The Search For Peace, Love and Happiness
We are constantly searching for true values. In consciousness we mistakenly think that the physical world and physical relations can provide us peace, love and happiness. However peace, love and happiness are not the properties of matter, nor of the physical identity, but the true properties or characteristics of the soul. This has to be realized.
Imagine a scene in which you are surrounded by all your favourite things; food, music, fragrance, scenery and companions. Just about to enjoy your meal, the telephone rings and you are told that a person close to you has just died. Instantly, that scene of "favourites" melts into a distasteful and superficial experience. Something has happened that shakes the soul and it can no longer enjoy those things. At the same time it finds itself powerless in the face of the bad news as understanding and power are missing. Life is full of experiences such as this and it becomes clear that physical things are not the sources of peace, love and happiness, but that understanding and inner strength are.
One of the basic facts of human psychology is that we do not seek or desire something that has not been experienced previously. For example, if one has never tasted a mango, there cannot be a burning desire to have a mango. This suggests that desires might be arising from previous life experiences. In fact, it is impossible for a human being to act or desire outside the field of his or her own experience. The search for peace, love and happiness is so fundamental to the human spirit because these are the original and true qualities of the soul itself.
We are constantly searching for true values. In consciousness we mistakenly think that the physical world and physical relations can provide us peace, love and happiness. However peace, love and happiness are not the properties of matter, nor of the physical identity, but the true properties or characteristics of the soul. This has to be realized.
Imagine a scene in which you are surrounded by all your favourite things; food, music, fragrance, scenery and companions. Just about to enjoy your meal, the telephone rings and you are told that a person close to you has just died. Instantly, that scene of "favourites" melts into a distasteful and superficial experience. Something has happened that shakes the soul and it can no longer enjoy those things. At the same time it finds itself powerless in the face of the bad news as understanding and power are missing. Life is full of experiences such as this and it becomes clear that physical things are not the sources of peace, love and happiness, but that understanding and inner strength are.
One of the basic facts of human psychology is that we do not seek or desire something that has not been experienced previously. For example, if one has never tasted a mango, there cannot be a burning desire to have a mango. This suggests that desires might be arising from previous life experiences. In fact, it is impossible for a human being to act or desire outside the field of his or her own experience. The search for peace, love and happiness is so fundamental to the human spirit because these are the original and true qualities of the soul itself.
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