Dear Member, Lurkers, Shill, and yes, you Hillary supporters too:
"What do you really want?". Sounds like a set-up question for an new age seminar. O.K., maybe it is a set-up, but let me hallucinate and see if you agree.
What you want is simple, happiness without any sorrow. Just sit with that for a moment. How does it feel? Not depending on what anyone else might think about it or you and not depending on any anticipate Jed (El Grando Poobah of the Lodge of Lost Souls) response, is this what you really want? Not what you say you want, have told the world you want, but what you really want? No need to over complicate things, just happiness without any sorrow. I'd pretty confident that it is what you want, so what is all the hoopla about Truth Realization/Enlightenment and the like?
I think pointers will work best here:
1.) Not to be diminished because I think it's a biggie, T/R is very cool, it's in vogue and has drawn millions to it's promise, which promise is often unspoken.
2.) Ah yes... the promise. Call it bliss, non-duality, Advaita, anything you want, the implied promise is release from the sufferings of this world and what you really want... happiness without any sorrow.
Contemplate how many weird and wonderful things you have done to attain HWAS. I'll bet you have done a myriad of activities, acquisitions, etc. BUT, have you attained HWAS. I'm not talking about the brief form of excitment and anticipation many folks interpret as happiness, I mean an enduring HWAS. Really look into this, has the super hubby or wifey brought it, the great job, the new car, degree, house, travel adventures. That form of happiness is transient at best and almost always is follow by a ''come down''. I wouldn't even call it happiness, it is actually a slightly quieter state of mind experience after a frenetic trying to get the happiness-related-thingy.
This quieting of the mind is the only real and enduring HWAS and what you experience as emotions (conversations in your head about physical experiences, feelings, in your body) is the continuous disruptor of that sense of peace. I have said it before and it bears repeating.
Emotions promise that they will give you by keeping them,
exactly what you get by releasing/letting go of them.
Emotions are not the answer, they are the problem. Look around you at the things in our system that are designed to churn up your emotions. They are everywhere. How may things, out there, are helpful in quieting your emotions. Does TV quiet them, advertising quiet them, education quiet them, society, war, institutions, courts, governments, police, armies, or, how about getting down to basics, were your parents competent at creating peace and enduring happiness in your family which you could model when older. Mine sure weren't but they taught me a heck of a lot at an early age, and I am grateful.
Remember, a feeling is something you can experience in your body, a pain, pressure, heaviness, maybe butterflies. An emotion is a conversation about a feeling. This is a very practical distinction to make. Which is closer to the now, to reality, to direct experience; a feeling (in your body) or an emotion (conversation in your head)?
Back to my question, what do you really want? In my experience H/A can bring happiness, wonder and joy. T/R is unimaginable and indescribable. depending on how adult you are, it can be very disruptive until settled into. I strongly suggest growing up (H/A) prior to pursuing T/R.
That's my story and I'm sticking to it for a least the next 10 minutes.
Love ya, Jed