- There is no perfect cause and effect.
The world is how it is. What is, is! Often people try to search for a cause. They may think, “Why does he act like that? Why did she say that? How can he think that way? How can they see or feel that way?” On the level of thoughts and emotions, these combinations are endless as to how to understand another person. Most people can’t even understand or know their own mind and emotions so how on earth can they understand someone else’s. We learn about karma which says that every action creates another reaction and in science, we learn that when you put certain elements together you will always have the same effects. When you put together the elements of H2O you will always make water. From this, it seems that every effect or reaction comes from some action or cause. However, when we reflect on from where has everything arisen, we come to a dead end. There is no way to truly know what the cause of the universe is, what the cause of life is, and in the same way what the true cause of the actions of others are. We can assume or imagine but that is all based on what our past experiences are or on our past knowledge, learning, and thinking.
When you begin the practice of meditation you come to know the causeless cause. The background space that you become aware of in meditation has no cause. It is unchanging so it was always there and always will be there. From this inner knowing of this space or Pure Consciousness, you remain free from having to know a cause to everything that is happening in your life. You are free from the mind’s ruminations about how it all happened. Now you are resting in your own Being. That Being is the very love and freedom itself and it is uninvolved from the dream of the individual life process. The best way to understand this is when you are dreaming and then wake up you know that it was only a dream. Whatever happened in your dream was an illusion, a delusion, or fantasy. It was unreal as now you woke up to the waking state which is now the reality for you. So why now do you think that the waking state is the only true reality? In meditation, you are free from your mind and emotions as you were in deep sleep. From this, you can be aware that the waking state is also like an illusion, a delusion, or a dream because it is changing. Yet, the human being believes this deception of the waking state and appears to forget its source. The causeless cause of your existence. From this awareness, you can change your expectations and bring your focus to that which is unchanging. Then, you no longer have to only try to keep making the world work according to your preferences. You can accept that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but you remain the same. You the Self are free from all the changes.
2. The world is not fair.
Everyone wishes for a fair share. That there should be justice in the world, in your family, in your work environment in your relationships. However, if we honestly take a look at life, we can realize that it is not always fair or the same for everyone. Why are some people born mega-rich and others dirt poor? Why don’t the mega-rich just give some food and shelter to the poor and then there would be no poverty? Seems only fair! But the truth is there is no ultimate fairness in the world. There is no absolute fairness in life and living. There is no total fairness in relationships. No matter how hard people try to make everything fair it just doesn’t always play out that way. When you understand that the world and life are not always fair then and only then can you accept what is. What is, is! Then you don’t waste a lot of your precious time and energy struggling with the thoughts of injustice by thinking that total fairness exists. Yes, you do your best to strive to always be fair, but you don’t expect others or things will always be fair. Even when you first learn that the world is all One and we are all One Being you may believe that means that we are all the same. Yes, we are all the same on the level of our True Nature, but we are all different on the level of our human nature. Oneness doesn’t mean sameness. You smell the fragrance of the beautiful rose, but you don’t put your nose on the thorns. Knowing Oneness, you also know that the thorns will prick you so you avoid being hurt by them when possible and you try to remain with that which will come out smelling like a rose.
3. Things often don’t make sense.
The mind likes to understand things and make good sense of them. But, if there is no real cause and effect, if there is no ultimate fairness life can’t make total sense. We like to think that things make sense as it allows the mind and emotions to rest for some time thinking that we have figured it all out. But the mind can and will never figure it all out as there is no ultimate cause and effect. When you accept the causeless cause then you accept what is. Through meditation, you de-identify from the world and its happenings as you know it is just like a show or dream. Being de-identified you are uninvolved. This doesn’t mean that you don’t play your part to its fullness. You still do everything you can with your body and mind to live the healthiest and happiest that you can be and provide the most for your loved ones and friends. However, you no longer believe that you will someday gain the ability to know things and understand everything and do all the right things and then you will be perfect. The only cause of suffering is ignorance of your true Self. Your true Self needs no sense. Your true Self is the only perfection that there is. It is free of sense and no sense, free of the mind, and free of emotions. When I say free it doesn’t mean that it excludes anything such as the mind or emotions. Instead, now it uses them with mastery. This is true freedom that is not dependent on figuring things out with the mind or in only understanding things with the mind. I once heard it said that understanding is the booby prize. This means that understanding is not the solution for a happy and peaceful life. In fact, the mind which understands is the very problem of why you are unhappy or peaceless. It is only in meditation when you transcend the mind and emotions, then you can move with the Pure Space and not only with the mind. Meditation unfolds the development of a higher mind which leads you towards the truth of your own Self, rather than towards the understanding that is limited to the lower mind. Through this transcendence and subsequent transformation, you come to know the Knower of the mind and emotions which is your true Self that is unchanging and doesn’t need cause, fairness, or sense in order to remain free from the changing things, ideas, and happenings. It can now rest and flow with your true nature, which is eternal, pure, and free! Then your decisions in life will be made from this higher power and not only from a limited, imperfect, or lower mind.
It is my wish that knowing these three points: no ultimate cause, no ultimate fairness, and no complete sense, that you will start to be free of these limited constructs and deceptions and know your True Being that you forever are. The Knower that you are is forever free as it is the true freedom that you are seeking that can allow you to remain happy and peaceful.