Ending Our Patterns of Unnecessary Suffering: Part III

If what you are searching for is perfect safety, perfect comfort, a life that is dedicated to accumulating more and more personal power, then the freedom I am pointing to is not for you. The invitation to accept the treasure of a life lived in conscious awareness is not an invitation to safety and comfort. It is an invitation to live life fully and completely, which is never ultimately safe and is often uncomfortable.

Power is mostly searched for because there is a belief that it will bring you comfort and safety, and this is turn will bring happiness and fulfillment: “If I am just safe enough, then I can relax.” But I am talking about recognizing that you can relax right now, even though you aren’t completely safe and you never will be. In that understanding is more than safety for the body, mind, or emotions. It is the realization of your very beingness, which is eternal.

The area where you do have some power and control, and which is too often overlooked, is in the choice of where you put your attention. You can choose to put attention on consciously recognizing what does not need to be controlled to be truly free, and you can support others in that.

If your attention is on the desire to control, your mind clutches at what you think must happen, should happen, or did happen. That clutching perpetuates suffering. If your desire is for true freedom rather than to control, you will catch the fire of truth. The mind will stop its clutching and will begin to open. What follows the natural opening of the mind is the most profound, the most mysterious, the most unspeakable realization.

As you investigate your attempts to control, ask yourself: What do I try to control? Be as honest as possible, and then even more honest. Be aware of any defenses to truly seeing, and be willing to drop these defenses. Perhaps you will uncover even more completely what has been hidden behind the closed doors of the mind. Through honest investigation these doors can open, offering a deep opportunity for surrender.

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