Detachment 

"One who would be serene and pure needs but one thing,
detachment." -Meister Eckhart(13th century Christian mystic)

Eswaran notes a most applicable issue in my life, that of
non-identification with my own opinions(or preferences),
a term known as detachment.
My wife Leslie and I have been involved in an ongoing
conversation about this discipline and how the practice of
detachment brings much more peace and contentment in our
daily lives. I can save myself lots of trouble and pain by not
expending energy defending my opinions or preferences.
To quote the teacher:
"Most of us identify ourselves with our pet opinions. Then,
when we are contradicted, we take it personally and get
upset. If we could look at ourselves with some detachment,
we would see how absurd this is. There is scarcely any more
connection between me and my opinions than there is between
me and my car. I have a close friend who is devoted to her
Volkswagen Bug. If I compliment her on it, she is pleased;
if I tell her what her neighbor says about Volkswagens, she
feels insulted. But why? Where is the connection? She is not
a VW Bug.   
 
Once we realize at a deeper level of consciousness that we
are not our opinions, most of the resentment in differences
of opinion disappears. 
There is nothing wrong with disagreement; in fact, sometimes
it is necessary todisagree. But we should do so with complete
respect for the other person. " --Eknath Esawaran
This applies most pointedly to situations involving my church.
It happens that well meaning,well informed, passionately convicted people
sometimes make the mistake of attaching themselves to their opinions
as if the defense of that opinion was a defense of
their own worthiness. I think being convicted is a good thing; however,
I do not think it is a good thing to "cross the line" and seek
to bash another person's preference in the assertion of one's
own conviction.
This is a practice that is centered in the false self, or the ego,
which in itself is not a bad thing, we all possess an ego.
The key is--do we live in daily subservience to the false self, 
which demands its rights and defends its opinions,
or do we walk with Christ consciousness, submitting our own preferences 
and opinions to the Spirit?

Eckhart had a point. Living from the essence, where the Spirit resides,
requires detachment. 

SSmith, 8/6/08

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