Awake in This Life

What we are looking for… is what is looking.

—Wei Wu Wei

The more you know the less you understand.

—Tao Te Ching

The small self is always seeking outside itself for stability. Once it finds something that it feels will protect it for a while, it will attach to it. But the small self won’t rest for very long since it must continually seek outside itself for new attachments in order to replace those that are no longer useful. Even if the small self finds something that it believes will offer it permanent salvation, it will only stop seeking briefly before it either finds flaws in its acquisition or it finds something it thinks will better suit its needs.

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Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.

—Bertrand Russell

The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.

—Carl Jung

Fear is ego’s fuel. This is because ego’s role in our life experience is to defend itself against all perceived attacks. As long as the ego sees itself as separate from everything, it will continually fear the potential of an attack. The ego also senses that every potential attack could annihilate it. As we’ve discussed, it defends against these scary situations in two ways: by seeking the things that make it feel secure, and by avoiding things that threaten it with death.

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