The Grand Predicament

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Hand-drawn art by Rupali Bhuva
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A fear of not belonging drives much of what we do and how we are.

Unknowingly it can define the experience of a life.

Most of us live with an underlying sense that we are not yet enough.

And assume that until we are we cannot truly belong.

We assume that we must become a better version of ourself.

But we’re never quite enough in this relentless pursuit of belonging.

We are lost to a never ending self improvement.

Might we have been looking out there when all along it had been within?

Might we already be the version we’d been seeking?

Beyond the endless game of fixing what is seemingly broken there exists a profound experience of knowing that there is no one to fix.

That we are enough as we are. And that we belong without condition.

Yet we cannot seek and hope to find this. As its nature is to find us. And to consume us with no doubt.

No one can teach us this. We cannot learn this.

In a moment of surrender. In a moment of not seeking, the experience can be re-known.

Nothing changes but everything is somehow different.

And then everything begins its transformation.

Liberation, peace and all that follows is the work of Inner View.

Seed Questions for Reflection

How do you relate to the notion that our deepest experience can be re-known in a moment of surrender and non-seeking? Can you share a personal story of a profound experience of belonging when you stopped seeking and surrendered? What helps you stay rooted in the inner view?

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6 Past Reflections
SH
Mar 15, 2023
We are generally unsatisfied with our lives. We are continuously seeking a satisfaction outside of us . We feel we need to become something to feel more satisfied. In the process we have a feeling of lacking something. Not understanding and realising that all the satisfaction is already within us. We have what is needed by us. We need to tap into our inner view . We have to find the contentment with our inner self. All the joy and happiness is contained there.
Many times during our meditation there is this realization of complete contentment and an experience of being fully satisfied with our selves.
When we are rooted in our inner view , that feeling of contentment stays with us.
MA
Manasi Mar 20, 2023
Thank you for articulating this Shyam, it resonates close to home
TE
Mar 10, 2023
My individual ego (like my physical body) is never perfect- there is always some opportunity for growth, healing, and improvement- endlessly... Yet suffering results if an ego says "I am the perfect god, no improvement is possible". Only in the letting go described in this passage can we find the "profound experience of knowing that there is no one to fix". Of course ego then says "let's do that now, I'll kill this ego, and all will be well!"- But of course that is just adding another layer of ego, and an obnoxiously "holier than thou" ego at that! Recognizing within what isn't temporary, and does not come and go helps, allows facing the full emptiness that all of existence is, and has always been...
DD
Mar 10, 2023
I assume "our deepest experience" refers to the experience that we are enough as we are. I definitely believe that can be re-known in a moment of surrender and non-seeking. In my experience, moments of letting go and being are moments of awakening and seeing. Problem is it takes many of us a long time or a profound experience to have such moments. The profound experience for me wasn't of belonging but of realizing I'm okay and realizing it is much more important to me to be than to belong, which ironically resulted in me belonging more. What helps me stay rooted in the inner view is having learned that the stuff most important o me, mainly my truth, my happiness, my real self, is there.
JP
Mar 9, 2023
We are looking for the Reality or the Truth using our outer eyes and feel disappinted or lost. We keep on seraching and seeking for somehing which inside ourselves. It's a futile and and never ending search. When we consciously let go of such seeking and striving and when we look within with inner eyes we instantly and effortlessly find what was already residing in our heart. It is a paradox: by letting go we get it.
There have been times in my life when by surrendering my ego I have experienced profound love, nourishment and fulfillment. I remember what my father used to say, "Look within and you will find what you're for. Look without and you will lose it." As I grew up I could see the wisdom in what he was saying.
I regularly practice meditation to listen to my inner voice. Introspecting, looking within, is also very helpful to me to saty rooted in the inner view.
Namaste.
Jagdish P Dave
AM
Amy Mar 21, 2023
Amen! Beautifully portrayed! Thank you!
Namaste🌱