I was asked the questions on Quora. My reply was... Increasing self-awareness requires you to know that you are the awareness and the self (the body with the thoughts, emotions and sensations) are not the true self.
Once you experience that in some way then you are enlightened and then as you live by that knowing other knowings may come to you to become or seem to others as being more enlightened.
I use the word ‘may’ about other knowings coming to you because the first paragraph somewhat explains what enlightenment is. I ‘got’ that on my journey from a feeling and intellectual level at first.
Then I researched and practised many ways of becoming aware of being the awareness and not the body, thoughts, emotions and sensations which uncovered layers of patterns built up since birth and probably the beginning of time / the big bang.
This uncovering of layers brought many insights/epiphanies/aha moments/etc to why I experienced the many types of life situations which I describe from being undesirable (suffering) to the desirable (joy).
When I share these personal and additional insights, people can consider them as being ‘wise’ or as ‘enlightened’, and some will think of them as ‘out of this world’ or even look at you in a way they simply cannot understand what you are telling them. The reaction will depend on an individual’s own level of awareness.
Whatever word, you use to describe the new knowings, they are high-level knowings which perhaps otherwise may not have come to you or come much later in life.
I have since developed a practice to work on undesirable life situations and also on the desirable to help better steer one’s journey in life by dissolving the undesirable and growing the desirable.
So, yes it is possible to become enlightened, but as I say, it seems to be a journey, not a destination, meaning your level of enlightenment and knowings cam increase.
You can try a few introductory exercises here which will help start increasing your awareness and start to dissolve & resolve undesirable experiences.
