I can't get no dissatisfcation

One of the more challenging aspects of this emerging reality is paradox. What was true yesterday is not necessarily true today. Equally two apparently contradictory view points can both resonate in a way that feels right. By right I mean empowering and liberating, inspiring a feeling of "aha! that makes sense".

This is happening to me all the time at the moment. My peace has been shattered by a temporary bout of cognitive dissonance as my mind tries to reconcile two pieces of information which somehow elevate my spirit when taken separately but together make little sense.

The wrongness only arises when my mind requires a consistent line of thought to attach itself to and form some sort of identification. This is particularly the case with amind heavily identified with being right, but I am increasingly realising that I just don't know!

Dissatisfaction

You may noticed that I enjoy a bit of Adyashanti. His work always seems to move me to a place of clarity, even in understanding my lack of clarity! This week I had listened repeatedly to a talk Adya gave called Liberating Dissatisfaction in which he cuts to the core of the nature of suffering inevitable when ego expresses. Rather than interpret his words I will quote directly:

"The separate "I" sense gives rise to dissatisfaction, desire and the need to be special. This is so because the false self is an image, an illusion....pervaded with an eternal sense of lacking something....the dissatisfaction may take the form of desire, depression, anger, jealousy as well as the compulsive need to be acknowledged, special, right, the best or even the worst person in the eyes of others."

The personal peace I access when listening to this arises from the fact that it directs me to pay attention as to where my motivation is flowing from. My practice is simply to acknowledge when my choices are driven from dissatisfaction with what is, not from a view point of criticising the ego, but from simple curious awareness, and this allows a real sense of grace. This recognition somehow moves me to surrender to the benevolent flow of life which, absent of my interference and insistence on knowing better, is rich beyond imagination.

Cracked it!

Until....

...I get a nudge to watch Dain Heer and Gary Douglas talk about "Losing the ache of dissatisfaction" . I urge you to watch this brief clip.

Already my mind spins. Is Adya dissatisfied with dissatisfaction? Maybe it isn't sowrong to seek out satisfaction? 

Gary Douglas states: 

If you lost the ache of dissatisfaction you wouldn’t be your nationality anymore… You would lose the definitions that you’ve been living by because when you’re actually satisfied and life is working for you; the joy of living starts to dominate every part of your life! - Gary Douglas

This re-framing of dissatisfaction as a gift of awareness of possibility as opposed to a problem to overcome feels so much more creative and expansive. "Dissatisfaction is a possibility you could have that you are aware you didn't choose." "Dissatisfaction is not a problem or difficulty, it's an ability." 

Wow. To view your dissatisfaction as a form of awareness is brilliant and makes perfect sense.

Two different perspectives which present two different versions of right on the same subject matter. I could go into an analysis of how both are actually saying the same thing but the truth is they both feel great to me so why bother?

I guess two rights really don't make me wrong on either. 

Love

Bill