BLOG OF DISCOVERY
Dive deep into reality and ourselves.
What is it you seek? Fame, fortune, love, pleasure etc. Remember when you really wanted that chocolate bar, that relationship, that car etc. What happened when you got it? Did you feel better? You may have for a time, but then you slowly fell back into your default state. My favourite example is when you binge watch a series, such as Game of Thrones or Breaking Bad. You watch episode after episode and enjoy every minute of it. In between episodes you eagerly await the next. Then you reach the end of said series and a feeling of lack comes over you, a bit of negative emotion. Think of when you break up with some or worse; you get broken up with. An extreme sense of lack and hopelessness can overcome you, like there is a piece missing within you. This is a clear indication that you were attached and probably dependent on the other person. The longer these feelings last and the harder it is to overcome them is an indication of how tightly you are grasping at life, grasping that which cannot be held in place, consciously or unconsciously. You gained emotional benefits from the external thing (Relationship etc) and placed all kinds of expectations and ideas upon it, giving it power over you. Its like you are avoiding yourself and reality. It can be so easy to slip into this, giving yourself up to something, but this is also one of the most potent was of experiencing massive amounts of suffering in life. Each experience comes in cycles, it starts and it inevitably ends. When you cling to something and fail to accept that it will come to an end eventually, you will suffer greatly and needlessly. Making your experience of this life a constant fluctuation of extreme highs and extreme lows. "The nonpermanent appearence of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed. - Anonymous, The Bhagavad Gita If you truly want to stop this extreme fluctuation you must take a step back from the cycle and accept it. Accept impermanence and you will discover a peace of mind that goes beyond the extreme emotional spikes. You can see life as a playful experience of change and variety. You can enjoy it in its fullest form, without limiting it with expectations and ideas of supposed permanence or perfection. This is one of the major reasons we tend to suffer in extreme ways when we break up with a partner or we lose something of value in our lives. We place more value on the external and when it is taken away we have nothing left within. We place the ultimate expectation on the external; we expect something outside of our beings to fulfil us, to complete us and make us whole. As if we were not whole to begin with. Really think about that for a second. The very idea of us being whole or not whole is ridiculous in itself, we simply are. Beyond any notion of completion / in-completion or scarcity / abundance. A great exercise to check if you are clinging / grasping is to ask yourself; what is my default? What is my default state when I'm not with my partner, when I'm not making money, when I'm not eating etc? If you feel any sense of lack or 'incompleteness', it can be an indication that you are placing major expectations / value on the external. Obviously emotion discomfort can exist when not engaging in an activity, but can you be still with those feelings and accept them without trying to run away from them or fearing them. I'm not saying that pursuing goals or dreams is bad or desiring pleasure for the sake of pleasure, it's bad when you are 'needing' something that you believe you lack as an independent entity. You naturally provide yourself with everything you need as you are, there is no 'need' to chase. "You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction. Perform work in this world, as a man established within himself - without selfish attachments, and alike in success and defeat. - Anonymous, The Bhagavad Gita
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AuthorHi my name is Rhodri! I express my self mainly through the art of film and am passionate about sharing my thoughts and ideas. Archives
April 2017
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