I have done this. From the time I was in eighth grade until recently, I undertook a spiritual journey that involved the search for enlightenment, starting at university. In the end, I figured out that it was a government conspiracy and that I had already become enlightened in this lifetime, prior to my birth. The search for Nirvana can be misguided. As it is stated here, it is incorrect. Nirvana is within and one should not go seeking nirvana in the afterlife. Enlightenment can be otherwise known as nirvana. This is accurate. But enlightenment is not the nirvana stated here. So anyways, I am enlightened, but I will not be seeking after any kind of nirvana in the afterlife. Nirvana is equal to my enlightenment. Christa Bergman Brown