Who could argue, we love the good thing’s in life. The comfort, the heart felt surprise and any number of experiences that leave the mark of enjoyment. What determines these experiences as good or bad? Well, that can vary greatly, depending on the individual. A better question may be. What is the foundation of a good experience? What are the ingredients that give it a feeling of good or bad? It’s simple, contrast.
Without a contrast of different experiences, it all becomes quite meaningless. Nothing new right, you need the bad to have the good, you need the dark to know the light. What is the value in knowing this to be true? Because let’s face it, what good is it when your life seems empty and dark? In truth, it really doesn’t give you any relief from a state of anxiety or depression. Thank God for that. I can hear the disapproval of that statement.
Here’s the thing. If we had a magic potion to lift us to the heights of goodness. Our thumb would be on that button all day long. Could anyone argue that fact? All you need do is look at our attempts, at just that. There are literally thousands of potions, techniques and practices to deliver “The Good Life”. And yet, every single one comes with a down side. A limitation, or it itself, becomes the downside.
Maybe we need to go a little deeper to see what drives this desire for good. Or maybe it’s not a desire for good so much as, a desire for escape. Escape? What do you mean escape? I’m not in prison. You may not be in prison physically but the overwhelming majority are imprisoned psychologically. Ah yes, the noisy mind of imprisonment. Strange, something so intimate to our experience seems to be a thorn in our side. The unseen critic blasting you with should and shouldn’t, hopeful wishes and why me. With an under tone of, your not right but you will be.
Once these ducks are finally lined up, I will have my peace. In the meantime though, I’m just going to turn on the tv and have a drink. That’s better, boy, what a day. Now I can relax, unwind and forget about it. A closer look at what exactly is happening in this very normal experience, reveals the root of discomfort. Could it be that what drives the entirety of reaching for relief and good experience, is our own mind? The most intimate and identifying reality we have? Is it driving the search, or is it causing the need for the search? Is it what’s torturing you or is it what’s being tortured? In that sentence is a glimpse of reality.
The mind has great influence over our experience. That we can not doubt. So what determines the content, the script that it plays? First we have to realize that the mind is something we experience not something we are. So what determines the content it sings to us, day in and day out? Like any instrument it can only play the music it’s given. And like any instrument, when it’s out of tune it’s like nails on the chalkboard. So as a metaphor to see clearly. An abrasive and uncomfortable mind, is simply an instrument, that’s out of tune.
Now, the all important question. How do I tune my instrument? One thing to keep in “Mind”. The mind is simply a reflective tool for creation. Ok then. What is it reflecting from? Drum roll, finally we are getting down to the very fabric of our experience. What determines a loving and supportive mind or one of torture? All life experience is determined by, “How you see yourself “. The whole shooting match boils down to this one factor. And that is exactly why we incessantly try to line our ducks up and watch them float apart. You can’t change your opinion of yourself by moving the pieces that surround you. You have to let go of what creates the ill tune of the mind.
What creates the ill tune or better yet, who creates it? You do. Ok genius, that doesn’t really help. I want something I can fix, something I can focus on and figure out. Here’s the situation. Firstly, the reality is, you don’t need fixed. Ouch! I know that is the least helpful and most annoying thing I could have said. It’s not you that needs fixing, it’s the belief you have, that you need fixing. Where does this belief come from and why is it there? It was put in place by the innocents of a child just trying to survive. The power of belief isn’t diminished just because it was put in place by a child’s mind. Here is the reason you can’t change it without a process of letting go. This belief was put in place and is held in place by your instinct to survive. We think we are in charge of our emotional experience and how we see thing’s. That ship sailed long ago. And a course was set for finding a new me, one that is worthy of love and acceptance.
The only way your ship can be righted is to pry it out of the hands of your own survival. A judgement that was cast by a child’s mind, with no reasoning skills or understanding. This is the situation. This is anchored in the very depths of your Being. Placed there when there was free flowing access to your inner essence. Out of innocents it was placed, and out of survival it stands. Access denied, by the very depth of you. What a situation. Truly I say to you, you can not let go of this on your own. You have to become open to a process of letting go. Easy, would not be the word for this and that is why it is so rare for one to find freedom from the tyranny of mind. We love our comfort and that is why, we never truly find it. True comfort comes from within. Trying to fix it outside, it just bubbles to the surface again and again.
We have inadvertently attempted to redefine ourselves and it doesn’t fit. And the mind reflects it. It doesn’t feel good because it’s not true. Thankfully we can’t change what we are, we can only be what we are. This process requires courage and willingness. A willing heart will find it’s wings. Open yourself to loving kindness within. Open your mind to travel the path of surrender, in the process of letting go. Turmoil is a part of it. There is no escaping that. But there is one guarantee. You will escape the belief that chains you. And that is simply done by letting go of all the framework set in place for survival by a child’s mind. This reveals the Truth that you are. Beyond any possibility to describe. It holds its own description in the experience of knowing. All this and more await you in the Kingdom within. You need only open to it. Not as a belief, but as a feeling deep within, calling you home…