Happiness (not suffering) Is The Real Enemy

[Princess Arabia]

We're constantly chasing happiness and avoiding suffering. Neither lasts. When suffering ends, it ends. Phew! That's it. When happiness ends, it's not "phew, that's it", it's where did you go. Come back. I need to feel you. I need you in my life, boo boo. Sob, sob. Where did you go. I need to find you again and the search begins. We find it, and boo hoo again we mourn it's passing, and the cycle begins. We got a taste of it.

Suffering, on the other hand, never gets chased, mourned and saught after like a long lost love, it just comes and goes. Happiness is what's making us suffer. The lack of it. We're not avoiding mental pain, we're chasing happiness. What will make me suffer never enters our mind. What will make me happy constantly does. It's like an addiction. We feed off of the chase. Wanting more and more. Suffering isn't chased, desired or wanted because it doesn't feel good. It's not a goal we strive for. How can it be the enemy.

If a man is gay and is constantly hurt by men, women wouldn't be the enemy just as men aren't the enemy in this way for straight men and vice versa. What you're seeking is the enemy if the lack of it causes us pain. The lack of suffering brings us joy, so how is that the enemy. The lack of happiness is what's causing the suffering and what brings us the most pain. So, therefore happiness is the real culprit, whether you realize it or not.

 

[Princess Arabia]

This is not a suggestion to stop chasing happiness but an exposure that when one chases happiness, they're also chasing pain because both are the same thing when collapsed and they will eventually collapse because that's the nature of both as one cannot exist without the other. There is no tutorial on how to deal with either as neither relies on a subject to appear. Same for anger. These emotions arises regardless of subject. They don't need an owner. The one that claims them is the one that suffers them, including happiness. 

[PurpleTree]

It’s like when in the garden of Eden

God said don’t eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil 

Good is like happiness 

and Bad like suffering 

 

i want back into Eden without polarity 

God let me in? 🦭 please 

 

[Ishanga]

There is one equation that is ruling most all of Us, its simple, its the Gaining of Pleasure and the Avoidance of Pain...

Its simple but a bit complex when You look at people's lives, for me for e.g. I work a Job I don't not like at all, and its getting worse everyday, I curse this job daily and think about quitting all the time, so that is a sort of Pain, but the idea of not having any income coming in, and being broke, bills pilling up and so forth is more Painful for Me, so in that aspect I'm too much on the Avoidance of Pain side of things..

Our Bodies and Mind (Emotional and Intellectual, Personality etc) work better when we are in Pleasant Moods, this is proven...

So the Enemy is not Happiness or Pleasure, Suffering is the Enemy for sure, when You are in Suffering it completely disempowers You, I would sayy 99% of People today cannot deal with their Suffering and allow it too empower themselves to higher Potentials, very few can do this, but when You are Happy then Empowering Yourself is much easier, there is more Energy in the system, more Clarity and Mental/Physical Stability!!

[Princess Arabia]

14 minutes ago, Ishanga said:

So the Enemy is not Happiness or Pleasure, Suffering is the Enemy for sure, when You are in Suffering it completely disempowers You, I would sayy 99% of People today cannot deal with their Suffering and allow it too empower themselves to higher Potentials, very few can do this, but when You are Happy then Empowering Yourself is much easier, there is more Energy in the system, more Clarity and Mental/Physical Stability!!

The reason is because they're not happy. Like the post says, you're suffering because you're not feeling happy. You're looking at it from one side. What is suffering really. Suffering can empower you and happiness can also disempower you. Suffering can also be a strong motivator for some. 

The point of the post, though shows how one suffers because they're not feeling happy and aren't comfortable with that feeling of lack of happiness. They're suffering happiness. One doesn't suffer because one is suffering. One suffers because happiness isn't present. There's a subtle difference and takes an understanding of what is really being said here

 

 

 

[Princess Arabia]

27 minutes ago, Ishanga said:

Our Bodies and Mind (Emotional and Intellectual, Personality etc) work better when we are in Pleasant Moods, this is proven...

This is really the point of the post. Because this may be the case and pleasant moods aren't constant and are changing, the pleasant mood becomes the enemy when it's not present. If one works better in a pleasant mood then the lack of it puts them in an unpleasant mood which makes that pleasant mood not something that is working for them because it's not permanent. There's a subtle point to this message that you're missing.

Money is the enemy for broke people who or are sad because they don't have it. If being broke makes one happy, then being rich would be the enemy. Therefore being in a pleasant mood is the enemy not being in a bad mood because being in a bad mood isn't being saught after. Both bad and unpleasant moods are inevitable. The one being saught after is the one causing the problem. 

[Ishanga]

Just now, Princess Arabia said:

This is really the point of the post. Because this may be the case and pleasant moods aren't constant and are changing, the pleasant mood becomes the enemy when it's not present. If one works better in a pleasant mood then the lack of it puts them in an unpleasant mood which makes that pleasant mood not something that is working for them because it's not permanent. There's a subtle point to this message that you're missing.

Money is the enemy for broke people who or are sad because they don't have it. If being broke makes one happy, then being rich would be the enemy. Therefore being in a pleasant mood is the enemy not being in a bad mood because being in a bad mood isn't being saught after. Both bad and unpleasant moods are inevitable. The one being saught after is the one causing the problem. 

 

10 minutes ago, Princess Arabia said:

The reason is because they're not happy. Like the post says, you're suffering because you're not feeling happy. You're looking at it from one side. What is suffering really. Suffering can empower you and happiness can also disempower you. Suffering can also be a strong motivator for some. 

The point of the post, though shows how one suffers because they're not feeling happy and aren't comfortable with that feeling of lack of happiness. They're suffering happiness. One doesn't suffer because one is suffering. One suffers because happiness isn't present. There's a subtle difference and takes an understanding of what is really being said here

 

 

 

Happiness is not the same as Pleasure seeking or trying to satisfy the Senses, real Happiness always comes from within and has no need for a Stimuli, where as satisfying the senses which is what most ppl think of in regards to Happiness comes then goes...  The most success, rich/wealthy ppl in today's world are mostly miserable, they use drugs or other addictions to satisfy their need to feel a sense of Happiness, but they will never get it..

Suffering can empower, but like I said most are not wise enough or have enough Clarity to use it to Empower themselves, they either try to get numb or distract themselves from the Suffering via drugs, alcohol, sex, etc,,, or just learn to live with it, but its a tragic life!

[Princess Arabia]

The point of this post is not to say happiness doesn't feel good or that it doesn't serve a purpose for the seeker of it and so on. It's to point out that because it's not permanent, and will eventually pass like every other emotion or state, the person doesn't realize that by chasing it, you have made it the enemy. How? Without it, you suffer.

Edited August 20 by Princess Arabia

[Princess Arabia]

3 minutes ago, Ishanga said:

The most success, rich/wealthy ppl in today's world are mostly miserable, they use drugs or other addictions to satisfy their need to feel a sense of Happiness, but they will never get it..

Exactly. Do you know why? They chased happiness down and they found it. The success was because of the chase for happiness and because it's not sustainable now it's worse for them because they don't see any hope to cure their dis-ease. If happiness, the enemy, didn't do it, then all hope is lost. 

 

[Ishanga]

1 minute ago, Princess Arabia said:

Exactly. Do you know why? They chased happiness down and they found it. The success was because of the chase for happiness and because it's not sustainable now it's worse for them because they don't see any hope to cure their dis-ease. If happiness, the enemy, didn't do it, then all hope is lost. 

 

Success, the way ppl view and understand it today (outside things produce an Experience within You), is not Happiness, like I said its ego gratification, its applause, it makes them feel special, but its temporary...

Real True Happiness can be sustained... Ppl suffer Depression for years and years, daily feelings of dreed, sorrow, mental suffering, the opposite can happen too, ppl can be Happy, at Peace, Blissful for sustained periods of time, even Ecstasy, but with Ecstasy if You maintain it, You won't care about Family, Friends, Job, or anything of that sort, with Bliss You will still care and feel great and over long periods of time, our Bodies and Minds are meant to be this way, not depressed, sad, angry, fight/flight stress response daily!!

[Princess Arabia]

It takes a different kind of thinking to really see what I'm saying here. If one takes every emotion that comes and sees it as what's simply arising then no emotion will make them suffer. Doing a job regardless of what emotion arises, going about life not chasing one over the other then none can make you suffer. (Not referring to physical pain). It's the pursuit for a feel better state that causes the suffering because one doesn't suffer when happiness arises only when it's absent. So therefore, suffering is not the enemy in this case, happiness is. One doesn't like something because it doesn't make them FEEL good. In that quest to feel good that becomes the enemy. No quest for a particular feeling and all is well. The quest is to feel happy; so happiness is now the enemy. 

Edited August 20 by Princess Arabia

[Princess Arabia]

8 minutes ago, Ishanga said:

Success, the way ppl view and understand it today (outside things produce an Experience within You), is not Happiness, like I said its ego gratification, its applause, it makes them feel special, but its temporary...

Real True Happiness can be sustained... Ppl suffer Depression for years and years, daily feelings of dreed, sorrow, mental suffering, the opposite can happen too, ppl can be Happy, at Peace, Blissful for sustained periods of time, even Ecstasy, but with Ecstasy if You maintain it, You won't care about Family, Friends, Job, or anything of that sort, with Bliss You will still care and feel great and over long periods of time, our Bodies and Minds are meant to be this way, not depressed, sad, angry, fight/flight stress response daily!!

You do have a point here.

 

[Princess Arabia]

@IshangaEven though, I do agree with your last statement, I still think it's the pursuit of happiness that causes the suffering to linger. Those people that are happy for longer periods aren't chasing happiness because it's already present, so i should have said in the heading the pursuit of happiness is the enemy because pursuing happiness implies you're sad.

[Princess Arabia]

The pursuit of happiness is the enemy; and I use the word 'enemy' loosely here as it's not really.

Edited August 20 by Princess Arabia

[Sandroew]

I tought what you are describing is kind of similar to what the Buddha meant by the Middle Way.

[Puer Aeternus]

Ayyyyyyy  frame battle, frame battle! 

WHO WILL WIN?!? 

Freud's pain pleasure principle!? 

Or suffering is the real enemy!? 

@Princess Arabia @Ishanga

The truth is, you both have interesting perspectives and things to say! 

But your perspective maps are differing in some ways. So you're both hunkering down in your own maps, because they're more familiar to you. I still think I'm right about this and not youuuu! 

So stooppp! Surrender this trying to be right thing and integrate where you're wrong even if it's confusing, sillies! 

 

[Natasha Tori Maru]

It is desire in both directions isn't it?

Desire to NOT suffer.

Desire for happiness.

Happiness seeking generates its own suffering. We generate the lack within ourselves 'I do NOT have this thing, I must get it' You create the void inside.

I think there is some saying about desire/craving somewhere in my pockets

Edited August 20 by Natasha Tori Maru

[SOUL]

When someone perceives conceptual enemies they create conflict in their own mind that generates self suffering in experience which can disturb our well being.

Even in transcending temporary conditions like the pursuit of happiness, if one perceives the relative as an obstacle to the absolute it becomes what they have created for themselves.

A perceived obstacle, a separation, an enemy, an adversary, a stumbling block, something 'bad' or 'wrong', any one of these are only there because one would create it in their perception through conceptions of it.

Edited August 21 by SOUL

[Sandroew]

@SOUL Very good insight.

Sometimes i feel like im a paranoid… Goddamn you, lizard mind!!

[pablo_aka_god]

Are you saying the reason I can't connect with women even when I have manny men friends is because I see them as the enemy because they are the gate keepers of my happiness(ie: sex)? 

Makes no sense at all (sarcasm)

Edited August 21 by pablo_aka_god