THIS IS NOT IT

This is a good title for anyone who is writing an article about Enlightenment. How do you reach it? Where is it? What is it? These are great questions to ask, but don't ask them of any person, as soon as they start to tell you, THAT'S NOT IT. Catch my drift?
I feel as though the only thing a teacher can ACTUALLY point at, is not how to reach "Enlightenment" or what it is, but simply to point at YOU. That is something most bodies do not want to look at. They will look everywhere else, but within.
DON'T LOOK at YOUR NAME HERE! That's NOT it either. You think, okay, I have to look at myself. Okay, here goes. My name is _____ and I try to do nice things, and I try to be a good person, and everyone always seems to take advantage of me or is really mean to me, but I will just try and be a better person and then maybe good things will happen...
NOT IT!
I only say this because of the numerous traps that my mind tried to lead me into. The mind wants to be part of your magical little journey. It says, oh Enlightenment? YES! I want to be that special person! Let's do it! But your mind is not really what leads you there.
Honestly from the perspective "I'm" at now, it seems as though there isn't any real way to exercise your Awareness muscle so that you "turn" Enlightened. The desire has to be there, and the yearning, the discomfort in the body, these will all propel you. But what flicks the switch? Well, YOU, the Utlimate YOU, but what determines this in various bodies? Internally I'm feeling neutral about this. It's almost impossible to say, you may already know inherently that you will turn this switch, and I do believe that "knowing" this, without a doubt, is a sure sign that you will succeed. Eckhart Tolle, an Awakened One without a doubt, speaks of this "deepening" and the pursuit of becoming more present in the body. So the "striving" for this state cannot be ignored or denied.
Back to the Looking Within. If you are trying to resolve all the feelings of hurt, anguish, regret, betrayal, (need I go on?) that has happened to you since childhood, then you are not going to find what you seek. These are all things that might need to be healed. But rest-assured that if you keep returning to these, you will be forever exhausted. There is no "you" to be healed. These things will continue to arise to be "healed" or "fixed." Just give up on them, accept them. It's kind of like trying to kill the evil mushrooms in Mario Bros. You jump on their backs, and walk until they're off screen, go back and they're alive again.
If you keep trying to squish every emotion, you're just exhausting an endless game. Don't feel like you aren't doing it right if you keep getting anxiety, or if you keep experiencing sadness. This isn't YOU and there's really nothing to be done about it. The real Gold is beneath these surface games, once you see it you will laugh, I promise you.
This is why I can say with complete certainty, "THIS IS NOT IT." I urge you to turn inwards. To really go to the source. Then, when you feel guided, certainly read from the true Ascended Masters, but only after you have tasted it yourself. If you don't want to read what someone else has to say about it, that's great too! Because YOU have everything you need within YOU. Your body is the PORTAL, the GATEWAY to the INFINITE and the FINITE. They meet within YOU! Don't seek to entertain the Finite you. This will only prolong suffering. Drop those games and seek higher, deeper, beyond.