We all share a deep driving desire to understand our life’s purpose. We want to be happy, to be healthy, to be free and our mission in this lifetime is to reveal how. How can we experience deep perennial joy and liberty in a world that is ever shifting, life that is ever changing, and a body that is ever dissolving? Sometimes we are just wading in the water trying to keep our head afloat let alone having the faith to bask in radiant, cosmic light. In your lifespan you may have noticed different desires have driven you into action during different phases of your life. Desires for artha (security) through the acquisition of liquid assets, cash, a home, having societal status and security for your ego. Or perhaps you have found yourself wanting kama (pleasure) to experience short term sensory gratification through foods, intellectual stimulation, games, music, travel, and more. Another deep pleasure that often drives us is the desire to understand dharma (our duty), why we are here and what’s to be done in this life. These are three of the four, purusharthas. In Sanskrit, the purusharthas, are translated as the goals of human existence. The fourth of these is moksha – liberation, freedom. The other day, a few students mentioned wanting to become enlightened in this lifetime. They didn’t want to come back, they wanted to ASCEND. This desire for moksha (for liberation) is a pursuit by only a few. Many of us are working too hard to survive or are distracted by the pleasures of being incarnated in the 21st century and all the luxuries come with it. Few seek moksha and those that do, often seek it in the wrong places. Have you had the experience that you are missing out on life? That it is flying by and you can’t even savor the laughter, the dancing, the love, the fun? Have you had the experience where you get caught up in the doing, doing, doing so you can just chill out only to find that once you kick back so much time has elapsed AND there’s more to be done? This is the way it can go if we are not leading with moksha as our intention for every thought, word, and deed. We may look for freedom and joy in the pursuit of artha (security) – we may want more money, more wealth, more homes, more vacations; or we may seek it in kama (pleasure) more food, more lower knowledge, more books. Without moksha (freedom) as the guiding principle, we limit our perspectives and our capacity. What desire is leading you and your thoughts, words, and deeds now? Do you find yourself driven to HGTV, fantasizing about living a finer life in a finer house with finer things? (kama) Do you find yourself driven by work to help your community but also to gain notoriety, respect, and get paid for all your efforts? (artha) Do you find yourself doing what’s to be done, navigating your dharma as it comes your way? Or….? Back to wading in the water….The pandemic has been a challenge to my work and my husband’s shifting our income so much that we will be putting our house on the market in February. The way I see it, I can have two perspectives moving forward in this experience, I can choose to lead with artha (the desire for security, for liquid assets, etc) as the lead or I can choose to lead with moksha (freedom.) Consider the mindset of artha, if I have my security in mind, letting go of the house may be perceived as a loss; the challenges at work and to our bank accounts – perceived as a loss. This limited perspective could thereby have me feeling that I LACK. I lack security and this could have the ego going into a whirlwind, and the body in great contraction and fear – flapping around in the water with a lot of yelping, feeling like I’m about to drown. The other option is to put moksha (freedom) first. With moksha first, I have a larger than this moment perspective. I see the big move and work changes as skillful decisions to be made (rather than a loss). I can see that a more modest lifestyle would suit us as it would enable a better work-life balance. I feel abundance and gratitude for what is. As you can see, the perspective is more expansive and frankly it’s a lot more fun than wallowing in the vicissitudes of my mind and fears wishing for a life saver to be thrown. This mindset enables us to be open to a limitless set of possibilities whereas a mindset of fear, would limit our expansion and growth. With this perspective I am floating, the ocean is supporting me, and I am bathing in radiant sunlight. It is a choice. You have a choice at every turn to set your intention. Will you set it for material gains, passing pleasures, or will you set it for ultimate freedom? For balance in this life, for clarity, for joy. My tip for you is to lead with moksha. Let moksha be the path. On a practical level what this looks like is that when you come to a fork in the road, ask yourself which decision will bring you long term freedom, long term joy? Which will lead to liberation for not just yourself, but for all involved? The voice of Spirit has the intention of liberation as it is already free, limitless, and blissful. So, you can experience moksha by aligning with your Spirit, by heeding its wisdom. Spirit speaks to you through intuition; so, listen to that little voice. Serve the Supreme Self within. Our collective dharma is to befriend our Self by listening to our intuition, by heading our body’s wisdom. It is to the Love the Self. Practice this…when you see the wisdom of your intuition and the peace and joy it brings you, you will experience a deep unshakable faith that you are That. Tat tvam asi. So, develop self-Reliance one small decision at a time, honor the Divine being that you are, and you may just find that you are on permanent vacation, come what may. |
