17. Attend To Yourself For Enlightenment!
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How often have we often wondered why we take the trouble to please people at all? It is in our most frustrating moments that we discover a truth.
We create many of our problems by seeking attention from others.
Our basic instincts are those of sex, fear and worry. Seeking attention from others is a subtle, emotional, automatic process. It is more for attracting praise for our lifestyle. We feel happy as long as people praise us or give us a boost. We feel larger than life. We feed on the attention that many people give us. We do that for a good reason, although we are unaware of it—Attention is energy.
If our life is built around others opinions we constantly feed on their attention. This is the basis of mob psychology. As long as we are in a crowd we feel that we can do anything. Politicians feel energetic when they are among their followers for the same reason. We think that followers are led by the leader. The fact, however, is that the leader does what the followers want! Leaders are slaves because their energy is based on the attention of others.
If we are more energetic in a group then our lifestyle is based on attention. Our life is being run by lifestyle. Be clear! We are mistaking lifestyle for life.
We are the architects and designers of our lifestyle. If our life is centered on the idea of gaining praise from others, then we completely depend on the attention of others. When that is withdrawn we feel low, deprived, and dejected. We suffer from low self esteem because we are dependent on others' opinion of us.
Our self opinion is based on what others say. If people repeatedly said, 'You are a nobody,' then we feel like a nobody! Our self opinion is based on others' opinion of us because we don't know ourself.
Be clear! If we are based only on our lifestyle, then we want to be continuously certified by others. Opinions are poor substitutes for experience. When we experience, connect with our being, we can break out of this habit.
Awareness and meditation can gradually break the habit. When our life is centered on our inner being, we flower to our full potential. This bond, this connection, at the peak of expression brings the life changing experience called enlightenment.
We can all attain this state. We only need to begin our inner journey towards eternal bliss, Nithyanandam.