On Being Really Stupid

Samsara is the mind turned outwardly, lost in its projections. Nirvana is the mind turned inwardly, recognizing its true nature. ~Sogyal Rinpoche

Perception is a mirror not a fact. And what I look on is my state of mind, reflected outward. ~ A Course In Miracles

We are all deeply involved in samsara.  This means we are all busy creating suffering for ourselves and others while believing that we are seeking happiness.  The root cause of this is avidya or “ignorance.”  For now we can just call it universal stupidity.  It’s the reason we’re all here.  Of course we’re also here to help us wise up. 

Like everyone else in this world of ours, I am deep into my own stupidity.  However, I am among those of us who are interested in waking up.  Because of this I pay attention to my thoughts and emotions and I differentiate between them and my essential self.  I am also aware (sometimes) that the “world” that I encounter through my senses is a neuro-psychic hallucination.  Because I am pretty much just like everyone else I can also get lost in fear, lust, anger, jealousy, need for control, guilt and/or desire.  We pick our poison based on our unconscious predispositions, or samskaras.

Ego, in the spiritual sense, is just our false identification with our mind.  We tend to believe that “my mind” is somehow not the same as “your mind.”  In reality it is all Mind.  No matter how you try you cannot escape the fact that everything we experience is a predicate of Mind.  So this is how I have been really stupid for a long time.  I have fallen into the belief that I am a body and that I am somehow separate from everyone and everything.  I have swallowed the narrative fed to me by my culture, family, religious upbringing, friends, enemies, lovers, media celebrities even.  I have nothing to do with any of that.  It is all hallucination for me and on a group scale.  At the same time it does have meaning.  We have pay attention because it reflects who we think we are. 

Pay attention but don’t believe the hype.  Be true to your Self.  This is our dream and we can make of it what want and we can choose to fully awaken.