Comfort Vs. Enlightenment
Last week my Tae Kwon Do sensei encouraged us to do push ups to build strength. He went on about how much he disliked doing them but in order to make the inevitable process be less torcherous, he dug deep into his reality and chose the state at which the push ups were not his enemy.
Later that night, on my Facebook feed, this message from Pema Chodron came through:
“To stay with a broken heart, with a rumbling stomach, with the feeling of hopelessness and wanting to get revenge– that is the path of true awakening”
The next day, a client came to me because he was experiencing emotional blocks of some kind, using his conscious mind, he was unable to identify the source and was confused because he felt that he had accomplished, achieved, and acquired all that he set out too.
The fact that these three messages came to me within a week, actually a few days of each other, causes me to step back and take notice. What sensei and Pema Chodron seem to be touching on is making friends with suffering, or really unraveling suffering until there is no suffering. Yes, AND. The other side of that coin is, and I believe more prevalent in our society today, the idea of being too comfortable as a block or an obstacle to enlightenment. Seeing too much comfort and excess as the enemy of enlightenment.
The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth
Many of us have heard this phrase before and may even have our own interpretation of it. This may have fit during the time of Jesus, however, in this day and age, I believe the phrase should be,” The Rebels Shall Inherit the Earth.” The concept of the rebels taking over the earth seems more likely, it seems we need those with enough gumption, enough “Fuck-youitiveness” to get the job done. We need those who are uncomfortable enough to do something about all that ails us. Whether that be personal relationships, spiritual relationships, collective relationships or our relationship to the Earth. It is my belief that too much material comfort makes us lazy, wraps us in a shroud of contentment that might, like my client, be masking the deeper calling. And it’s that rebel yell that will help us find the balance.
Now I hear you protesting, and I get it. I love me some perfectly placed material possessions! However, I have done enough kitchen remodels to know that even the most perfect and functional environment does not touch true happiness, true love, or true contentment.
Getting Out of our Comfort Zone
The strange thing about our society today is that being too comfortable is not enough anymore, we are programmed into thinking that excess is the goal. Having more, eating more, drinking more, watching more, experiencing more, etc.. Enter the pleasure- pain balance. According to neuroscience, our brains seek out homeostasis, the balance between pain and pleasure. When we’ve indulged too much, whether it be too much food, drink, shows, or video games, we become out of balance leaning toward the pleasure side. At first this sounds all well and good until our hormones come in to balance the system. Those who have dealt with addiction understand what comes next, the dreaded withdrawals! We experience anxiety, insomnia, dysphoria, cravings etc. the classic state of the addicted brain.
So how do we get out of our comfort zone? How do we even know when we are too comfortable? We have so many things to be addicted to these days, how do we know when too much is too much for our brain?
Where am I too comfortable?
When we think about addiction to the phone or screens, even sugar or caffeine the price we pay is with our attention. We waste hours watching “just one more” or the monkey mind on repeat asking “why did I eat that last piece of cake?” During my hypnosis and hypnotherapy sessions I explain to my clients how easily we are hypnotized in our daily experience, I explain the power of our subconscious mind, and the importance of creating sanctuary.
Creating Sanctuary
As a former designer this term can mean a few things but what I am not talking about here is the color of your walls, the tone of your flooring, or feel of your interiors. What I am talking about is becoming the master of what you allow into your subconscious mind. In other words, becoming aware of what is taking your attention without your permission. It is our attention that is required to do the deep healing work towards enlightenment, to continue and deepen the practices of meditation, breathwork, or self hypnosis. It is our attention that is our ticket out of suffering yet, it is our attention that seems to be the price we are paying in this wired connected modern society.
Back to the Ranch
Understanding the pain pleasure balance is not about deprivation, it's about connecting to the energy of enough is enough. Enjoying just one show, setting boundaries around screen time for your kids AND yourself. Yes, that means clients too! Scheduling and honoring time for personal growth, family, rich personal connections, and noticing the beautiful things life has to offer.
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE POWER OF YOUR SUBCONCOUS MIND, SCHEDULE A COMPLIMENTARY CONSULATION BY CLICKING HERE