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Life In The Current
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PART ONE
What is my problem?
David: Generally, my life is good, but recent events have made it very clear to me that I am not living my life correctly which is why I have not found Peace of Mind, yet. I don't concern myself with the past very much, but thoughts of the future, which create some positive anticipation; mainly generate, anxiety, worry and fear. By not having Peace of Mind, I am not Enjoying life the way I sense that I should be. What am I doing wrong?
DESIRE
James: The Buddhists have the answer. The cause of all human suffering is DESIRE! When you have Desires, they will make you suffer. Therefore, the more you can eliminate Desires the more you can eliminate pain. Your life is filled with constant suffering, so you have grown use to it. You don't even recognize it as suffering anymore unless the intensity increases substantially. That's why you refer to it as anxiety, worry and fear rather than pain and suffering. It is dangerous to get use to the pain because you don't pay any attention to what is trying to tell you when you learn how to ignore it.
As you seem to be recognizing, just because you have tried to ignore your normal level of pain and suffering, which may be less severe than most people deal with, it doesn't mean your life is really good. What you call your lack of Peace of Mind is really your inability to Live life correctly, which does not allow you to Enjoy life. Without this ability, life is always a struggle, so you rarely truly Enjoy it. Constantly struggling with little Enjoyment is what you call lack of Peace of Mind. This situation is caused by your Desires.
D: Wow! What exactly is a Desire?
J: It is something that you Want.
D: What is wrong with Wanting something?
J: When you Want something, you emotionally attach yourself to it. You become attached to the object of your Desire. Sometimes the object is positive, but you are still attached to it; so you are not acting freely. When the object is negative, you are attached to something negative. If you want to eliminate something negative (e.g. crime), you are attached to the negative thing that you want to do away with.
After you attach yourself to what want, you pursue it which forces you to deviate from your proper course in life. Then, even if you get what you Want, it doesn't end your Desires, because now you Want to hang on to what you have just acquired. The attachment to and the pursuit of what you Want is what causes the problem.
D: Why do I do this? Why do I have Desires if they cause me pain?
J: Because you were taught that they will make you feel good.
D: I pursue my Desires to make me feel good, but they actually make me feel bad? I have been fooled into doing the opposite of what I should actually be doing?
J: Yes!
D: But I don't even think that I have any strong Desires. If I Want a chocolate chip cookie, or something like that; this can't be what causing my problem.
J: It's not. Your Desires are usually directed into three categories. You Want: material things (e.g. car, house, boat, VCR); particular conditions in the world (e.g. nice weather, a strong economy, low crime, world peace); or certain personal situations (e.g. success, status, fame, wealth, promotions, certain people for friends or spouses).
D: Well, I guess I didn't think of those things as Desires.
J: Most people use a word other than Desire to express the same concept. The common terms used as substitutes for "Desire" are: goals, objectives, ambitions, intentions, aims, motives, reasons, targets, aspirations, hopes, wishes, needs, rewards, values, expectations, attachments, and purpose. When you think or express yourself using these or similar terms, you are acknowledging that you have conscious or hidden Desires. The most common term for desires is probably "Goals".
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