Suffering in isolation

San Fernando Valley

The permeable membrane that separates us

We are connected. This is not a fanciful notion; this is a fact. When we behave in a way that ignores the needs of others, they are affected negatively. In the West, we are in the habit of acting as if we are separate and alone in the world, pursuing our self-centered agenda and profiting from short-term gain. This is why it is difficult to defend our position in the court of world opinion.

Our justification of "manifest destiny" does not play in other countries, and there is no mystery as to why this is the case. Candidate Trump says he will build a wall on our border with Mexico, and that he will force the Mexican government to pay for it. This plays to those in his base who revel in fantasy. We could build the tallest wall imaginable and not keep ourselves safe from the world's suffering, or the backlash of anger that would inevitably follow.

We cannot operate with impunity when it comes to our neighbors. The ego tells us that it is desirable to keep ourselves safe against an "other." But if there is only one thing, and if we are part of that one thing, it follows that we are all a part of each other.

In India, people seem to recognize this kinship and honor it. There are horrific exceptions of course, but for the most part gentility and friendliness are the rule. There is a tacit agreement that I will not harm you to advance me, as that would be harming myself.

We that follow teachings of the Vedic worldview also know this intuitively, but we still occasionally act out of willful ignorance. Willful ignorance, by definition, means that we know better but act as though we don't. It is time that we uncover the undimmed light within us and behave accordingly.

"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets."

Jesus Christ in the King James Bible • Matthew 7:12

Salt Lamp

Justification

Window display, Valley Village, California

The hardest work you'll never enjoy

When we justify behavior we have chosen for ourselves, we are taking on extra maintenance work that is exceedingly arduous, and the payoff is negligible at best.

We have probably all done it. We engage in some socially embarrassing behavior. We regret it. Instead of admitting that we made a mistake, we compound the problem by propping up a rickety structure with excuses.

Our ego self-identifies as a personality that needs defending in order to stay safe. The kind of safety that justification buys is illusory. It is like the presidential candidate who changes the subject when he is unprepared with a ready answer. It takes very little time for observers to glean that he is actually ignorant of the topic at hand. Such a candidate does little to inspire confidence in his ability to lead.

A better strategy is to simply admit the wrong as soon as possible and move on. The present needs our attention, and if we are rehashing events in the past or dreading the future, we cheat the world of our honest intention and action in the here and now.

Grounding ourselves in truth is ultimately the easier policy. We no longer need to remember the excuse, carry the baggage, feel defensive about the lying, or keep it all sorted in our mind. We reduce the risk of coming off like a shady used car salesman to others.

Our meditation practice aids us in cutting through to the simple truth of the matter. The juggling act is over. We can simply be.

Appearing to others as we are not is indeed hard work. Aligning ourselves with reality and truth is the easier, softer way.

Friendly nuzzle, Vrindavan, India

Tracking time

Scarlett, West Hills, California

The healing power of perceptive clarity

"Wishful thinking" has a negative connotation in the modern parlance. It implies that we are crippled by a perceptive disability. All thinking is, in fact, wishful thinking. Thinking is informed by our perceptive filters and the judgements we accept as absolute. This acceptance is erroneous. My perception changes with my emotional state (which depends on sleep, food, or arbitrary mood swings) or with my level of resistance to the world and my place in it.

My thoughts themselves are unreliable as a barometer of the flow of nature. My ego, that easily distracted identity that masquerades as the true self, is not to be trusted with a task as weighty as discerning the truth.

Good luck silencing the ego. It gets louder the more we try to squelch it. Perhaps ego control is a fool's errand. We might do better to silently witness this ego and its machinations. Once the ego becomes aware that it is being observed, it's power over us dissolves, and we can see the workings of nature and our place therein without a fight for control.

If we become more accepting of nature's part in our makeup and our part in her overall flow, we can become more right-sized.

Consistent meditation expands our sense of identity beyond the ego and its flighty concerns. We become more grounded, more calm, more stable.

If we become opened to the beautiful gifts nature gives us on a daily basis, we can relax and enjoy the world for what it is. Heaven on Earth.

Skyview, dusk, West Hills, California