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3rd Millennium Gateway
A Guide and Index to Genuine Spirituality
The following is an excerpt from Gina Lake's new book:
Radical Happiness: A Guide to Awakening.
Also, see the 3MG review.
The Cause Of Suffering
by Gina Lake
The egoic mind is the cause of suffering. Nothing more. Suffering only happens in response to a thought. We suffer because we think something about what is happening, what happened, or what might happen. We create a story about what is, what was, or what will be; then we suffer over it. We particularly suffer over fears, which are negative ideas about the future, although any idea can cause suffering if it is believed.
Even positive ideas can cause suffering. Something as simple as, "I'm doing great" can cause suffering because there will come a time when the mind will declare, "I'm not doing great." Every positive thought has as much potential for suffering as a negative one because it carries with it the fear of losing what is desired.
In either case, whether we are thinking a positive or negative thought, we have thought the egoic self into existence. The mind creates the me through thought. Before thought, there was no egoic self, only the Self. This birth of the me is the cause of suffering. The two go hand in hand. The me and its story is about separation, and separation is painful. Anytime the focus is on the me, we suffer, whether the me is being painted positively or negatively.
We suffer not only because we make ourselves separate from others but because we make ourselves separate from the Self. However, this suffering is not a mistake; it is part of the Self's plan too. Suffering is what wakes us up out of the egoic state of consciousness. It is not only grist for the egoic self's mill but a prod to awaken us to our true nature. Suffering is not a mistake.
Suffering is the result of our programming. We are programmed with a mind that generates thoughts (including the me thought), which cause suffering. However, we are also given a way out of suffering. Life is like a puzzle: We are being asked to find the solution to suffering. We look here and we look there for the way out: Is eating the way out? Is being busy the way out? Is having more money the way out? Is being famous the way out? Is having the right relationship the way out? No, no, no, no, and no. We eventually discover that none of these are the way out. Then what is?
After looking in all these directions and more, we begin looking into philosophies and teachings that might have the answer. Is psychotherapy the way out? Is meditation the way out? Is a vegan diet the way out? Is yoga the way out? Are affirmations the way out? No, no, no, no, and no.
When we are ready, a teacher appears who has found the way out. "You don't exist," the teacher says. "If that's the truth, I don't want to hear it," we say. And we go back to looking somewhere else. Finally, we run into the Truth enough times that it cannot be denied.
What a shock. What a blow. No me. What now? How will life be lived? You don't know. You drop all pretense of knowing and just let yourself not know. Not knowing is the natural state. However, this not—knowing is not a place of never knowing. Knowing happens; it just doesn't happen ahead of time but in each moment. It unfolds from one moment to the next. Who knows about the next moment? We only know about this one. This is how life is lived without the me. Very well thank you.
To get to this point, we have to become aware of our mind, what it is thinking, and how true those thoughts are. The good news is that we don't have to do anything to develop this awareness. We have always been aware of our mind or we wouldn't be able to recount what is in it or think about our thoughts. Something else is present besides the mind that has always been aware of it and everything else occurring in this sensory mechanism we call our body. This awareness, this observer, this watcher, is you—the real you.
Exercise: Noticing the Real You
The real you is subtle. This inquiry will help you become more aware of who you really are.
Who or what is it that is aware of reading these words? Notice this awareness. How do you experience it? What does it feel like? Where do you experience it? Is it contained anywhere? Just stay with the experience of it for a moment. This is who you are. The experience of this is available in every moment. All you have to do is give your attention to the real you rather than to the mind.
The egoic mind projects another you—the thinker of the thoughts. This is the ego, the you that you think you are: the you that has a name and looks a certain way and is a father/mother, sister/brother, etc. (fill in the blanks with all the things you call yourself). That you is the one that does not exist. Instead, you are the awareness of the person you think you are.
Once you see this, you have to wonder why it took so long. Programming. That's all. We don't see this because we are programmed to think of ourselves the way we do. There is no getting around our programming except by seeing that it is not the whole truth about who we are. We are programmed to believe an illusion. Once we see this, the game is over, at least the way we have been playing it. We may still do some of the same things we did, but the game is never the same. The jig is up, as they say. The bell can't be un-rung, and we can't go back to believing a lie.
But we may try. Our programming still has some pull. It can pull us in for a while, but not for long before we catch ourselves laughing for taking the me so seriously. We may find the ego endearing and silly, but we can't buy into its perspective any longer. Most of what the mind says just doesn't seem true anymore.
What an amazing discovery! What a relief to discover that we are not this individual who suffers and struggles so. We can finally give up the effort to be somebody special, to know things, to be right, and to get it right. We were never satisfied with ourselves or others, no matter what we did or what they did. It was a no-win game. What a relief to give up the effort to be better, do better, and get more.
How did we miss the fact that everything we ever wanted has been here all along? The peace, happiness, and joy we have been searching for, competing for, have been here all along in the space between our thoughts. We are this peace, happiness, and joy. We missed it because it is who we are. It is too close for us to see, like an eye that cannot see itself. It is so ever-present that, like water to a fish, it is taken for granted and not questioned. Like the air we breathe, it is invisible and without dimension, and the egoic mind doesn't pay attention to such things. It has eyes only for the tangibles in life.
Besides, the egoic mind has been very busy creating a life, a story, by manifesting problems and then trying to solve them. It has been too busy to ask questions. It thinks a thought and then does something about it. That is what life has been about. But once we begin questioning the egoic mind, the illusion begins to unravel.
When the time comes to awaken, the Self puts thoughts into the mind that question the validity of our other thoughts. The Self also draws others to us who realize the Truth and have seen through the mind. Questions about the nature and purpose of life also begin to arise in the mind.
Until then, the tendency is to respect and adhere to whatever goes through the mind. Like someone lost in the ocean who has just been thrown a life preserver, we cling to each thought for dear life. After all, without our thoughts telling us who we are, who would we be? We don't think that being no-thing is an option. To the egoic mind, being no-thing is the same as not existing. The ego would rather be anyone—even an unhappy someone—than not exist at all. This domination of the egoic mind is called identification, and that is the cause of suffering.
Copyright© 2005
Gina Lake
All Rights Reserved
Reprinted With Permission
Excerpted from Gina Lake's new book, Radical Happiness: A Guide to Awakening. (Published by iUniverse; July 2005; $13.95 U.S.; ISBN: 0-595-34833-5)
Gina Lake has a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology and over twenty years experience supporting people in their spiritual growth. In addition, she has authored several books on spirituality, including: Pathways to Self Discovery and Symbols of the Soul. She also compiled and edited Nothing Personal: Seeing Beyond the Illusion of a Separate Self, based on the teachings of her husband. Together, they offer satsang (inquiry into the nature of being) and spiritual retreats.
For more information or to order the book, please visit Radical Happiness or email Gina at ginalakenow@aol.com. She is also available for phone consultations.
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