Attachment II

Read the first part of this article:  Attachment I

In ways subtle or obvious, people operate schedules dictated by their attachment. This means attachment to a feeling of security, familiarity, a paycheck, a big house, a daily hot shower, a temperate environment, etc. It is certainly possible to enjoy these things without attachment, but realistically, very few are on that level. Seeing through attachment will allow you to maintain peace regardless of the situation or environmental condition. But every person has attachments. There is always room to go deeper within yourself. That’s where pushing your limits and putting yourself in new situations, unfamiliar and possibly uncomfortable situations has its benefit.

Put yourself in situations that you’re not prepared for, or where there are elements of the unknown. This is another area in which people experience a lot of attachment – they don’t put themselves in situations in which they feel insecure. Many people are stuck inside their own idealistic and socio-economic cliques and bubbles.

If you are this type of person who has been pushing her limits, who is actively engaged in the process of exploring attachments, then you will find it beneficial to meditate more, spend less time talking, less time watching tv, watching movies, listening to music, surfing the web. . .

Purposefully put yourself into new situations, talk to people you’ve never talked to before. And observe the thoughts and feelings you have. Just observe, without judgment, just see what’s there.

A ten-day Vipassana* meditation course is a good example: you’re going into an environment that you’ve never been in before, an environment based on silence, which is rare in most human-inhabited places, and you are going to have a lot of time to be with your thoughts and feelings, becoming conscious of the various levels occurring inside your body.

This is what non-attachment looks like in the New Paradigm:  you are living passionately. You are living from inspiration and with purpose. You are doing that deliberately. That is the goal. Life without desire is pointless. To me, desire is the fire of life, it is the fire of creativity. Without desire there is no creativity. Without creativity, there is no life.

Attachment I

It is not too far off to say that the story of human life, your life, is the story of various attachments. What attachments? Attachments to sensations. What we call “the human body” (a somewhat arbitrary distinction) is principally a vehicle for the sense organs and other bodily systems – blood circulation, digestion, the nervous system, etc. The function of the senses is to apprehend sense objects, e.g. the eye seeks out visible light, the ear seeks sounds, the tongue tastes. . . But once these sense objects are apprehended, YOU choose what to do with the information (more on that shortly).

Generally, people seek out pleasant and enjoyable sensations and shun painful or unpleasant ones. This is the “story of human life” I mentioned. Actually, you might call it the “story of animal life” as well (the verdict is out on plants and rocks). You taste raspberry sorbet and react favorably. In your subconscious, you make a note to repeat the experience in the future. Two days or two weeks down the road you encounter the opportunity, and you do so. Likewise, you may have a whole list of things to avoid so as to not experience pain.

But alas, our senses are clever and crafty servants. They work for you as long as you are able to remain in control. If you are unable, they gladly take over! A strong desire or preference, built up over time and only broken with difficulty is an attachment.

There is nothing wrong with “choosing your own adventure,” with being alive, experiencing the richness of life. But to foster attachments can really cause some problems. When you don’t get something that you want, or when you get something you don’t want, you become upset and agitated. You can easily see the whole range of implications in your own life or in the lives of people you know. Attachments can be as benign as a predilection for the color green, or as hellish as an opiate addiction.