Show Notes
We may develop attachments to possessions, people or circumstances that we believe are essential for our peace and happiness. In spirituality we may hear that it is desirable to be free of attachments and try to do that. But why would we want to give up something that we value? A: Only if it is a strategy to gain something we want even more! Enlightenment perhaps? But that would only be exchanging the object of our attachment. Hence the dilemma.
More from Well Being with Don Oakley
The spiritual journey can feel like a selfish endeavor: tuning out the world and looking within. And it may be that for a while, but that is not where it leads. Where it leads couldn't be more inclusive.
In spirituality, there is a lot of talk about trying to get rid of ego as if it were a fixed internal entity opposed to our awakening. But other than a believed thought, where is it exactly? When we look for it, we can find ideas, memories, regrets, hopes, fears, opinions and so on, but no ego? This session will address how to work with this troublesome concept.
When we hear the word "emptiness" used in spirituality, it can be thought to mean void, non-existent, utterly devoid of life and other such scary concepts, but hat is not what it means at all. It is a very subtle but essential concept with no real equivalent in western spiritual traditions.
An Illusion is when we believe something that is not true. When we see a mirage in the desert, the image is real (we do see an image), but the image is not what it appears to be. This discourse will cover how to recognize illusions and how to dispel them.
Everything we can see, taste, touch, hear, think or feel is always in a state of flux, always changing. Every living being comes with an expiration date. We might ask, "In a world where nothing is permanent, where can our true identity be found?" Is there anything that abides?