The State of Simply Being
“On one level, wisdom is nothing more profound than an ability to follow one’s own advice”
Imagine a mirror. Now picture an angry reflection and then a happy reflection in it. Those reflections, like feelings, come and go, while the mirror, consciousness, remains constant. Consciousness is irreducible; it’s a state of simply being, one that offers tangible benefits for those able to quiet their minds long enough to experience it.
Everything we do is for conscious states, particularly for the conscious state of happiness, joy and bliss. Yet we go about seeking these conscious states in foolish and roundabout ways, striving for money, power, endless sensual gratification. These bring us little hits of pleasure and comfort, but they always have to be topped up, and often bring suffering in their wake. Bliss is available right here, right now, in our minds, for free. There is an incredible renewable source of happiness in our minds, which we ignore in favor of toxic external substitutes.
In everyday language, the concept of spirituality is closely tied to religious thought. In actuality, however, spirituality and religion have little to do with one another. Spirituality is little more than the attempt to induce non-ordinary states of consciousness. Although people often turn to religion to achieve this, these efforts also lend themselves to meditation or even psychedelic drugs. Despite these obvious contradictions, many people in the West nevertheless struggle to disconnect spirituality from religion, because spirituality in western religions is entirely faith-based. Eastern religions, on the other hand, are concerned with experiences and observations of reality. For this reason, you can perform Buddhist meditation without actually believing in any of the Buddhist religious doctrines.
All we need to find spirituality is transform the way we think. We must stop thinking in terms of pleasure and pain, rational being. Instead we have to concentrate on becoming more mindful of our thoughts and our true selves.
