[nsouth]

Become enlightened, and if it's as good as they say, spend the rest of my life teaching others how to get there too. I know for me, it's what I'm here for. Nothing else is as important to me. I can't wait to teach, but it must be from the perspective of my own personal, direct experience. There are already enough charlatans in the world, I don't intend to become one myself.

I don't think there's enough awareness the state can be achieved through specific practice. People like Osho, J Krishnamurti, Eckharte Tolle... they all seemed to have it just spontaneously happen and then try to retrofit techniques they think will probably work. Their approaches seem biased towards people who can already do what they're talking about ("just be aware"), instead of being more systematic processes that circumvent the mind.

The people who inspire me the most are the householders, living in the world who still managed to attain this greatest of prizes. They're the people who inspire me, and something I aspire to be. I think it's a valuable backstory that makes the teaching more approachable and easier to relate to if it's clear you don't need to give up this world to attain true happiness.

Having this mission puts the corporate world and paid work really into perspective as something that supports my life, but doesn't define it. That helps me keep it at a slight distance and allows me to take more risks - which incidentally have paid off.

[wwwater]

> I can't wait to teach

It seems that you don't actually want to become enlightened as much as you just simply want to be helpful to other people and teach them a valuable skill.

I personally think that enlightenment and teaching others about it are quite different things that maybe don't have in common as much as one thinks they have.

As I see it, you might reach a state of mind you are very content with, and it makes you see the world "as it is" and because of it, you don't need to teach anybody anything, since it's already "as it is" and "as it should be". So, maybe it's just enough to be aware of it.

[nsouth]

I see what you're getting at, but it's not quite how I feel.

For me teaching is predicated on having seen far enough to actually be a useful guide. Having said that there may be things I could teach before then, but I'd have to have experienced something major to convince me I was on the right track and the time was right.

Also, regarding the "just enough to be aware" it probably would be enough, but I wouldn't have been able to have reached my goal without the thousands who've gone before, so it'd be paying back that debt. There's just some part of me that knows it's important for me to do that.

[uptownfunk]

Awesome, I think the world would be a better place if more people sought enlightenment.