either mentally, or simply by moving your attention (noticing) "Who (or What) Am I?" - what is really here, experiencing this moment? If you find the question is answered with a thought, i.e. "I'm a human being", or "I am spirit", or even "I am all", this is always non-helpful, because the true answer is awareness of, from the standpoint of the subject, i.e. noticing you are the awareness, experiencing all content, even any sense-of-self you may have. Awareness itself is the actual "experiencer" of every moment, behind all perception and mind-activity. You will see that if you can be aware of something, no matter how subtle, and no matter how much it feels like something "I" am, or that "I" am experiencing, it is still an object experienced by awareness. The one aspect of experience you can never get "behind" or prior to, is awareness, itself.
• The thought that you have something to attain is somewhat of a barrier, our original nature is enlightened. What we simply need to understand is that there is nothing to attain in the first place, except perhaps rediscover our "primal" self.
• You are the key to your own enlightenment.
• The process can take as much or as little time as you wish.

Warnings:

• Don't fear leaving your material body, if you've taken proper care of it, it will be there should you wish to return to it.
• Beware to not "overdo it." Moderation is helpful.
• You must learn to trust yourself completely.
• Beware of "mind expanding" drugs as they can be dangerous to the inexperienced.
• We teach best what we most need to learn.
• Scientific understanding is based on the repetition of duplicable events and miracles don't seem to be duplicable. Therefore, there is no real scientific way to understand miracles. Our own consciousness is miracle enough.
• It is best not to "seek" enlightenment per se, but accomplish each act of life as consciously as you can and remind yourself that each step is its own reward.

What is needed:

• Trust. Trust the flow of the Universe.
• A heart full of Love. Because Love is the strongest magic of all.
• Indifference to external aspects of "things", ie. maintain an overall view of the "Big Picture".
• Connect with nature,it will give you peace and energize you from inside.