Motivation - Part I

On this posting we will talk about motivation as a first step towards a good meditation practice.

Everything we do in our lives is supported by an inner motivation, whether we are aware of it or not. Most of the time we are not aware of it, we simply act in the world following our impulses, those being our automatic responses to the events of life. Then we act as if we were always pursuing something which we are not sure what it is. We keep on moving this way without never questioning ourselves: why am I doing this? Why do I want to go that way and not the other? Why do I like this and not that?

If we start asking ourselves those questions then we will inevitably come to the conclusion that we do what we do, the way we think it's right, because we simply want to be happy, and we don't want to suffer. However, each and everyone of us will have different views as to what happiness is. If we contemplate it a little deeper we will see that we all have selfish views of happiness. Even though we all say we want to live in a world of peace, in harmony with other people, and the environment; what we really want is to satisfy our cravings for sensory pleasures, because this is the way we measure satisfaction, therefore happiness. Good food, material comfort, pleasant smells, music, have people admiring us, respecting us and so forth, are a few of the examples we can find as measurements of happiness.

In this search of happiness we look outside and see what the world around us has to offer, putting ourselves on the dependence of that. We begin an impossible quest which will lead us to an endless cycle of craving and frustration. We want to consume more, then we need more money, better positions, we compete with others for that and we do what we can to get it. In our leisure time we crave for entertainment, then we need the best cable TV, the best games, the best activities, the best places to go. We are always running after something. Even though sometimes we manage to get them, a while later that is not much more than a fade memory in our mind, and there we go again needing more fuel for all this.

With all that in our minds, when we try and sit in meditation we wonder why it is so difficult to remain quiet and still for a few moments. One thought comes right after the other, plans, memories, regrets, pleasant feelings, unpleasant feelings; all these moving our minds and our energy arbitrarily from one side to the other, then finally we say: "this meditation thing is not for me, leave it to those monks who don't do nothing but meditate."

A lot of us are frightened by the idea of being on our own, just us and our minds. We are afraid of looking into ourselves because we might find many knots we have been tying ourselves to, and we don't know how to untie them. We might find in ourselves contradictory feelings and thoughts that show us that we are not what we have been trying to be. We might find that our motivation in life is a selfish one, even when trying to help others. Either we do it because we want to compute credits with some divine being and go to heaven, or because we expect something in return.

After contemplating all that, we see that it is our very motivation that holds the key to genuine happiness. Therefore, there is a need for careful analysis of what motivation will lead us to peace of mind and genuine happiness, and what motivation will lead us to cyclic frustration.

To be continued...

Cris