From Georg Feuerstein
Aug. 2nd, 2015 05:13 pmThe more actively we seek out happiness, the less likely we are to find it. The reason for this is that all forms of seeking pertain to the finite, egoic consciousness (our everyday identity), whereas true, permanent happiness is the unconditional Reality itself, which transcends the ego. (...) We cannot become happy; we can only be happy.
Most people have experienced moments of joy or delight at one time or another in their lves. That means we know what happiness feels like... what we experience when our whole body radiates with joyous energy and we feel like embracing everyone and everything. In those precious moments, we are in touch with something more real than our ordinary self or the world that our ordinary self experiences. Our ego is temporarily suspended, and our consciousness and energy and stepped up manifold. There is simply an overwhelming feeling of happines, of blissfulness, which has the quality of love. We can always remember, with our whole body, those occasions of extraordinary joy. (...)
To remember to be present as the body is a skill that can be learned. To be presently happy rather than to seek to become happy is an open option for all of us-- in every single moment. We can either lose ourselves in fear, anger, sorrow, lust, jealousy, pride, self-complacency, and all the other diverse egoic states, or we can feel through to the great pool of bliss that lies beyond them.
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We are always already enlightened, but this must become our immediate and continuous apperception.
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Stressful effort-- "trying too hard"-- is always a sign that our ego is in the way.
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Most people have experienced moments of joy or delight at one time or another in their lves. That means we know what happiness feels like... what we experience when our whole body radiates with joyous energy and we feel like embracing everyone and everything. In those precious moments, we are in touch with something more real than our ordinary self or the world that our ordinary self experiences. Our ego is temporarily suspended, and our consciousness and energy and stepped up manifold. There is simply an overwhelming feeling of happines, of blissfulness, which has the quality of love. We can always remember, with our whole body, those occasions of extraordinary joy. (...)
To remember to be present as the body is a skill that can be learned. To be presently happy rather than to seek to become happy is an open option for all of us-- in every single moment. We can either lose ourselves in fear, anger, sorrow, lust, jealousy, pride, self-complacency, and all the other diverse egoic states, or we can feel through to the great pool of bliss that lies beyond them.
---
We are always already enlightened, but this must become our immediate and continuous apperception.
---
Stressful effort-- "trying too hard"-- is always a sign that our ego is in the way.
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