“I” is the most often used word in the English language and yet it is an illusion. Happiness comes from the release of ego.
On Saturday, August 20, 2011 I went to The Avant Garde Holistic Center in Branford, Connecticut for the monthly movie Ron Smith shows. This month’s selection was Living Luminaries, a discussion with several well known people in the spiritual field discussing happiness, how to find it and how to stay there once you found it.
The movie reminded me very much of the first movie I saw at Avant Garde:
Oh My God. Living Luminaries followed the same routine of traveling with one character in pursuit of happiness, instead of his pursuit of God. I suppose it can be said in some circles that pursuing happiness is pursuing God. If God is indeed in all things and all things are God, then God is Happiness. You can NEVER arrive at happiness. It’s like I said in: The Journey. Once you arrive at your destination whether it be happiness, whether it be a physical or emotional place you can’t stay in that place. You’re looking for the next goal. The journey is the goal. Not the goal itself. So you can NEVER find your state of joy, your state of happiness. You’re always moving toward it.
Once you stop searching, once stop moving toward your goal, once you THINK you have achieved what you set out out to accomplish, you realize your disappointment again because you can NEVER really stay in a state of joy.
WHAT?
WHAT?
I bet you’re shaking your head, thinking:
You didn’t just say that did you? You, who are always professing this positive message, just said you can’t stay in a state of joy?
Yup! That’s EXACTLY what I said. The moment you reach bliss is the moment it’s gone. The ENTIRE purpose of happiness, of joy, of peace is the pursuit of it. Think about it. When are you filled with the most joy?
As the quote says above:
Happiness comes from the release of ego.
The ego is responsible for keeping you trapped in your head. The ego will be happy when something good happens, but immediately after, it will be seeking the next happiness. In this case, ego can be compared to an addict looking for that next fix. Now do you think that’s a healthy way to live? I surely don’t! The idea here is to quash the ego, put it in its proper place. Release the ego and you’ll find you’re able to travel the perpetual path to positivity.
The word “I” and the word “ego” walk hand in hand. Stop using both and stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about the people most important to you.
Do for them!
Help them!
Be there for them!
Share their joy! Share their happiness.
Stop thinking about yourself and you’ll find your joy, your happiness will increase exponentially.
Your joy will come from releasing ego. That’s an important step to remember and one some of us continually stumble over. The good thing for those of us who now know this is that when we realize what we’re doing we can pivot and get back to where we want to be.
Be Happy! Be Well! Be Positive!
Blessings to you.
—
Chris
