“Greatness in Life involves making one wise choice after another”
Our challenge is to always co-create, to always be present, always be consciously choosing and engaging within our life. If we are not actively engaged, not taking ownership, we will be controlled by our subconscious, unconscious or by others. Life is an ongoing process to engage in and with, life is about making one choice after another.
Do you ever go ‘what the F*** just happened?’ Do you ever suddenly realise that you just experienced moments - minutes or more - of being unconscious, with no conscious control over your actions, when you are not even sure why you did something? “Why did I do that?”
In such unconscious states our “animal” instincts take over, the indwelling spirit effectively relinquishes control to a lower style of functioning, or simply ‘spaces off’. Really, this is being lazy and shows a lack of tenacity and courage.
Spiritual unconsciousness is a state of “autopilot” where the indwelling entity is along for the ride. This is not living; there is no engagement in life. The animal kingdom experiences a bit more than that state. Humanity has the opportunity and gift to operate from the higher mind. When spiritually activated, after soul merge, we still have some instinctual, collective animal-like behaviour. The vast majority of people are barely conscious and although they want a better world, they are unwilling to make the necessary changes to bring it about. They want others to sort it out, they don’t really want to re-choose and change. This is a false state of contentment: one of laziness and irresponsibility, and not the contentment of greatness. There are some people who make things happen, others who watch what happens and many who wonder “gees what happened?”
To achieve greatness we simply have to do what needs to be done with courage and joy. It is not about how and why, but rather when and where. Our overarching goal is about our daily life experiences and the mastery that comes from these experiences, it is not really about the pursuit of happiness. As the famous phrase, "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" in the American Declaration of Independence reminds us, we are all born with inalienable rights. In simply setting our goals in the pursuit of ‘happiness’ we fall far short of our innate and self-created potential. Greatness cannot settle down with limits. Endless searching for happiness drives our lower appetites for material objects and has driven global marketing and economics. It has long been experienced that after acquiring the house, the cars and the other ‘stuff’, happiness remains elusive. On the other hand we can also seek happiness, bliss and nirvana by clocking up hundreds of hours in meditation and still never get enough happiness. Many spiritual paths encourage us to keep focused on and following that path of happiness and bliss. This too can keep us focused on an elusive, vague ‘happiness’ goal, keeping us somewhat passive, avoiding action, responsibility and choices in life.
“I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves -- this critical basis I call the ideal of a pigsty. The ideals that have lighted my way and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. Without the sense of kinship with men of like mind, without the occupation with the objective world, the eternally unattainable in the field of art and scientific endeavors, life would have seemed empty to me. The trite objects of human efforts -- possessions, outward success, luxury -- have always seemed to me contemptible.” (Extracted from: The World As I See It-An Essay By Albert Einstein)
Are people really looking for happiness, or is happiness a decoy? Are they really searching for meaning for their on- going existence? Meaning and contentment, we might say, are higher vibrations or evolved states of happiness. They are active states that require not just a sense of achievement and purpose but the real thing. This need not involve straining or striving but rather striding to create new wonders. Discontent and eventually depression is the result when meaning and contentment are lost and one’s life is reduced to outplay the lower levels of mind and ego, rather than stretching and reaching into one’s limitlessness.
Satisfaction comes from wise achievement. Belief in truth is necessary for passion. Once enough of the mass of humanity truly find ourselves worthy and choose to engage, our lives have meaning and possibilities become probabilities, wonders becomes wondrous. Hope can be reinstalled and we can go about with collected purpose and heal ourselves and, together, heal our planet.
©The Insight Foundation
Michael King is the Co-Founder and CEO of the Insight Foundation www.theinsightfoundation.org.au
