Centre of misery

Everyone is solely responsible for his or her misery. My misery is my own creation as much as yours is your own. This realisation liberates us from the anguish we feel when we consider others as responsible for all the ills that befall us. At the centre of our misery is the mistaken notion that somebody else, not we ourselves, is responsible for our misfortunes … that we are not in the centre but on the periphery of our miseries.

Getting rid of this misconception involves a deep understanding of our selves. We are accustomed to living in a state of unconsciousness. It is the attribution of our misery to others by our unconscious selves that creates real misery.

It is also the unconscious that devises false escape routes from misery. Resorting to drugs and alcohol is an example of such escape routes.

Meditation helps us rise to higher levels of consciousness. It keeps us awake. Choosing meditation only means that you have decided to drop your misery. When you meditate, you will realise that true joy lies within, not in external supports like drugs, cigarettes, or alcohol. For example, in deep sleep all of us are happy as the kingdom of heaven lies within.

Is the enquiry into misery as important as the enquiry into truth?

The Truth of misery is the illusion of where happiness is. They are inter-related. Start off with, "Where do I think happiness originates?" Go on to, "Why am I miserable?" With a sense of openness and deep awareness one must enquire. An honest search for answers to these questions will lead to an illumination of our inner landscape capable of dispelling our ignorance of the real nature of both happiness and misery.

A person who feels miserable projects a reason for the misery. Such a person creates subjective realities that are superimposed on the objective realities or on the situation. To question one's misery and see its truth is a challenge. It takes great discipline to probe the reasons for one's misery and trace it to its true origins. One needs a master to guide one in this probe.

We suffer our misery with a hope that it will end soon. Give up thinking about its end. Instead, start thinking it has already ended. Dance with joy. Rejoice in life. Be grateful for life. See the miracle of life itself. See what a wonderful body you have got, enabling you to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch.

Sensory perceptions are great miracles.