The Final Disappointment

The ego is a contraction of consciousness within itself as a belief in separation and a feeling of tension in the body. This contraction is uncomfortable so we embark on a great search in the world of objective experience. After repeated failures, we begin to suspect that peace and happiness cannot be found there so we turn to spiritual traditions and devote ourselves to a teacher or a teaching. For a while this seems to be the answer, but after years of practice there is still the feeling that something is missing, that these practices have not delivered happiness. We may end up at a retreat with the same expectation. Let this be our final disappointment, the last place we seek to find what is longed for in something other than our own being. This contemplation dissolves the felt sense of separation between the body and the world.