Why Spirituality?

Perhaps you can best understand the need for spirituality by understanding the Four Noble Truths of Gautama Buddha. The Buddha’s first truth is simple: this is a world of suffering. What he is trying to say is—if you are in this world, you are suffering!

Suffering takes many forms. These include all of what we call normal living. Take a moment to reflect on your life. What kind of suffering do you see? Is there any frustration in your life? Are you frustrated with the tasks you have to do in your job or perhaps frustrated because your suggestions are not taken seriously? Are you frustrated with your income or losses you have incurred in the stock market? Are you frustrated with your inability to improve your life or make the changes you want to make? Are you frustrated with the traffic you have to endure to get to and from work or the constant barking of your neighbor’s dog? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you are suffering!

Frustration is not the only form of suffering. Fear is another form of suffering. So are anger, hate, sorrow, envy, tension, stress, and worry. I know that you have probably considered this a normal part of life, that suffering is the normal human condition. And for most people it is. That is why suffering is the first of the Four Nobel Truths.

Before we go any further, let me assure you that this is not a Buddhist or any religious statement. We are talking here about universal truths. There is a further discussion of this at the end of this article.

The second truth is an astute observation that if you are suffering, then there must be a cause of suffering. So suppose you find that you are worried right now. If you are worried, there must be some reason why you are worried. If you stopped for a moment to look at your life, you will quickly see the source of your worry. Perhaps it is the possible loss of your job. Perhaps it is the state of your health or an illness in your family. Perhaps it is how your children are doing or where they are. You may be worried about the economy and how it is affecting your portfolio or how it may impact your job. Whenever you find yourself in the state of suffering, there is always a cause.

If you are suffering and there is a cause for your suffering, then the Third Noble Truth seems almost obvious. If you stopped the cause of your suffering, suffering will end. Now this is where most people stop. You see, their search has led them to the conclusion that the cause of their suffering in what is happening in the world. Their solution is simple—they want the world around them to change, to be more in tune with what they want and desire out of life. They want a good job. They want to make a lot of money. They want to retire and live the good life. They want to live a healthy life, and if they have to die, they want it to be painless and happen instantly.

Unfortunately, life does not seem to want to cooperate. You have to know that life is not like Burger King. You cannot have it your way! No, life is rarely going to cooperate to meet all your needs and desires. It will go on—having a universal consciousness, heading wherever it is heading.

The Fourth Noble Truth of Gautama Buddha is where most people have a problem. It says that we should live in the “right” way. For instance, one of them would be Right Thinking. It does not say what right thinking is—just that you practice right thinking. In others words, the Fourth Noble Truth expects you to become a self-navigator™. You need to take responsibility for your thoughts.

Right thinking is one of the steps to get out of suffering. You cannot allow your thoughts to simply flow out of your brain. Just because you have a thought, that does not make it right or sacred. Most people have what motivational speakers call “stinking thinking.” So it is stinking thinking that leads to your suffering.

Can you control your thoughts? Is it possible? The only way to discover this is to spend some time practicing it. To be a self-navigator™, you have to regain control of your life. Regaining control of your thoughts should be simple. No one else is involved. You have total control of what you choose to think.

The easiest way to regain control of your thoughts is to understand how thinking works. Observe yourself thinking. Become aware of any thoughts that enter into your head. Watch and see if there are any periods when you are not thinking. Do you see thoughts that trickle into your head that you have no idea where they came from? Watch and see how the stream of thoughts seems to flow, with no conscious control of your own. Do you see how your thoughts are being generated? Do you see how they shape and control all your experiences? Do understand how a simple change of a thought will change your perception and ultimate transform your life?

Now it will probably not be easy to control your thinking. But look at the understanding and control of your thoughts as a sporting event. I dare say that almost no one was ever born a natural and champion athlete. No, they got there through constant training. In the same way, you need to begin working at understanding and eventually controlling your thoughts. Of course it is difficult. After all, if it were easy, everyone would have mastered it by now. Begin slowly. In time, you will begin to get glimmers of insights into the thinking process. This is a major key in your ability to not only get in control of your thoughts, it is the key to transforming your life.

Self-Navigation™ is not an intellectual exercise. It is and experiential journey that allows you to regain control of your life. It is an adventure that takes you into the depths of your being to discover who and what you are. You will find the reason for your being here, the true purpose for your life.

Without a purpose, you are riding the ocean of life in a tiny life raft, being tossed and shaken by the waves of life. Without a purpose, you have no idea which path to take and when you are doing right or wrong. Without a purpose, decisions become more difficult and formulating a meaningful game plan for your life is probably impossible. You will probably miss some great opportunities and find yourself doing meaningless things or attending meaningless events. Life then appears to be boring and repetitious. To end the boredom, people often resort to drugs to pick them up or drag them down.

I used the wisdom of Gautama Buddha not as a means to covert your religious leaning. No, I chose it because it is wisdom that is universal. Self-Navigation™ is not a religion. It is a way of living—a spiritual way of living that removes you from suffering. It is for you to discover, not just intellectually, but deeply, how to end the suffering process. Life is a spiritual journey. Without spiritual living, life is reduced to simply animal behavior—fighting, hoarding, stealing, cheating, lying, avoiding, fearing, hating, being angry and all the negative aspects of life that we have come to view as “normal.” Living the spiritual life, you can be transformed to move out of suffering and discover what the great saints, mystics, and spiritual teachers have come to show us.

   Copyright © 2004 by Gary K. Yamamoto.

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