Understanding What The World Can And Cannot Offer

Everything the world has to offer is received via the senses. We have a set of senses that interact with the external world; sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound. Then we have a set of senses that interact with our internal world; emotions, deeper bio feedback, and the lens of the mind. Carrera poses that another way to cultivate non-attachment is through “The careful observation of the limitations of sense satisfaction; it is the cultivation of realistic, healthy relationships with objects and attainments based on understanding what the world can and cannot offer.”

So how can we develop this realistic and healthy relationship with objects and attainments? What are the limits of sense satisfaction?

Someone in class mentioned the experience of delicious tasting food. How initially it can be such an enjoyable experience, but too much of it creates physical distress. This example beautifully illustrates the temporary nature of the sense of taste. At some point the sense becomes satiated and there is no more to gain from the experience, and attempting to get “more” leads us into discomfort. I can relate to this sentiment well (dang mouth pleasure)!! As with any of our senses, there is a delicate balance that keeps us in the range of health and vitality. 

When my youngest son was around five years old we bought him a remote controlled car. Upon opening it he exclaimed, “I’m so happy!!!!” I then asked him, “ Are you happy, or are you excited?” To which he reflected a moment and then said “I’m excited!”. The temporary rush of pleasure and excitement from a new item so often gets confused for happiness. This mislabeling of the experience of happiness leads us to believe that the object itself is responsible for our happiness. We may cling to the object and guard it from others so that they can’t take our “happiness”, or we may get in a cycle of continuously acquiring things in attempts to maintain our happiness. Raise your hand if you’ve ever done this (I have both of my hands lifted). Naturally we can do the same thing with attainments; promotions, degrees, physical and mental feats, praise, and criticism. The temporary nature of attainments can lead to an unhealthy gripping that creates harm for ourselves as well as those around us.

It seems that what the world can really offer is a bunch of temporary experiences. How we interact with these experiences is up to us.

From Carerra: “ As seekers, we sometimes find ourselves caught in a contradiction. We believe that it is unreasonable to expect the world to provide permanent fulfillment. Meanwhile, even as we strive experience the unbounded Peace that is our True Identity, we cling to a list of things we think we need to be happy. This contradiction occurs because we habitually attribute to power to confer happiness onto objects and attainments. Your own experience with transitory sense pleasure with tell you that they are often mingled with guilt or the pain of seeing them slowly vanish. Rarely, if ever, are we perfectly satisfied. Most often we are left wanting a little more or better food, movies, shoes, money, or relationships. This lack of real satisfaction is inherent in the mistaken notion that something outside us can make us happy. The more we rely on the outside world for happiness, the more we experience dissatisfaction and craving. We forget that an undisturbed state of mind reflects the essence of our being, the Self, which is happiness itself. The paradox is that the only way not to experience perfect happiness is to be seeking it outside the Self.” 

I’d love to hear more examples from you regarding your experiences with the limits of self satisfaction. What do you think the world can and cannot offer? Have you ever had a moment of unbounded peace? How would you describe the circumstances around that peace?

You Are Nature.

Love,

Nicole