Suffering in Egypt

In Egypt this last few days, there has been a great deal of turmoil, and it has been discussed at great length in the media and on the Internet. However, most of what has been discussed isn't what is really going on there. Most of what has been discussed has been ideas mistaken for things.

I discuss this concept of ideas mistaken for things throughout my book, but especially in chapters 1 and 3. Injustice, for example, is an idea, not an actual thing. This week in Egypt, the reality that we use this idea to try and understand, is much simpler: it is anger, fear, and pain. The idea of injustice creates a context in which we can judge these emotional and physical experiences. It also creates a context in which one can find the justification to create more suffering.

So it is especially important, at times like this, that we strive to see the difference between ideas and things. Because the foundational reality of all human interaction is that we are all one. Each person involved is just a different experience being perceived by one consciousness; the same consciousness that is reading these words right now. Whether it is the hated despot or the grieving widow or the frightened young soldier, the truth is, they are all you, and those identities are just different ideas you are using to make sense out of the different experiences.

So, regardless of your passion for the ideas in play, such as democracy, justice, freedom, or peace, do not let your emotions distract you from what is really happening: that there is growing suffering, and that it is You, the single awareness of the entire Universe, that feels it. If we all remember that, then what use might we put our ideas toward then?

Jim