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ADDICTION AND THE TRUE NATURE OF REALITY
In our quest for a clearer understanding of reality, we will now take advantage of another thought exercise. This time, we will utilize the analogy of the nature of ‘addiction’ to delve deeper into our grasp of the nature of our own reality.
One can ask the question, ‘I am quite happy now with my life. I have children whom I have raised well, I have money, a nice car, several hobbies to keep me entertained. Why should I care for a new view of reality based on the assertion that I was not at all really responsible for all these things and pleasures for which I worked so hard?’
The answer; Because we are addicted to these things, and these things are not ‘real life’. Like any other addict, who swears that while under the influence of his addiction, his life is far better than any other life, we too cannot see beyond the lures of sensory addictions.
The drug addict’s sense of the ‘real world’ is blunted due to the chemical effect of the drug. He believes that he is happy in his artificially induced world. He believes that he is doing no harm either to others or himself while he is in his little world.
Similarly, we too argue with ourselves that we enjoy our addiction to the sensory stimulation that the world provides as well as the mental stimulation we receive at the thought of a job well done. However, logic tells us now, that we are not responsible for the effects of the outside world that we see. Our world, just as that of the drug addict, is also artificial - a creation of a cosmic explosion as algorithmic and predictable as a complex, and equally artificial video game. Our pride is falsely based on our need for mental stimulation. Without it, just like the addict, we would go into withdrawal and depression. However, just like the addict, we will find, that once we go beyond the lure of the addiction to ego ( the need to believe that we are responsible for the effects that we appear to cause) and sensory stimulation, the cloud of delusion is lifted and the true nature of reality can be seen more clearly and real life becomes vivid and true.
Although some would think it absurd to compare narcotic addition to an ‘addiction to life’, one is really just a more insidious, subtle and deeper-rooted form of the other - chemical addictions being more obvious, gross and transitory, while the deeper addiction to sensory stimulation being rooted in our subconscious as well as our genes.
In this exercise the reader is required to begin to see his attachment to his desires, his sensory pleasures, his ego, as narcotic addictions. These are the “golden chains” that bind our awareness to our individual selves and prevent us from sensing the deeper reality of an eternal greater Self within. The first step in breaking these chains is to see the chains for what they are – not golden ornaments, but rather, simply chains.
Later in this book we will explore methods to slowly and logically distance ourselves from sensory addiction in order to gain a clearer personal view of the true nature of reality and the harmony that comes from a deeper understanding of both the interconnectedness between ourselves and all things around us, as well as the peace which ensues from the understanding that we are free from cause and effect.