the supermystical power of loving the ordinary

spirituality is often sold as a journey of epic proportions full of incredible experiences and - if you're really lucky and extra special - even the promise of mystical powers. and who wouldn't love becoming some kind of superhuman? there's probably not a single person on the planet who at some point hasn't fantasized about it.

but what a disappointment when those who have been seduced into spiritual practice by the lure of escaping their boring daily lives and becoming something more than what they are now find that legitimate spiritual discipline involves exactly the opposite: being content with what is and realizing what we already are (basically, not demanding any changes from life).

after all, what's innovative about striving for something outside of ourselves to achieve happiness? whether we're looking beyond our immediate experience in hopes of getting a new possession, altering our present circumstance to better fit our desires, securing a higher social status, or attaining enlightenment is of relatively little significance. in each case, we're telling ourselves that what we have now isn't good or complete enough and withdrawing our own permission to feel truly satisfied with life until we reach our goal - which is always "out there," whether it be in space or time.

despite the fact that it's very often distorted as such, real spirituality is not an incentive program. it is perhaps the only mode of living available that's not based on the philosophy of devaluing what we have now in order to arrive at a more satisfactory future.

spiritual awakening will never, ever result from overlooking what is. because what is?

reality!

and how can you know reality without coming face to face with it? how can you ever even come close to knowing something if all you're doing is not only ignoring it, but actively running away from it?

working towards incentives is great, but not when it comes to your intrinsic sense of happiness and contentment towards life. if your basic sense of completeness and satisfaction depends on getting something other than what you have now, knowing something other than what you know now, or becoming something other than what you are now, you're screwed. you'll never get there. you'll keep on grasping and grasping and never be one inch closer to happiness.

the good news is, you'll never be one inch further away from it either. happiness is simply realizing what you are and being at peace with that (and you will always be what you are no matter what behavior you engage in, or fail to engage in for that matter). not superficially of course, as in "i'm a sensitive guy who works at a bank and likes gardening on sundays." realizing what you truly are implies discarding every last layer of artificial and misplaced identification and stumbling finally upon that to which nothing can be added or subtracted - that which remains unaffected regardless of what does or doesn't happen in your life - that which cannot win or lose but always, simply, is.

it's not beautiful, it's not amazing, it's not tear-jerking. (it's not ugly or boring either.) it doesn't solve all the problems in your life, and it may even create a few new complications. it doesn't give you special powers and raise you above all the messy flotsam and jetsam of everyday life (you're still gonna have to pay your taxes and wipe your ass). people won't look at you differently after you realize it and stand in awe of your power.

it's just the simple truth, and that's all.

but it will help you fold your laundry better, and it may even make scratching your nose a more joyful experience.

learning vs. self-defense

real growth can result when we choose learning over self-defense. this involves the willingness to accept the imperfect nature of our ego, which consists of an endlessly complex network of illusions, reactions and attachments.

initially, accepting this imperfection is difficult because of our level of identification with the ego; acknowledging its limitations seems tantamount to declaring ourselves "unworthy" or "bad."

with practice, however, sincerity towards the unproductive, unjustified and destructive habits of the ego is tremendously liberating and helps cultivate a healthy sense of humility and humor (there's great freedom in being able to laugh at the ego's foolish nature, in not taking it too seriously).

as we begin to assess our ego objectively, identification is naturally withdrawn from it. facing its limitations no longer entails a defeat but instead represents a victory in that we come one step closer to unearthing the unconscious programs that have been running our lives and concealing our natural propensity for happiness. we begin to clearly perceive a difference between our aware nature and the automatic, unconscious responses of the ego.

"being right" and "being perfect" is no longer a life or death matter once we realize that we are not our ego. when we're right, we win absolutely nothing; when we're wrong, we're not diminished in the slightest. realizing this takes pride out of the equation, allowing us to shine the light of awareness on aspects of our ego we had previously blinded ourselves to.

the pettiness of refusing to acknowledge the limitations of our ego is a huge price to pay for a self-defense mechanism that only serves to keep us entrenched in unconsciousness and suffering. bringing our limitations to light, on the other hand, can become a truly joyful act in that it facilitates the dissolution of yet another obstacle to true peace and happiness.

no middleman

the only goal of spirituality is to cut out the middleman between what's inside and what's outside. this middleman is also known as the ego.

through genuine spiritual living, one begins to glimpse the superfluous nature of the ego. this represents major spiritual progress and results in the natural reduction of its intrusive, pervasive activity.

as the incessant ego-chatter loses predominance, it becomes increasingly evident that not only does it fail to play an indispensible role; it's completely unnecessary - not to mention severely problematic to the natural functioning of life.

once the ego is recognized as a hindrance to happiness, its spell is broken and its eventual dissolution guaranteed. spiritually speaking, cutting out the middleman is as natural a reaction as the pulling out of a painful thorn.

having is not enough

you can have the key to your happiness and be oblivious of this fact if you've convinced yourself that you're in need and must find something.

this is how the base of absolute peace and contentment that is there at all times for everyone can be overlooked and discomfort, non-satisfaction and suffering can become the idling state of experience - because convincing yourself you're missing something, even if in reality you have exactly what you need, is - experience-wise - equivalent to not having.

this doesn't mean "make do with what you have" or "be thankful for what you have," because these statements mostly seem to refer to gratitude towards health, relationships or material possessions. it means realize what you actually have, or know yourself, or know what you really are, or wake up to the truth.

when you know what you actually possess, what you actually are, you'll be unconditionally satisfied. you'll know that you're not in need of any additional things to be happy, although things of course can contribute to your happiness.

you must be out of your mind to be happy

if i tried to share the secret of happinness with you, i would do it thus:




and then i would say "that's the most important thing of all."