Chap 4 contd.

Fear

There is suffering when there is duality.

Where there is another there is fear.

Life is driven by an underlying fear.

Fear of death, of suffering or of life itself, and fear of God.

This is the pain of life the Buddha talked about: “all life is suffering”.

Whatever and wherever the journey or pathway to freedom, one thing is clear,

So life is just a sideshow, which is ultimately totally illusory.

Except for pain!

So it’s all Maya! Illusory like a transient dream ending in death.

We need something that works to enable the transcendence of this Maya.

We have to replace it with Truth.

A problem occurs for most of us, because that’s not how it works, and that’s not how it happens.

If the spiritual progress is limited due to limited action, then perhaps only small corners of the darkroom will be lit up. Thus fear will still be on the agenda. Although it will still have learning purpose. The process is about release, ultimately from all the darkness. Thus we return in circle to the beginning of the discussion regarding surrender and acceptance.

To worship destruction and darkness in any way seems counterproductive perhaps to the general Western mind. To many in the East, it is very much this God as Destroyer that is sought to gain safety and security. In the Divine Soul, there is no fear, nor any destruction of anything, because fear is just a human creation. This is the outcome of being engaged in in the human condition, and excepting separation from the encompassing universe, whilst not recognizing Divinity. (Either as one Deity or as the impersonal Cosmic Consciousness). To accept & move past fear requires the acceptance of destruction, & see its true place in the Cosmic Creation.

Pain and suffering makes all the theory irrelevant, and can make all our spiritual or religious and therapeutic endeavors almost seem pointless. There is a line of queuing thoughts that like to give fear permission to exist in oneself. However it’s not possible to say fear: “you’re out of here”. Positive visualizations, however well-meaning, deeming that I am pain-free, just don’t work often. Know the type of visualization that already has cognition of ourselves as potentially Divine. Then there is some traction!

Scientists may talk about the function of molecules constantly re-arranging themselves to form things, including humans. Within that concept, see it as a video, film, or play of whatever it is going on, or however you perceive or describe it. It’s the process of one’s thoughts and understandings about Life and the Universe. This includes the thoughts: “I am depressed. I am an addict. “I am a powerful leader”, etc. Maybe there should be no problem with just accepting that I am a Divine being really, as why would anyone want all those negative fears, anxieties & doubts? Doesn’t make sense! Well possibly it takes time to see it this way, & make the necessary corrections.

There needs to be a move past the ides that enlightenment equals: “you are getting what you want, being happy all day and night, and can sort out anything”. In Buddhism and Hinduism there are fierce goddesses, depicted in temple icons as cutting off human heads and drinking their blood. Nobody seems to be getting what they want, & yet millions are devotees of the destructive Goddesses, because they do seem to be getting some what they want. Otherwise why would they worship that way? There are these forces of destruction that epitomize the nature of this cosmic reality, which in error some religions seek to minimize. “Oh no, our God is not nasty, He’s kind and loving”. Other religions embrace the Cosmos of Destruction.

Many prefer the more benign & amazing visions, such as of Mary, Mother of God, described as happening in Medjugorje. Or descriptions of someone getting a fantastic vision, being reborn in eureka moments, or having some other transformative experience. To have enlightenment, the dark side must be something understood, and life as it is in its grossness, transcended or transmuted. This is Alchemy, as at one and the same time being able to transcend and enjoy the true spiritual meaning of anything that lies here and now and beyond. Thus the chaos makes sense. Thus the pandemics make sense. Thus even all the wars of history make sense!

This is also about encountering your true self which seems covered in the fear and the suffering. The human ego is in a position to overcome. Go beyond, though, under. Here lies surrender and acceptance, which is generated through the spiritual practice and selfless actions. Knowing the true self would lead also to a space where each moment will bring whatever experiences we need to when they are needed. (Even the fear loaded ones)! Thus life as lived, as also the learning journey, even if yet there is no spiritual clarity. So if one cannot understand the purpose of pain, dig a little deeper! Then one can understand, pain, death, world chaos, and drill right down to the minutia of personal life.

Then it’s no longer a question of: shall I divorce, resign, run! The answers are set up there in what has become instant participation in the vibration of Truth, which illuminates the darkness.

What’s my Purpose?

Who am I? What am I? What is my purpose?

What goes on outside, but taken in through our eyes, thoughts, and are senses?

Thought sees “happenings” as something to hold on to and maintain.

More often we see what we want, but we don’t get it.

Why do we do what we do?

Why should it work?

However if that’s what works what’s wrong with that? Then all is well also!

It seems that life has a lot of things that we want, or positions we want to attain.

By this time we should not be saying there is anything to fix nor anything to make different!

Perhaps having a purpose is not all it’s made out to be.

Certainly sometimes it seems there is no purpose at all, to anything.

But other times the sun is shining and all is well.

Another time a person may have a deep faith

Fundamentalist faith can be akin to burying one’s head in the sand.

The other prospect is that we get or use what we like and want, and then become addicted to substances or behaviors, which then of course lose their power to pleasure. So perhaps it will be better for all of us, if we just stay out of off the roads! Living out caves and just pass the time. That way we stay out of trouble!

Presumably there is some underlying understanding that answers must come from within us, in order for us to hold the expectation that some form of salvation occurs this way. Indeed all the teachers in the spiritual sphere will undoubtedly mention as some component of their teaching that the Divine is within.

My gurus say that the guru is also actually within. So some say when you find the Buddha tell him to go away, as you don’t then need the guru in human form. In other words you’re done, finished you’ve got it, and you’ve got what it needs.

Except this is just the beginning!

Step back & look at the real human needs before jumping into space! (Divine space that is).

In the spiritual world or in the mental health world, there are other things we can do: activities to partake in. At one level there are talking therapies. We can try to heal through counselling or psychoanalytical methods, or with practical efforts, such as using sensory modulation techniques to alleviate anxiety. Physical relaxation methods: practice controlling the breath, listening to soothing music, or practicing some mindfulness type exercise.

If we go further still, then there are other things we may do. It seems necessary in life to bring in mechanical means to alleviate suffering. An illustration of this is taking medication for physical or mental health problems. We “forcefully” try to resolve the issue. This quite often is reasonably successful, otherwise people would not bother going to doctors or psychiatrists.

We also go into the realm of prayer, using liturgical hymns, or using mantras. Or, on a more physical level, some devotional worship, as for instance performed in temples. We are almost trying to force God to come to the party.

We want to make it happen. Some of it we can touch, talk to, or directly experience through senses, but of course it eventually disappears or vanishes, or changes. Then you need to expose yourself to the Divine Grace through your spiritual practice again and again, until there is no more “again”.

And then what life is, still goes on. There is still the mortgage, to pay the pets to feed. Then what is just left is the suffering of the moment, the being in the body here now, which is not really a comfortable place by any measure. The tummy rumbles, the nose itches, it’s too hot or too cold, and we are always subject to hunger and thirst, with a need for sleep in a place of safety. Life is pretty dangerous, and it can be extremely dangerous. A matter of just survival for so many billions of people. So this daily moment to moment practice is what gives us the moment to moment relief, (from our suffering), and this is where we can thrive instead of survive. By this time we will have formed a connection with our Deity, with our spiritual pathway, and understand the place of our particular religious beliefs in the whole picture.