{"id":16482,"date":"2013-01-29T10:03:33","date_gmt":"2013-01-29T18:03:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/?page_id=16482"},"modified":"2018-07-02T16:52:05","modified_gmt":"2018-07-02T23:52:05","slug":"enlightenment","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/enlightenment\/","title":{"rendered":"Enlightenment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-38953 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/lotus_in_copper_vase-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Pure Nelumbo flower known as Lotus in a copper vase. Sacred plant in Hinduism and Buddhism\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/lotus_in_copper_vase-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/lotus_in_copper_vase.jpg 724w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/strong><\/span><strong>Enlightenment\u00a0<\/strong>is a state of elevated awareness and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/psychpedia\/consciousness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">consciousness<\/a>. This state is coveted in many religious and cultural traditions, and in Buddhism is a state involving discovery of truths about life. The\u00a0 Enlightenment was also a period in Western history associated with increased awareness of science and reason and an increasing opposition to faith-based explanations. The cultural movements associated with the Western Enlightenment are traits many people think of when they say they they or others are enlightened.<\/p>\n<h2>What is Enlightenment?<\/h2>\n<p>Enlightenment is both a philosophical and psychological concept, and can mean different things to different people. It generally indicates a state of emotional and psychological ease along with elevated awareness and understanding of truths about life. Common elements of enlightenment might include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Acceptance of one&#8217;s life circumstances<\/li>\n<li>Feelings of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/psychpedia\/happiness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">happiness<\/a> and peace<\/li>\n<li>Acceptance of others<\/li>\n<li>Feeling that one understands fundamental truths about life<\/li>\n<li>Peace with death, conflict, and other frightening experiences<\/li>\n<li>Low anxiety and depression<\/li>\n<li>Surmounting chronic problems<\/li>\n<li>Increased political awareness<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In Buddhism, enlightenment is a form of awakening in which a person understands and accepts truths about life. In Sanskrit, the word \u201cbodhi\u201d may be used to indicate enlightenment. This term means awakening.<\/p>\n<h2>Mental Health and Enlightenment<\/h2>\n<div class=\"content-fatwidget align-right\">\n\t<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/find-therapist.html\" target=\"_blank\">Find a Therapist<\/a><\/h2>\n\t<form action=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/search-redirect.html\" method=\"get\">\n\n\t\t\t<input required name=\"search[zipcode]\" placeholder=\"Enter ZIP or City\" class=\"inline-input\" type=\"text\" \/>\n\n\n\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" name=\"TOS agreement\" value=\" \" class=\"inline-btn\" title=\"Search\" onclick=\"ga('send', 'event', 'FAT Widget', 'Submit Search', 'Sidebar', {nonInteraction: true});\" \/>\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/advanced-search.html\" title=\"Advanced Search\" onclick=\"ga('send', 'event', 'FAT Widget', 'Advanced Search', 'Sidebar', {nonInteraction: true});\" >Advanced Search<\/a>\n\t<\/form>\n<\/div>\n<p>While most mental health practitioners do not explicitly list enlightenment as a goal for their clients, some traits commonly associated with enlightenment are often goals of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/individual-therapy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">therapy<\/a>. These may include self-acceptance, acceptance of others, and deepening awareness. Therapists who incorporate elements of Buddhism or new age practices may work to help their clients find enlightenment. Some mental health clients feel a sense of enlightenment, awareness, and increased peace when they complete therapy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>References:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Berry, W. (n.d.). Is psychology helping or hindering your enlightenment? Psychology Today. Retrieved from http:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/blog\/the-second-noble-truth\/201109\/is-psychology-helping-or-hindering-your-enlightenment<\/li>\n<li>Enlightenment. (n.d.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http:\/\/plato.stanford.edu\/entries\/enlightenment\/<\/li>\n<li>O&#8217;Brien, B. (n.d.). Enlightenment. About.com Buddhism. Retrieved from http:\/\/buddhism.about.com\/od\/buddhismglossarye\/g\/enlightendef.htm<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Enlightenment?is a state of elevated awareness and consciousness. This state is coveted in many religious and cultural traditions, and in Buddhism is a state involving discovery of truths about life. The? Enlightenment was also a period in Western history associated with increased awareness of science and reason and an increasing opposition to faith-based explanations. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2474,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"psychpedia.php","meta":{"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-16482","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2474"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16482\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}