Originally appearing in GetReady Substack

I take a Western view of Enlightenment. I believe the volumes of ancient texts written on the subject can be reduced to a half dozen or so bullet points.

Enlightenment is:

• An awakening. Becoming conscious of oneself and our surroundings.
• Freeing. It frees us from the things in life that have held us in bondage.
• Truth seeking. Once we’re free and conscious, it is our nature “to seek truth and practice it”. This results in wisdom.
• Gaining Peace of Mind. No more being stressed out.
• Discovering and focusing on what’s important. Putting first things first- like relationships.
• Fulfilling your purpose – self actualization.

For many of us, there’s no better time than retirement to put your pursuit of enlightenment into high gear. When you’re working a job and supporting a family, it’s very hard to to free up time from every day pressures. When your life is in high gear, it’s difficult to even think straight. Retirement can change all that.

Mainly because you have time to think.

Unfortunately, Retirement Enlightenment doesn’t work for all people of retiring age in this country and abroad. Consider Maslow’s Hierarchy:

To get to the point of being prepared for Enlightenment, all your basic needs have to be met. If you’re still struggling to provide Basic Needs for yourself like food and shelter, higher needs such as Self-actualization and Enlightenment are a challenge.

But for those of us in this country that have made good choices financially, there is indeed a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And that pot of gold is the chance to self-actualize and be enlightened.

I am a planner by nature and having a plan in place gives me direction and reduces stress. Even as a planner, I recognize that plans are secondary to getting things done. That’s why for many projects I’ll just plan enough to figure out what needs to be done to get started and then get on it. I’ll then finish the plan as I go.

This is how life can be. We start life knowing we need a job and want kids, but the planning to the end of our lives is limited. And that’s OK.

But then we retire. What do we do now?

We finish writing our plan…

The Awakening

If you haven’t already, gaining consciousness is the first step in your Enlightenment journey.

Enlightenment involves stepping out of your pre-programmed self. I think of life as a video game where there are main players and there are other “Non-Player Characters (NPCs) in the game. The NPCs run a simple program in their actions.

To be enlightened you have to choose to no longer be an NPC running a program in someone else’s game. But it requires consciousness.

Think you’re already conscious? OK. Maybe you are. Here are some questions:

• Do you take care of yourself by eating right and exercise? If not, perhaps your unhealthy habits are part of your programming.
• When was the last time you took on an unusual challenge like starting a business or buying a house to flip?
• How similar is one day to the next? How similar is one outing to another?
• Are you a critical thinker? Do you follow a narrative of a group or do you see many sides to issues?
• Are your emotions in control of you?

Being awake is more than not sleepwalking. It’s about being Truman in The Truman Show or Neo in the Matrix.

Once you’re conscious – or cognitively awake – you can see what you’ve become and start to put the pieces back together to being alive.

I’m happy. I don’t care about enlightenment.

So you’re content. That’s cool. But true happiness can only come when you’re awake.

Being conscious can be scary. Thrilling is a better word. There’s security in running the program – going through the routine. But once you’ve made the transition from NPC to main character, the world gets new meaning. Your eyes are opened.

Only once you’re awake can you discover meaning. Meaning is the source of fulfillment and fulfillment is required for real happiness.

And this all begins with opening your mind; Recognizing that you’re running a program that’s been developed over decades. The things you’ve done and the choices you made have brought you to where you are now and NOW is the time to be fulfilled.

Freedom

Retirement offers freedom.

For the first time in your life you’re not living to provide for others like your kids or your employer.

Many don’t know what to do with this freedom. Their programming is so ingrained it’s difficult to change. They rationalize with “Why change now? My best years are behind me.”

That is false. Your best could very well be ahead of you.

And the sooner you “retire” the better you’ll be physically, mentally and spiritually to do it right. Don’t be stupid about it, but realize that getting too comfortable with the program you’re running is a very sad way to spend the potentially “Best Third” of your life.

The sooner you free yourself from the shackles, the better your odds are for success in retirement.

Seeking Truth and Practicing It

Enlightenment is a chance to fully realize your purpose on this planet.

But discovering your purpose can be difficult with all the distractions and “noise” keeping you from it.

Once you’re conscious, it’s time to open your mind by listening, reading, discussing, and meditating.

You can’t discover your purpose if you are too busy keeping busy. You have to shut down and reboot. You have to step out of the rut you are in and take the 30,000 foot view.

And this requires Quiet Time. Tons of it.

I’m not talking about time to ruminate about all the little, relatively meaningless things you have going on. I’m talking about quiet meditation to think about your purpose. What you SHOULD be doing.

Once you plug into the universe spiritually, the universe – read God – it will set you straight.

Don’t expect a revelation. It doesn’t work this way in my experience. The world around you will reveal what your next steps are. Perhaps it will start with a book someone refers to you. Or maybe there’s a gnawing project you have always wanted to do.

It’s time for something different. Be ready for change. Once you have your marching orders, it’s time to get to it. Distractions are everywhere. Your mission is to stay on task.

And if you’re looking for a starting point for your efforts, look to reduce pain and suffering wherever you go. It’s a simple task that gets you out of your head and helps orient you to doing the right things.

Peace of Mind

Retirement is a great time to chill. A time to truly enjoy life.

For some, the purpose of retirement is to just relax. Maybe take up some golf.

For those that wait too long to retire, that may be all they are capable of. They may have neglected themselves or worked too hard, too long and all they can do is relax. Doesn’t sound all that bad to most people.

That’s not how my “retirement” is. I did not retire to a life of leisure. I’ve retired to a life of doing exactly what I want. A life of freedom.

And I have to say that even though I have retired to a life of work, I am a lot less stressed out then many that retired to a life of leisure. I attribute this to where my mind is at.

Your mind has to be active to be happy. So does your body. Inactivity causes decay. Decay causes chronic pain.

Peace of mind and happiness comes from constructive work that is meaningful and that you enjoy. You just have to do a great job of managing the stress down to a healthy level.

On a stress scale of 1-10, I find running at a 6-7 is ideal for me. I like having plenty to do.

But once in a while, I run hot. Normally due to some exogenous circumstance. I had this happen recently when my daughter came to visit with her two dogs. I was left in charge of them one day and the big one took off and did not respond when called.

I lost it. So much for peace of mind. Back to meditation!

First Things First

We gravitate to doing the projects we like rather than the projects that need to be done. It’s human nature.

But success is determined by our ability to properly prioritize. That goes for retirement.

It’s important to get the important things done. This in turn reduces our stress.

When I was getting ready to retire I asked others that were close about their plans. Many mentioned how they had a bunch of house projects they had put off that needed to be done. Thinking to myself: “But what about after those things are done?”

I need a plan, where others are satisfied with going with the flow. Those home projects are perfect for keeping someone occupied until they discover what’s next.

But while you’re painting that bedroom, think about what’s important:

• More time with family and friends. Don’t constrain yourself to just visiting. Take on a working project together. Babysit a grandkid. Hire a relative to help you with home project. Rebuild relationships.
• Spend more time helping others. Check with the local food bank or Meals on Wheels. Check with your local Senior Center.
• Discover what you really enjoy doing in a job and start a business or take on a part-time job that is fulfilling.
• And for heaven’s sake get in good shape! No more excuses! Physical health should be your first choice!

Fulfillment

Nirvana is not a destination on the path to Enlightenment. It’s a continuation of your journey.

Retirement can be the “best third” of your life, full of meaning and connections. But first you have to separate from your past life.

My wife was reading a book about how to change the way you think. It involves changing your brain’s pathways of thinking. These pathways have been set in place since you were born. All your experiences along with your genetics determines the pathway programming.

They likened creating these brain pathways to walking down a trail. Eventually, you reach a destination. That’s where you are now. If you want to change the pathways, just come up with a new desired location (way of thinking) and then map out a course to think that way.

“How the hell do you do that?” I asked, “You don’t even know where you are and how you got there?”

“I haven’t gotten to that part yet.” she answered.

I know the answer to the question. It’s Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT).

In a nutshell, CBT is stepping away from the behavior and looking at it objectively with your conscious mind and saying, “Why’d I do that?”. Followed by, “What should I do in the future when I encounter a similar circumstance?”

The only way to change those pathways – the trail you’ve walked down for many years – is to STOP; figure out exactly where you are (cognitively); and then discover a new destination.

One of the main reasons I retired early was because I had a hard time believing that my job was all that God had planned for me in my later years. It was a leap of faith that paid off in big ways.

I wish you the same.

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