An idea is all it takes to start a dramatic soap opera, be it a nightmare or a happy dream. Not just one idea, to be exact, but rather the first idea that sets the motion of a series of other connected ideas along with it – the entire retinue of cast, so to speak. If the first idea is about brutality, the whole cast of the opera must be brutal, ugly, revengeful etc – don’t expect the cast to be lovey-dovey or cartoonish by nature. If the idea of betrayal comes to mind, we can be sure it is about victimhood, persecutor-ship, jealousy and all its relatives of “poor-me” mentality. We have to take into account how our ideas are churning out more stuff – it all begins from our mind and ends itself there too – never will it end somewhere “out there”. If we think it is out there that we need to make us feel whole again, we can be sure we will never see Peace except revenge; and all revenge has guilt as its result, not peace.
Birds of the same feather flocks together – one wrong mad idea is sufficient to bring in a retinue of wrong ideas along with it. The mind works in accordance with the law of attraction, or, law of causal relationship. One moment of idea is connected to an immediate past and results in the next idea. In short, each idea we have is constantly connected to the immediate past and future.
In other words, when the mind is ignorant, we can be sure the idea that springs up from it is wrong by nature, seeking further evidences to support the idea. One can experience this in their daily lives – when something goes “wrong” the mind will play out its drama by making others wrong. Similarly, when one falls in love with another, passionately, one will not see any wrongness except all the “goodness” about another, irrelevant whether that person exhibit certain unattractive characteristics. But when love finally wanes, usually after a wedding, everything becomes apparently clear! Love blinds! In truth there is no love except ignorance!
Ideas constantly appear in our perception, in the way we look at things. It also arises in our attitude. Thus we are the maker of our reality. What we perceive is what we see as truth. Be careful with what we have in our minds. Whatever we already have will bring forth views that support our beliefs. When we are not able to see whether what we have is right perception or wrong perception (right view or wrong view) we are doom into further suffering or freedom. Do we have the wisdom to break the cycle when wrong ideas are already in our system? Would we be able to know whether the perception we have is right or wrong – that lead us to bondage or freedom? That requires unwavering self-inquiry and good spiritual friends – not that kind of friends that support our poor-me stories, but friends that allow us to see our mistakes. Not many would love to have friends who point out our errors. Only the wise.
That reminds me what Yeshua had said – When you bring forth that within you, then that will save you. If you do not, then that will kill you.
Another beautiful piece from him –
Recognize what is in front of you,
and what is hidden from you will be revealed.
There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed.
The journey to total Freedom is to continuously probe ideas that are detriment to our peace, to our freedom. And this can only be done when we turn the radar inwards, not outwards. Thus integrity and self-responsibility of what occurs in the mind is one’s highest priority. The world is merely a mirage, bringing up the worst and best of us. The stories and dramas are all irrelevant, if we wish to see our way out from the entire maya of existence.