delusion

If you saw someone walking with a deep wound in their leg that's not been attended to, you'd be inclined to say, "You should get that taken care of." So why do we allow ourselves to have wounds in our lives that are ignored or trivialized? Because of the aggravated pain of revisiting the source of the wounds when we're trying to get on with the demands of life? The complications from unaddressed issues effect everything and everyone around us. We can't communicate honestly or clearly because there's so much compounded delusion that the slightest thing throws us off balance. It takes all our effort to merely survive, and when push comes to shove (and it always does) we fall apart. Then the fear and mind's delusion is revealed. We're completely controlled by it instead of learning to control it. 


If your heart is at peace, your mind will be clear. If you mind is clear, your heart will be at peace. To eliminate delusion means examining the root of our awareness (or lack of it) and reading, learning, finding a practice that will heal that wound. The best way to control the 'chattering monkey' is with meditation - much easier said than done. When you sit down with the monkey, you find out it's an 800 pound gorilla. It seems impossible to tame, but you sit anyway and maybe get a few seconds of silence. It can take years. Then you begin to realize you're creating the world with your uniquely personal delusion trademark. It's fairly spectacular really, the web of the mind.

Who's the boss?

Talking about your problems incessantly only reinforces the delusion. It's good to examine the root cause of problems, but then move on to actually do something about the source - the mind. I know people who have been in therapy for years, and they have not, and cannot change without controlling the monkey/gorilla. Each session feeds it a few more calories and treats of reasons, justifications, fuel. It's like living in one tiny room of a mansion. If you let your knowledge of self (determined by mundane experiences and the world) determine who and what you are, so much is lost. You have to leave that phase/addiction and hit the mat.  Fear determines the size of the task: more fear = bigger monkey. Working on opening the heart is the other avenue. Working on both at the same time gets quicker results! Either way or both. It's the path to peace individually and culturally. Once you start on that path, no matter what intervenes or interferes, you'll find yourself back on it someday, someway, because everything else is unreal.


When you consider the history of the world and all the wars and heartbreak that regenerates in each new family, dysfunction is globally ubiquitous. Just like the genes we share, we share the wounds that are passed down from affected individuals and families. Generally, no one talks about it all, and then we don't understand when someone develops self destructive behavior. Misery loves company.


The good news is that spiritual renewal and religion developed to help us heal and create a sense of service and charity. The ability of renewal and healing is extraordinary, and evolved right along with everything else in the arena. But when religion becomes unyielding dogma, the problems start all over again. Controlling the group takes many forms, and the wounds of anger, jealousy, and revenge open again, spilling more blood and creating a new generation of walking wounded. If it isn't addressed, delusion on an individual and cultural level is inevitable, so addressing it at an individual level is where we confront the demons we ignore or pacify. If we face them, acknowledge the mind as the source of all delusion, the healing begins. It's fairly spectacular, the trained mind. Not given to fear, anger, provocation. Eloquently and humorously elucidated by former theoretical physicist turned Buddhist monk, Ajahn Brahm: