Piercing the Blur

There is no way to deny it, we have become addicted to the blurry swirling lights of illusion that feed our ego with a never ending stream of sensory delight. We feel the need to diversify our minds to the point of ineffectiveness, darting from one task to the next instantly and without diversion. We are addicted to technology, we are addicted to multi-tasking, and we are addicted to the taste of success. We'd rather starve our body than starve our ego and although we feel the crater of a hole it creates inside our soul, we simply cannot resist. We live in a blur; a fog that keeps us from knowing and understanding the truth. Because of this, our mind is shattered into pieces and acts like a spoiled child refusing to give in until it has what it wants. This is the current spiritual dilemma of mankind, and it poses a tremendous threat to our spiritual advancement.

Where there was once devotion, there is now diversification. Rather than make the difficult choice of consistant mediation, prayer, or compassion, we take the easy turn towards instant gratification. If you pay attention, you can feel it right now as you are reading this. For some of you, your mind is buzzing about how quickly you can read and move on to the next web page. You might be thinking about checking your email or your text messages while simultaneously worrying about something else entirely. We hardly notice that our minds have moved from a single one-pointed focus to resemble light entering a gem and split into a thousand beams. How powerful can we be with such feeble control of our minds?

The ego grasps at everything it can, from one pleasure to the next. Its desires are never fulfilled, and as a result you might find yourself feeling a thirst that can never be quenched. Most of us know, or at least feel at a subconscious level, that the path we walk will only lead us to destruction, however we are caught in the current. I've read books among books that speak of this, and yet its truth never really hit me until I was ready. I felt it today and upon noticing my mind zipping around I felt an immediate urge to focus. I had to visually imagine that I was reigning in my mind. Can you believe that? Our mind is so powerful that we have to work mentally and physically to reign it in. Depending on how long you have gone without focus, this action alone can be exhausting! So again I say, what are we to do in opposition?

Although I do not hold the answers, I look to others that have said all that is needed to be said. I read again the passages I remember and those I have not. However, the feeling deep inside of me is one that keeps repeating over and over again:

Were I to take the energy from my multitasking necessity and sensory craving and reinvest it into spiritual fulfillment, I could tear an incredible hole through the fabric that binds us to suffering.

Like I said, I don't have all the answers, but now I am certainly aware of the problems.