“We have been diverting ourselves and not effectively dealing with the real underlying issues of the pain that produces the need to divert,” writes Subhan
We have all spent what seems like lifetimes of running away.
Is this an oversimplified statement… or just the truth?
When I say “running away” I’m referring to diversions and objects of craving, not what we are running away from. The diversions and cravings are everywhere and universal: sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll, the internet, movies and TV, the cellphone, news, politics, food, reading, sleeping, etc.
But what if we stop before diverting, and begin to understand that our running towards something has a major component that is missing in our experience. That would require us to break the habit of seeking pleasure by experiencing that we are really wanting to avoid something.
And that something takes many forms: shock, shame, anger, feeling lost, numbness, sadness, fear, worry – even boredom – and more. So, we have been diverting ourselves and not effectively dealing with the real underlying issues of the pain that produces the need to divert. The pain gets camouflaged by the diversions.
It seems apparent that, unknowingly, “running away” has been the main strategy for almost everyone, including me… and it is very understandable. I feel tremendous compassion for the part of me that insists on diverting. For that part, it doesn’t even know that it is running away from an experience of pain. It only wants and seeks pleasure.
I have discovered that when I reach the point where the diversions just don’t “work,” that I recognize – in that moment – that I’ve had enough of what I don’t want! And repeatedly getting to that point, I began to understand that I have to look at the possibility that I am running away from something. And then, I begin to move towards the real resolution to the pain.
And that is to explore and find what fuels the diversions! This exploration made clear that some form of discomfort is there. And here’s where courage comes in: I went into the discomfort. Sometimes for just a moment; and sometimes for a longer exploration.
And perhaps one of the best tools to do this with is Osho’s Dynamic Meditation, which supported me in entering into what was under the diversion. It created a space where I could begin to experience what has been camouflaged – what has been suppressed. And it gave me the tools to help express what had been suppressed.
Scary? Yes! But the process does support you in entering these spaces. Of course, it’s helpful to learn the meditation from an experienced meditator and to do it with them – at least in the beginning. And there does come a time, through these experiences and releases, that there are moments of a place within where there is no pain.
So, the difficulty is that I have to first pass through and express the pain to get there!
But forty-seven years of experiences and moving inside tell me that the pain isn’t nearly as big as the mind says it is. And, the pain and difficulty of running away is actually bigger!
It isn’t by accident that you and I have met here. It tells me that this is your path too. And it is clear to me that wherever you and I are on the path of self-discovery, it is exactly where we are supposed to be.
So, in that understanding, we can relax a little… take a couple of deep breaths… and continue on.
I am glad to be a part of a sangha here on Osho News and on Facebook, where we can connect and support one another through these challenges of life. facebook.com – subhan@worldofmeditation.com
This article was first posted on Facebook – reproduced here with the author’s permission
Featured image by fauxels via pexels.com
Comments are closed.