Truth Is Illusion
“When
you come down to it, everything is an illusion and in understanding
that, you come to truly understand the wisdom of the spiritual
teaching 'do not judge.'”
Caroline
Myss (Caroline's Blog, Life Settings that are Game Changers, Part 3)
I don't know about you,
but I love to construct stories about people's lives from observation
and analysis. I am a “witness” type, so I've developed the art of
watching myself and others, and noting unusual
behaviors—inconsistencies, contradictions, body language and facial
expressions that don't match. Based upon my observations, I then
concoct a story about that person and convince myself that I know the
truth about them. In actuality, all I know is the story I've
concocted and nothing more. I do not know their “truth” and
sometimes, I don't even know my own. In Buddhism, the teaching
“everything is illusion” pertains to this sort of human
organizing technique: Watch others, observe their words and behavior,
draw conclusions about them, and pronounce it “truth.” We do
that, I suppose, to make ourselves feel slightly more in control. It
is, nonetheless, illusion.
When Jesus said, “Judge
not that you be not judged,” (Matt. 7:1) it probably was not meant
to condemn us, but to help us understand the flaw in our nature that
leads us to conclude that we know “truth.” In Caroline Myss's
blog on the topic of “Game Changers” she writes, “Releasing
judgment alone is a game changer in the most positive of ways. This
practice marks an ascent in one's expansion of consciousness.”
Even in long-term,
intimate relationships, in which we think we know the other person
better than they know themselves, we are dealing with illusion. In
all relationships, people hold back their truths as much as they
reveal them. We often refrain from speaking honestly in order to keep
the peace—and so do they. Sometimes we're more authentic with
strangers than with our own family. We protect each other's feelings,
and avoid awkward confrontations by speaking half-truths and even
lies. This may be expedient in the moment, but over time, it breeds
anger and resentment, which come out in unfortunate ways—as
passive-aggressive behavior or angry outbursts over insignificant
things.
Periodically, we need to
step back and do a bit of mental and spiritual cleansing. Cleaning up
our act when it comes to making judgments about ourselves and others
is as necessary as cleaning the clutter out of our closets from time to
time. I confess that I love to make up stories about people, but I
cannot assume that my stories in any way represent their “truth.”
I can remove that particular clutter from my mind. I will never
change my devotion to witnessing and storytelling, but I can change
the way I interpret what I see and hear. So can you. So can we all.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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