"Love and compassion … are the ultimate source of human happiness, and the need for them lies at the very core of our being." -Dalai Lama
We were born into maya — the illusion of separation that obscures the truth of ourselves. The whole universe seems real and finite to us, yet many scientists now believe we are part of multiple universes, a multiverse. The illusion runs even deeper into other dimensions — particles demonstrating intelligence and holographic connectivity. Not just inside the universe — within our own bodies, we're dancing with electricity.
We are all a part of something so awesome, so inspiring, so massive and so fantastic!
Yet, so many — particularly Westerners — feel disconnected, fragmented, frustrated, fatigued, unsatisfied, unhappy, depleted, overworked, stressed, are suffering from sickness, and are perhaps overweight and unhealthy.
Many people feel a spiritual hunger that is not being satisfied by their work, relationships, material ambitions or even just the battle to produce enough to sustain themselves. They feel far removed from our cosmic connection and destiny.
For many, life is like climbing an endless mountain and never reaching the top.
Or, maybe more like the Greek myth of Sisyphus ...
Sisyphus played tricks with the gods and was punished with having to push a rock to the top of a mountain, only to watch it roll back down again — and he was condemned to repeat this action forever.
Such spiritual disconnection and futility are deeply rooted within the collective unconscious.
We resonate with Sisyphus every day, when we have the same routines and mundane tasks that stifle our creativity. We toil under the same often tedious, repetitive tasks and then have to submit a yearly tax return.
Thinking in this old way has run its course. We now know we are actually vibrational beings that sparkle and explode with energy and life-force — that our very makeup is spacious and intelligent.
We swim within a unified field of intelligent energies that surrounds us, fills us and the space between spaces. Even that which appears solid and hard is really just stardust made up of energy.
Behind all creation is a love that unifies us and reminds us of our true nature. To understand this love is to understand all of existence.
Even the story of Sisyphus can be turned into inspiration:
The experience of human suffering is richly textured and a part of the human journey. An examination of the Buddha's life in service to humanity, serves as an important source of understanding.
At 29-years-old, Prince Siddhārtha Gautama was called to escape the confines of his palace. He discovered a world of suffering. His spiritual journey thus began with a quest to end suffering.
Gautama took his body to the limits of spiritual seeking and asceticism before accepting rice and milk and devoting himself to the "Middle Way" aka Buddhism.
At 35, he received the gift of enlightenment at the Bodhi tree and thus, became the Buddha. He discovered certain universal truths and a way to cut through the illusion. Meditation was (and still is) a huge aspect of this tradition.
An important aspect to Gautama's practice is described as "the immeasurables" — (called the "Four Immeasurable Minds" by Thich Nhat Hanh) — love, compassion, joy and equanimity.
The meditative form is like a prayer that calls out love and happiness:
- May all sentient beings be happy.
- May all sentient beings be free of suffering.
- May all sentient beings never separate from bliss without affliction.
- May all sentient beings be in perfect equanimity — free of attachments, prejudice and anger.
The teachings of the Buddha dissect existence into fundamental elements — they describe the makeup of all reality in an all-encompassing way.
To walk the path of dharma is to touch the loving field of energy in which we swim.
Ultimately it is the field of love and compassion from which we were birthed, that is the source of happiness. All else is a reflection, an imitation or worse an idol.
The true drivers that make us human and provide the source of our happiness and fulfillment are not money and acquisition of wealth —they are love and compassion.
Credit: Mindbodygreen, Photo Credit: Stocksy