The Final Goal is a Story, The Final Step is Peace

I've just had a brief look at the questions I have received for the free teleseminar tonight for the Plateau Point. Firstly, I was staggered by the huge response although it was announced only at the last minute. Secondly, it struck me that many of the questions come from a place of dissatisfaction, whether it be dissatisfaction in being able to do more, or to find the perfect man.

The key here is differentiating between reality and expectation. Look carefully at what you are aiming for. Then ask yourself why you are aiming for it. And if you dig deeply and honestly enough, you will find an answer that will sound something like, "I want to be happy." or "I don't want to be in pain." And if you dig even deeper than that, you will find that that arises because you imagine that things can be somehow better than they already are. As your awareness gets stuck on that, a longing arises. Or, as Chogyam Trungpa would say, you get horny about it. There is a blind, instinctive grasping that arises. And from there all the misery, desperation, denial, grasping, manipulation and heartache arise.

It is the acting on, or allowing yourself to be swayed by, these instincts that begins the wheel of suffering. Without it, you would be at peace. Why? There would be nowhere to go, nothing to do. There would be no goal, no dissonance between reality and desire. The story would be ended, and you would have taken the final step.

Does this mean we should all sit around in total acceptance doing nothing? How very inefficient! If doing nothing was what I advocated, then I would have a great following preaching to rocks. Rather, being at peace is the final step, because it really frees you to do what you are passionate about. It frees you from the fear of being disapproved of, of being inadequate, of being undeserving. In that, you can do what you really wish to do, not what society says you should. It frees you from the need of a relationship, and because of that you can actually have one. It frees you to find peace amidst the craziness that is the world, because you see the perfection of it all, dropping the goal, that story about how it could be different.

In that moment, you become free to move from vision to vision, from ecstasy to ecstasy, and not be bound with "dealing with" hurdles and obstacles.

So with all the stuff people have come up with, here is a question I have myself, "How much work have you done lately to find peace?"