A Meditative Perspective

When most people think of meditation, they have an image of sitting in the lotus position on the floor and reciting a mantra like OM or following their breath as it goes in and out. There are also many other ways to bring you to a peaceful meditative state that combine breathing , humming, and moving . Yoga , Tai Chi, & Chi Gong are also ancient practices that facilitate meditation. One of the main purposes of meditation is to learn to just watch yourself , your thoughts , emotions , & sensations etc. The reason to just watch or become the witness of these aspects of your self , is to understand how to experience your life from a non-attached perspective. Your thoughts , feelings , emotions , and experiences are not the problem in and of themselves. It is the tendency to become attached to them and let them absorb all your consciousness , thereby making an identity that is separate from who you are out of them. A non-attached perspective does not mean fighting or repressing them. It is allowing them to be as they are fully, without being pulled into identification with them !
In addition to practicing various forms of meditation, this training or experience is meant to be brought into every aspect of your daily life and not left on the floor or at the yoga studio after you are finished. This is called living with a meditative perspective. By living in this way you can bring the energy of your deepest Self into all aspects of life. This is the joy of Being!!!

Which is Bigger >

Which is bigger ? Your mind or the Universe . That is an interesting question. Often when we think of ourselves in relation to the vast cosmos, we seem very very small and insignificant. In one sense part of that is true . We are a spark of Divine life flowing in the incredible ever expanding beauty of existence. However, to you and all other human beings, the universe arises within your mind. It is so. It cannot be otherwise ! Your mind contains all of life ! So how big, vast and deep are you ? There is something to meditate on !!!

Laughter

Where does laughter come from ? What is it's nature? To quote master OSHO who said" Laughter is the only true religion , Everything else is just metaphysics " says alot. When we truly laugh, we do so from our being center just below the navel. It does not come from the intellectual mind or from analytic thinking. It explodes from our deeper self. When we laugh together with others, it reveals the common ground or oneness of life. There is no room for superior or inferior here. It also creates a space or gap in our thinking , what Zen masters call no-mind ! It is extremely beneficial for our physical and emotional health , especially the lymphatic system as well. What a gift from Life that we can laugh.
When Gautam Buddha was looking for a successor that was enlightened and could carry on his work, he gathered many disciples in a large room. After many hours of serious and deep silence , the Buddha made a gesture with a flower to give to the chosen one. All the sudden one disciple began to laugh uncontrolably. The Buddha brought him to the front of the room, gave him the flower and said "You are my successor " The other disciples looked on with utter amazement.
This is the power and beauty of laughter !!!

Healing the Ego

Throughout history the spiritual aspirant of most faiths were required to recluse themselves from the world in order to undertake the perceived necessity to annihilate the ego in their path towards God. Although this may very well have been a necessary process or stage in the evolution of human consciousness, in today's world and environment, we can no longer afford to, nor is it necessary to adopt this approach. We are now at the stage as mystic Caroline Myss eloquently puts it " to resolve the paradox for the need for a strong and healthy ego and the still fundamental need to release the ego in order to experience God or the Higher Self ".On the surface this seems like an almost impossible contradiction to reconcile. How can we both strengthen our ego and at the same time release it or transcend it. In my view the ego itself is not the problem. It is the unhealthy ego that creates the void and separation from our basic divine nature and realty. This begs the question , what is a healthy and unhealthy ego ? An unhealthy ego which perplexes 99.9% of humanity, is based on the idea that our are fundamental identity is our ego. In other words it is confused about its role in the overall functioning of the human being. Thinking that it is the be all and end all of life itself , it is attached to things and tries to control or dominate our being. It has become ,and we have allowed it, to be a maniacal tyrant over us both individually and collectively. This happens on many subtle levels and reveals this disfunction when we face minor and major difficulties or challenges in our lives. It becomes very resistant to the perceived erosion of control and creates tremendous fear in defense of its territory. The healthy ego , which was created by life is one that functions in the role of servant and supporter of our deeper nature . So instead of blocking or distorting our aspirations to know ourselves at the essential level of heart and spiritual being , it would help point the way and lead us to that ultimate place within the depths of life itself. At this point we should focus our attention and energy on educating the ego of its true role and place , and make Friends with it. This seems like a much more healthy approach than the old days of total annihilation!!

Your Finances & Your Chakras

Some may wonder how the ancient yogic system of the chakras has any relation to money & finance. Doesn't the world of money revolve around economic factors and materialism , while the chakras are focused on spirituality and the human energy field ? On the surface this appears to be, however this assumption is based on a dualistic view of life that divides and compartmentalizes reality into seemingly polar opposites that are separate and many times at odds with each other. In my view this perspective is basically flawed for a number of reasons. Money is basically a concept or symbol for the things of this world , how we control or trade and exchange goods and services. However , on a deeper level money represents energy both symbolically and literally. Most humans are extremely emotional about their finances both in today's world as well as throughout history. One can vividly imagine many people jumping out of the windows on Wall street during the severe market crash in October of 1929. Wars and other political conflicts have basically centered around the control and distribution of financial resources and what that represents , land, trade, economic inequality, import / export, etc. On the level of the individual, if you look closely at your own experience, you can feel how real this connection is. The energy of money affects our chakra system dramatically. This is espscially true for our first or root chakra, which represents our energetic metabolism of issues related to our physical survival and security. The energy from the root charka , which is connected to the earth energy that sustains all life on the planet, then influences all the other chakras , but especially the second or sacral chakra, and the third or solar plexus chakra. These first three are where the energetic metabolism takes place related to our physical bodies and human emotional health. If one is experiencing financial difficulties, working only on the mental level in devising solutions to these issues is like treating the symptoms of the disease and not the deeper root causes which usually exists on the emotional and psychological level. A more holistic solution would include therapy the integrates all aspects of healing on the energetic system of the chakras. Helping the person balance and harmonize their chakra energy as it relates to their finances could help not only with the current situation, but also help in preventing reocurrances in the future. Life and human beings are one organic system including the financial system the we have created . The health of the individual has a direct impact on the overall health of our financial system in so many ways. I believe the holistic or non-dual approach to our finances is not only important, but vital to the current and future health of our economic system.

A Separate Security

Do we really need a separate security ? Most human beings on the planet put a great deal of time and energy trying to survive and and create security on many levels. This comes from a basically flawed assumption that existence itself has not ensured our basic survival and security already. It comes from the belief that we are separate from life and live in a hostile world where we have to compete or fight over limited resources . The ancient Taoists sages had a different perspective. They taught that man/woman were the connection or synapse between heaven and earth. They taught that life is a balance of two polar energies ( yin & yang) and we are not separate from those energies . We are connected and part of the flow of life !! If existence has created us as well as all of the natural world and cosmos , which it sustains in all the abundant forms we perceive as well as those we do not, then why not so for human beings? Is this perceived separation true and accurate or is it a basic flaw in our beliefs and thinking? All of life is one ! We really don't need a separate security! It is a basic lack of trust in life that it has already and will provide for our needs that drives this flaw in our perception. It is why at all levels we see a dramatic imbalance in resources throughout the world. This not only affects the world economy, it also affects all aspects ; politics, crime , social issues , hunger , disease , etc.
Maybe the ancient Taoists masters knew something we could all learn from. Life is abundant!!
Heaven's energy is above us , Mother Earth's is below us . Hell is living only in the egoic mind!

Two Kinds of Sleep

We are all familar with the reality of falling asleep every night. All of humanity shares this experience without exception. However, even with all the new scientific discoveries and new technologies , scientists and doctors still don't understand sleep very well. Where do we go when we sleep? What is the nature and reality of dreams? Where is our consciousness in dreamless sleep?These are still questions that remain a mystery.
Let's now look at another kind of sleep that is even more difficult to understand. I'm talking about spiritual sleep. What is spiritual sleep? It is a metaphor used in many spiritual traditions for humanities lack of conscious awareness regarding the nature and experience of reality. Even while we are awake physically our minds are usually drifting and dreaming somewhere else. We are not present in the here and now. There is a screen of thoughts , labels , and mental noise that obscure and cloud up are ability to see things as they are. We view reality through a filter of past and future mind projection which blocks our clear perception of the world and more importantly our own essential nature at the core of our being. Another name for this is being spiritually unconscious. Most often we react and relate to our reality with mechanical and conditioned responses that are unconscious mental patterns we have learned from childhood on. Some of these patterns are part of a colective unconsciousness shared by most humans which of course we are unaware of. This is why most eastern spiritual traditions describe the spiritual path as an awakening of conscious awareness from the slumber of spiritual unconsciousness. The word buddha means "awake" or "awakened one". It means they have realized their own basic essential inner nature of full consciousness or buddha nature, and can see reality as it is. The Buddha called it "suchness" .
Of the two kinds of sleep, understanding and awakening from the spiritual slumber has meaning for all of us. This is the essential mission of all religion and spirituality. When we die the need for physical sleep will end . The real question is whether we will be spiritually awake or will continue to let our consciousness remain fast asleep without recognizing and awakening to who we are.

Finding Balance & Harmony

As human beings , we exist in two dimensions, the spiritual and the physical. As such it is important to understand, realize , and master both. This apparent duality may look like competing poles , or in conflict with each other, however this is really not the case. When we emphasize one by denying the other , we split ourselves into two polarities creating stress and discord. As eloquently stated in the teachings of the Tao, these seemingly polarities are actually complimentary. As also taught in many tantric paths , it is by accepting the whole of existence and moving through the physical plane by feeling and experiencing all of life's energies , can spiritual growth and liberation truly be! This was the teaching of the Buddha ( the middle way )
which is based on balance , peace and harmony. It is our task and challenge to realize this for ourselves. May you truly find that balance !!!

Being Present in the Now

Life is only Now !!! It is never not Now . The question is where is your consciousness? Is it totally aligned with life in this moment ? Does it stay present in the Now ? If not , how can you re-align your being and consciousness back to life? First you must clearly understand what obstacles prevent you from being present. The first one is your own thinking which wants to dominate and absorb all your consciousness. The second is suppessed emotional pain from the past which is stuck in your memories and resurfaces from time to time as fear , anxiety, or pain both emotional and physical. These obstacles are not easily overcome by simple techniques devised by the mind. Fortunately since you are connected to and a part of Life itself , it understands and will help you with these obstacles. It will give you challenges and life situations that if properly accepted and allowed to be as they are without resistance, will push you deeper and deeper into Presence. The basic practice is to allow this moment to be and surrender completely. In other words , no emotional separation to the form this moment takes no matter how challenging! This sounds simple. However, in reality it can be very difficult depending on the magnitude of the challenge Life presents in this moment. So no matter what happens , try to allow and embrace the form of this moment completely, then respond and take action or not out of full consciousness not out of the conditioned reaction of the ego mind. This will help you be in the Now, which is Life itself !!!

Depression

Many people throughout the world suffer from depression. It is a living hell for many as it sucks the joy and will to live out of their lives. The basic cause is the gap between what they expect to happen in their life and what actually does happen. This can come about in two ways. If there is a strong , future based , expectation of what they think will happen which turns out differently, or for many , when the current circumstances of life pile up on them to such a degree that they mentally breakdown and cannot process the stress level it has created . Either way, this gap is the cause of suffering and turns into depression in the extreme form. There is fundamentally one way to deal with this problem. The person must totally accept the life circumstances as they are and emotionally digest them . If there is any resistance to life as it is, the problem of depression will stick and not be resolved. It sounds like an easy solution , however in practice it can be extremely difficult to go through. It is in a way a kind of ego death when a person goes through this. In a very real sense the person feels as if a part of them is dying. They have to remember the part they feel is not their true divine essence which never dies and cannot be destroyed. It is the illusory self that feels the sting of ego death. Ultimately, this is spiritually healthy if the person can surrender to the suchness or isness of life as the Buddha said . This doesn't mean that a person cannot change his circumstances if they are not pleasant or painful. However, first must come acceptance and alignment with life so there is no disconnection from lifes energy. Then a conscious response can be planned and executed to try to change things for the better. If this is done with awareness and consciousness then it is fine. If it is an unconscious reaction based on negative emotion, it is likely that the situation will not change and could get worse. Being totally aligned with life as it is can be the best remedy for depression. Allowance, acceptance, and surrender are helpful tools on this process. Try this approach and see what happens !

Preparing The Ground

In today's active and busy world our minds tend to become cluttered with thoughts, emotions, and things to do. This creates a certain movement and momentum in our stream of mental activity that is hard to slow down. Most of us think it is important and necessary to engage in thinking and doing from the moment we awake till the time our head hits the pillow at night. We then many times still have active mental activity in our dreams as well, only to wake and proceed to pick up the action where we left off the day before. Just as our physical body needs rest and time to re-energize , our mind and spirit need time to rest as well. This is meditation !
Meditation is a vacation for the mind. It is time to clear out all the mental activity and clutter that is sometimes bordering on addiction , and become aware of the space of consciousness without thought that is the essence of who we are. This is the fundamental spiritual identity crisis of humanity. However, meditation is not easy if you are trying to go from the mind of obsessive thinking and doing to a peaceful meditative state in one step. You must first prepare the groung for this transition. This can be done by a number of means which include any kind of physical activity such as yoga, shaking, dancing , jumping followed by stillness either sitting or lying down in complete motionless position. This is called active meditation ! Another type of preparation is through the use of sound such as mantra chanting, Tibetan bells or bowls, the sound of falling rain or other meditative music. These stepping stones can help you transition from the clatter of a noisy mind to the sublime peace and bliss of deep meditation where you can get to know your own being at the essential level !!! It is truly worth the trouble !

The Masters

To my beloved Masters my heart is beyond gratitude. You have touched my soul at the very core. I feel your presence in every aspect of my life. Jesus , Osho, and Lao Tsu , my internal guides of spirit, you have helped me so much to realize the blessing of eternal life and the spiritual birthright of divine creation. Thank you!!! To my living master Khan Ba Da. You came like a thief in the night without a sign. Through your heart of boundless compassion , you have opened the way to the great ocean of one divine life. As the illusory mind dissolves, and real soul blossoms, please remember , I am eternally grateful to you for giving me this treasure that has changed my life forever. It's value has no equal in the world of things. It is the blessing that words cannot describe. No matter where the Tao leads us both in the future, we are one in spirt and heart, eternally bound through the love and life of heaven! Let it be now and forever !!!

Nourishing the Soul

The human being is made up of body , mind , spirit, and soul. The body and mind are temporal and the spirit and soul are non-temporal or eternal. However , most human beings spend almost all their tme and energy feeding or nourishing the body and mind. They pursue the physical survival and well being of the body and they thirst for information to satisfy the intellect. In the case of the spirit and soul, which is fundamentally at least as important , or some may say more important , there is not nearly enough time and effort given to nourish these essential aspects of the person. This results in an unhealthy imbalance and leads to physical and mental disease and ultimately death! Think about it ! If you were to make a choice of what aspects of the self to feed and nourish more, would it make sense to emphasize the temporal or the eternal. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't take care of your body and mind. They are gifts from life and should be well cared for. Just don't ignore the more fundamental aspects of spirit and soul. They deserve at least as much care and concern , if not more, because they last forever. In today's world the spirit and soul of the human being suffers from neglect and malnourishment. They live in poverty while the body and intellect are glutonous and overfed. Look within you own being to see if you have a healthy balance or not. Ask your spirit and soul for a report card or survey on how they are doing relative to the mind and body. You may be surprised at what they say!

Self Realization

Some religious people have the perspective that self realization is self-centered. They believe that to be truly religious one must totally deny the evil world including the self. However, in this attitude or posture they fail to realize one critical reality. God created and is living in the self. God is the true Self. Self realization is God realization ! When one becomes totally Self realized , the last delusion is recognized. The delusion that there is a separation between God and the self.
Life is one ! The human being does not exist and cannot exist as a separate entity . The essence of the creator is at the core and center of each expression of life including humanity. If the mind looks for or projects God outside of the self, that is a conceptual God which is an illusion. This type of egoic mental projection is the basis of religious difference and strife. In somes cases it is the basis for violence and war! Without individual Self realization , there can be and will never be true and lasting peace in the world! Violence, war, civil strife, crime, domestic violence or any other form of non-peace in the world originates in the egoic consciousness of the un Self realized human being. True Self realization happens when the egoic mind is recognized for what it is , a mental illness and illusion. As the illusory mind is transcended and the divine mind wakes up and is realized, this becomes the basis for peace. Any attempts or efforts for peace , however noble , that don't rest on this foundation , ultimately are futile and will end up in collapse and frustration. These efforts are like a physician dealing only with the symptoms of disease and ignoring the root cause. Individual Self realization is the basic foundation or building block for true and lasting world peace. The individual is a microcosm of the cosmos. The divine Self realized human is what connects heaven and earth. When the delusion of the egoic mind has been transcended , and each human being is at peace not only outside themseves but more importantly within their essential being, world peace will be finally realized ! Otherwise the illusory egoic consciousness will continue it's reign of terror and violence over humanity !

Expectations

Whenever you think you know what is going to happen , or expect things to be a certain way, be prepared for something to turn out differently. The only certainty in life is that it is uncertain. One day you think you have it all figured out and , Wham, it blind sides you . This begs the question " How important is certainty anyway?" If we always new what was going to happen or if we could see or predict the future , wouldn't it get pretty boring after awhile? Life is mysterious, and that is the way it should be. Otherwise we would not grow! Life is organic both externally and internally. Embrace the mystery! It is a great adventure! Be open to let life lead you where it will. Change the word expectations to possibilities. Expectation is too conditional. It is a product of the conditioned mind. You are much more than your conditioned thinking! Your possibilities represent all the possibilities in the universe. You are only limited by your own mental and spiritual limitations. Life is your partner in the great adventure! Explore the massive new frontier of unconditioned pure consciousness! It is waiting for you.

Science and Religion

Science and religion need not be at odds with each other. Science is the pursuit of truth in the external, objective world and religion or spirituality is the pursuit of truth in the internal, subjective world. Just as the mind and body need to harmonize to have healthy life in man, so do these two important aspects of humanity. The strength of science lies in it's ability to look at reality with an open objective framework. When new and better understandings of existence and nature are discovered, the old views simply give way to the more advanced and better viewpoint. With religion and spirituality, it is a little more tricky. This realm of human inquiry attempts to find and explain the internal, subjective world of the mind , heart and soul. This territory is a much greater challenge for obvious reasons. Much advancement has been made also in this regard in recent times. Not only are new and more advanced understandings emerging today from many sources, a global shift of consciousness is happening on a scale that is unprecedented in human history. This shift has allowed for a better understanding of the ancient spiritual wisdom of most traditions and is providing a framework for integration as such. The Eternal Truth is One. It contains all aspects of reality including both subjective and objective aspects. All religions need to adopt the open minded and objective posture of the scientist when searching for internal truth. If advanced understanding emerges, the dogmas and less advanced concepts need to give way to the deeper realizations. This is very difficult for most traditional highly organized religions because their structure and very existence is highly dependent on the old concepts and precepts. At this point in mans evolution however, if they can't transcend their attachment to their limited grasp of reality, they will eventually be left on the garbage pile of history. Ultimate reality is non-conceptual and best experinced directly. It transcends all dogmas and belief systems. It is what Lao Tsu called the first principle. If you can speak about it, that's not it. Scriptures , sutras, words about ultimate reality are the second principle. In other words they are indirect and as such open to great potential for debate and misunderstanding . Even the words on this page are at best pointers to the truth!
Science on the other hand will never find ultimate reality if it continues to believe it is the whole enchilada. The failure to recognize the transcendent spiritual dimension has brought it to a dead end as such. I believe we are stuck at string theory! Even the great Albert Einstein was religious and knew the limits of physical science! What is needed is a scientific religiosity . In other words , both the theists and atheists need to adopt the beginners mind of Zen and take a fresh and open look in an integrated way. In other words, the human being is not simply the physical body including the intellectual mind, it is also not just the dimension of spirit , heart and soul. It is an integration of both. This is so obvious I wonder what all the fuss has been in the past!It must be the ego staking out its territory for survival. Let's drop that narrow view of life! Life is one integrated whole with the primordial energy and intelligence as subject and the manifested cosmos as object. They are totally interdependent and cannot exist without each other . As such there is divinity in all aspects of life! If we can all see through the veil of conceptual obscuration , we may experience life directly as it is. It would be better if we would all take an agnostic approach. Let life in the present moment reveal itself in all it's glory without the mental barriers of the highly conceptualized conditioned mind. We are all much more than that!!!

Returning to the Tao

The beginning of life from conception originates from the primordial energy of the Tao. This is the celestial energy of creation that comes from nothing and manifests into the myriad forms of life including the human form. From birth through infancy , childhood, adolescence and adulthood the unified celestial energy wanes and the dualistic mundane energy emerges as the child learns about reality through the conceptual mind . They see and conceptualize this from that, up from down , right from left, as well as many of the other seeming dualities in life. This divided mental framework causes the illusion of isolation and separateness in the consciousness.
This creates a separation and gap from the celestial pure original mind and from Tao itself. Most humans continue on that path until death. They have been trapped in the mundane mind and have never realized or known the original place from which they came . Subsequently, the process starts again with a new birth and the cycle continues. However this cycle does not have to be repeated again and again. It can be interupted and reversed by spiritual awakening and the process of enlightenment. Enlightenment is not some kind of magical experience available to only a few exceptional human beings. Ultimately it is the destiny of everyone. This process is a scientific process of returning back to the original Tao. The Tao mind is one of total purity and unity. It perceives reality as it is . The seeming illusion of the duality of the mundane starts to wane and is replaced by the celestial mind and energy of the original creation and beyond. It is a unified energy that transcends both being and non-being, both nothing and thing, both void and form and both heaven and earth. Reversing the process of samsara or the mundane is a scientific spiritual journey which can bring total self realization and heaven, nirvana or immortality, whatever you may like to call it. In the totally realized state, the last delusion is recognized and the division between the Tao and the self dissolves.This is the meaning of returning to the Tao!

Finding Balance and Equilibrium

To make beautiful sitar music you need a finely tuned sitar. If the strings are too tight, what will happen? They will break and there will be no music! If they are too loose, what will happen ? They willl fall out of the sitar and again no music. The music can only be played and enjoyed when the right balance and tension are made when tuning the instrument. Your body , mind , and spirit are the instrument of life in the amazing symphony of the cosmos. This balance should be there between all the apparent dualities in your life. Your internal world and your external world. Between male and female energies both within and without. And you as the center of the cosmos between heaven and earth. When you find that central point of balance , you find the Tao energy. This is another name for nirvana or heaven. It is the place where all silence and stillness exists together with all the potential energy of creation. The unmanifested nothingness where all life originates. At that point all the illusion of duality dissolves and reveals its one center. This is the point of balance and equilibrium. It is the place beyond all places that is within everything. If you find that within before you die, you will transcend death and know eternal life as Jesus said. The kingdom is within, do not look here or there. Look within!!!

Sexual Equality

For thousands of years, men have suppressed and dominated women! That is changing now as women are emerging from that place and establishing their true and rightful equality. Humanity is in desperate need of this balance being restored , otherwise the world will be in more and more peril. However, equality does not mean being similar.Life is made of polarities between opposites. There would be no men without women and vice versa. There would be no day without night, no left without right and so on. These seemingly opposite poles are actually complimentary and dependent on each other. That is the basis of equality! Men and women are not similar! If women try to be similar to men this is not how to be equal. They will be divided between their essentially feminine nature and the psuedo masculinity they are trying to establish. This is not how to achieve equality. Sexual equality is a gift of Life. It is a fact that needs recognition , not something to be achieved by changing our basic nature! Bringing awareness to this fact of life to the masculine world is the best way to allow this equality to be and flourish! Fighting and competing with men out of an egotistical consciousness wil only make men more resistant to change. Women must use their natural wisdom and intuitive sense to again claim this true reality. This natural path will result in the best and quickest outcome, and will be welcomed by both sexes! It is the dynamism of the essential differences between the sexes that makes life beautiful and mysterious . Let's not lose that fragrance to a psuedo equality based on becoming similar. Similarity is the death of the spirit. Vive La Difference' !!!

Attachment

Let's get down to the nitty gritty! The problem is attachment. Out of fear and insecurity of not realizing our essential nature, we grab at all the objects in our life or try to fill our world with stuff as a substitue for reality, which has elluded us. This unconscious emotion driven need to attach is what causes the dukka (suffering) in our lives as the Buddha said. It is like a vice grip on life which chokes all the beauty, joy and ecstacy out of our percieved existence. The buddhist term for this state of delusion is called samsara. We desperately try to control life even without being aware that we are doing it . It is very subtle and deceptive. We need to check our state of awareness and emotional sense periodically to see where we are at. Try imagining that you have given up or lost those things in your life that you cherish most! This includes not only material things , but also other human beings, concepts, images you may have of yourself or anything you have a strong sense of identity with. See how you feel as you contemplate this potential reality! Feel it completely and make those feelings fully conscious! What do you feel ? Most feel a strong sense of confusion, bewilderment and even some sort of psychological death. That is your state of attachment. The stronger that feeling is , the greater potential for suffering to occur if in reality any of those things do disappear. Being free of those attachments is the only true freedom in life that is real. Otherwise your own personal vice grip is killing your heart and soul. They need beauty, freedom, and pure love to blossom and flourish. That cannot be if the grip is too strong!