Humans are a bundle of contradictions. Most of us seem to function best when we repeat our consistent, daily routines. Even the most "disorganized" person has at least one thing they do consistently every day, right? We get a great sense of satisfaction when we complete our rituals, often moving automatically through the same sequence of steps. To a body-mind, this is an efficient use of resources, and we just LOVE efficiency, don’t we? Indeed, the human animal thrives in the 3D world on repetition. We are always seeking the perceived safety of the familiar, of the known. Because, what is understood is “safe” on some level, even if the known experience is one of suffering.
But humans also crave novelty and drama! We want to be stimulated! We want to solve puzzles, figure things out, and be entertained. We want new and exciting experiences that will change the state of our routine experience (but not too much)! We want to feel like we’re moving forward, making progress, and getting better, all while only experiencing a certain set of acceptable feelings. And we LOVE telling stories about how we are or are not doing all of that based on some imagined and ever-changing changing benchmark.
When we feel like we’ve finally achieved some hard-earned victory or met some goal, maybe there is some kind of brief felt experience (likely different than the one we expected), and then…
RIGHT! I’m bored! What’s next?!
There is nothing wrong with this. It just seems to be the nature of human experience when lived from the perspective of a constructed separate self. I think we can all relate to the continuous back and forth of routine vs. novelty. Wanting vs. not wanting. This vs. that. Push vs. pull. But the questions I’m asking you to feel into are:
What else is here in addition to/despite of all that back and forth?
What is more primary than the ping pong game of experience?
What is always already here before, between, and beyond thought, feeling, and behavior?
What is so simple and obvious that it is completely overlooked by the mind?
What is it that has the capacity to generate, allow, effortlessly bring into being, and then hold ALL experiences, including seemingly contradictory ones?
These are not questions that can be answered by the language-based intellect. The intellect is often a hindrance to this exploration in my experience. I use concepts as pointers here because they are the only tool at my disposal in this digital realm. So…
What if these questions are not riddles to solve but simply a wind blowing on the burning embers of your curiosity to discover the true essence of your being?
Let the air in!
Let the fire spark!
What is waiting for your attention is worth it…