The Flash of Insight

Fortunately, higher reality has a way of breaking out unexpectedly. There are moments when the all-knowing nucleus of the self defeats the minds narrow prejudices. We call these flashes insight, and they give us a good sense, at least in passing, of what it must be like to be enlightened.As the Vedas put it, the enlightened mind is like the sun, compared to which all other minds are like candles. But a candle has value, because once it is lit, the darkness cannot be total.In the flash of insight, a corner of the self is revealed for what is really there. One silently exclaims Aha! and a bit of truth is brought out from under wraps.Insight is not always deep or lasting psychiatrists spend huge amounts of time shoring up new insights and making sure that the patient does not lose hold of old ones and regress. Nor does the body always follow the minds lead into a healthier state. Even so, the moment of insight often manages to shift the entire self, and that is the key to its power.At the flash of insight, psychiatry and Yoga are one the revelation of the knower is the goal of both disciplines.However, psychiatry is content with a flash: insight is basically a tool, not a permanent state. Psychiatry is an imperfect healer because it is wounded itself. Its reality does not include a core of magic; in fact, may therapists do their utmost to stamp out any signs of magic in the patients mind.Only the most exceptional people manage to rise above the reality principle; they alone can begin to appreciate how simple the state of total insight might actually be.Adapted from Unconditional Life: Discovering the Power to Fulfill Your Dreams, by Deepak Chopra (A Bantam Book, 1991).