What is the most powerful thing of humanity? That rush, that acceleration, that thumping of the heart, the sweat of terror and exhilaration, eyes wide open, mouth agape open to the stimulus of bombardment. Learning a new truth, seeing it wash all over you. It descends it spreads, it uplifts, it regenerates, it evanesces. We lose our old understandings of self and not self. Where do I stand and where do I end? We all have this mechanism of release. We become unhinged from rusted moorings, so easily, just waiting for a gust of wind powerful enough to encompass us, and catalyze an upward flight. One flight does not exist independent of another. See one lift off the ground, and you know that another could be inspired to break the moorings of certainty and stagnation. Any and every human being is related by every action, thought, dream, song, and belief. The very act of existence drives change. It is the knowledge of this truth, which makes one powerful. It is the knowledge that we have the ability to enter a state that expands our sense of ego, destroy our limits of sensation. This is where we belong, it feels most natural and everything appears wearing that veil of sacredness. Because your sense of self has been extended to the other things around you. Your attention becomes shifted and your vision expands. You begin to notice the connections between things that once appeared disparate and unrelated. Once you start drawing the connections, pulling, plucking, torqueing, playing with those invisible strings; they begin to manifest everywhere. And they all lead back to you. Where you once felt alone in this world, you now understand that it was not a truth but merely a mindset.
We all know that this capacity exists, and it’s something that we constantly strive for. There’s religion, there’s family, there are friends, there are lovers, there is occupation, there is money, there is exploration and all of these avenues that give us a taste of that feeling of extraordinary. Sometimes we crave this release so greatly, that we would do anything possible to achieve it. We can be utilized or converted to suit the ego or agenda of another. When we chase after transcendence without the use of doubt, reasoning, and passion we truly limit the extent of mental transcendence. When we separate without cognizance of the bonds between elements, we sever the very ties that we know to be true. We sever away a part of ourselves to become disparate and buried. We continue on our paths, attempting to find that final release, not realizing that the further along we get on this journey, the more of ourselves we leave behind. And then when we get to the place where we expected to find transcendence; although, we are further from it than when we started on our initial attempt. A person that has severed his ties descends upon himself in the form of a black hole. It is a conception of existence that has lost all of its value, and must live off the value that another throws off, in his own course of transcendence.
And so the noble paths that we take on in attempts of transcendence and happiness become the catalyst for the makings of our own unhappiness and the unhappiness of others. This is the result of a blinded, molded, limited, conditioned approach to transcendence. Opulence is but a transitory and insatiable campaign for transcendence, which renders one forever craving. And this is the nature of suffering. It is a blinded man being lead to his own destruction. Yet, this very same man has the propensity for creation, devotion, compassion, reclamation, conservation, and namely love.
The question then becomes, how does one man choose the sustainable path of transcendence, rather than searching in the dark?
Doubt, critical thinking, open discussion, freedom of choice, communication, honesty with self and others, knowledge, exploration, interaction with many diverse people, traveling even a little bit, learning from history, learning, teaching, questioning, wondering, feelings, trying, risking, listening before speaking, watching, paying attention, playing hooky, wandering through forests, and truly loving yourself. Only when one can love himself, can he love another or anything for that matter.
Finally, when confronted by those that are unwilling to compromise their model of the world, grant them tolerance, as it is them that suffer the most in a prison of their own creation. More so, an act of tolerance is the most powerful thing possible as it has the ability to shatter perceptions. Some believe that hate should always be met with hate, but when one confronts hatred with love and tolerance, one’s expectations are not lived up to. It causes a confabulation of how the world is supposed to work, and how reality is actually playing out. This destruction of certainty can have many results. Two possibilities could be acceptance of the reality or dejection and further self-destruction. The aim of tolerance is to inspire this acceptance.
Are you on the path of transcending your ego? Or are you a slave of it?