But first, a quick personal update... I am currently in Big Sky, Montana. The ski resort opened on Thanksgiving, and I've been skiing pretty much every day since. There's not much snow yet. Not much else to report on that front. The rental shop is operating smoothly, despite the new covid procedures. I've been working in the ski demo shop each day, so if you ever want to talk about skis, call me. without further ado, my opinion that no one asked for... The contents of consciousness make up the entirety of experience. With all of the distractions that we encounter in daily life, it's easy to be fooled, and think that external factors are the reason for our suffering. In reality, failure to recognize an internal locus of control is the reason for our suffering. By suffering I mean judgement, dissatisfaction, and general unhappiness. Our individual human experience is an endless string of thoughts in response to external stimuli (monkey brain). Most of the time, we are not even aware of this. If we are able to step away from this individual human experience, to let down our ego, and open up to the universal experience that we all share, there is peace to be uncovered. This peace is inherent, always available, and yet hidden to us most of the time. We'll call this peace Nirvana Bliss, and we'll circle back to this topic in a moment. Internal locus of control means that an individual has control of their experience. We can't control any external factors, only how we respond to them. The opposite, external locus of control, would be to point the finger outward and blame anyone/thing other than your own response to said object. Internal locus of control is the way to empowerment, self love, and compassion. External locus of control leads to blame, frustration, and hate. As a species we must release the blame game and take ownership of our experience. Our monkey brains are desperate entities. Our ego has concocted this illusion of a separate self, that we (I) are (am) separate from the whole. What I am referring to here is the assumption of subject-object duality that we all operate according to. What I would like to profess, is a higher nature, of non-duality, where there is no separation of subject-object. Rather, we are all one. This has been a longwinded and mildly esoteric explanation for timeless and universal truths that have been realized and passed down for centuries. Reading written work from Buddhists and Hippies are just two of the avenues through which I have been awakened to this truth. To fully experience the non-dual nature of reality is to find relief from the human condition, and to truly know love for all beings and for yourself. We do not experience non-duality very often. To permanently exist in this Nirvana Bliss is largely not possible. After all, we have survival needs on a personal and species level, hence the existence of the separate self- ego gets it done. When we sit with ourselves and observe the nature of our consciousness (meditate), we are able to get to know this separate self. When we observe our monkey brain and become aware of our thought patterns, we are better able to recognize the control that they have over our experience. If all that exists is the contents of our consciousness, then it makes sense to get to know your brain. This can be wildly uncomfortable, but of course, growth comes from discomfort. To be truly comfortable with your own brain, without judgement or expectation, is self love. Self love is the first, vital step in compassion towards all. When we get in touch with our suffering, we get in touch with the suffering of the world. It hurts to be open in this way, so we usually keep our armor on, but glimpses of this non-dual nature can allow us to operate from a place of compassion in daily life. This is a lifelong journey, we never arrive. To think that we have arrived, or are somehow enlightened, is just the ego playing its trick on us. The illusion of our separate self (ego) is the epitome of the human condition suffering. Everyone suffers. The desire to relieve that suffering for oneself is self love. The desire to relieve that suffering for all beings around you is compassion. I'll close this out with an example from my life: Covid did not make me unhappy. I was unhappy before Covid and I'll be unhappy after Covid. In the midst of the Pandemic, it's easiest to blame Covid for my dissatisfaction, however this does nothing for me. I have set the intention to take ownership over my experience. I know that my mental reaction to current circumstances will make up the entirety of my experience. So, I rest, knowing that life is uncomfortable, and yet, Nirvana Bliss exists even if I'm not seeing it right now. I breathe deep, stand up tall, and persist. follow up to what you just read... I can't apologize for the confusing nature of my subject matter this month. This blog always as been a platform for me to share whatever I want with the world, and this time it came in the form of a synthesis of learnings that I've gained in the past 9 months or so. I really tried on this one, to make some pretty airy topics grounded and digestible. I tried to make it like a geometry proof. I'm honestly blinded by my own experience of life though (obviously), so there's a great chance that many will read this post and be like "what the heck was that." But I guess this blog platform is my practice ground, and the rough, informal nature of it is the point. Some day I hope to be an academic, publishing articles and books on the broad topic of education through experience. Those works will be polished, I promise. For now, I'll send this wildly confusing synthesis of ideas out into the ethers of the internet...
|
Archives
February 2024
Categories |