Fifty Ways of Letting Go by Robert Kando Cornell

Author:Robert Kando Cornell [Cornell, Robert Kando]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781504373593
Publisher: Balboa Press
Published: 2017-02-21T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 24

Letting Go of “It’s All About Me.”

When you’re upset, your school is in session.

Dr. Ron Hulnick, University of Santa Monica

Song of the Clueless One

You know how it is. You’ve seen it before.

You’re alright, everything is just fine and dandy-

until some smart aleck comes along and screws it all up.

Just completely screws it up – know what I mean?

I mean, the nerve of that guy!

Who does he think HE is, telling me what to do?

I mean really, who needs some smart ass like him.

I ought to go over there right now and just tell him off.

It always happens to me like this.

I don’t get any respect from those types.

What with their superior airs and all,

they just think they’re the best.

Oh, hey, where ya going? No, stay awhile.

I’ve got more to say, see. Lots more. A belly full.

Guys like him have been a pain in my keister

as long as I can remember. Should be a law about them.

– Robert Cornell

Introduction

One of the most useful spiritual practices is the ongoing day-by- day work of watching our reactions to things and containing any temptation to act out unskillfully. Ordinarily we try to do this by being “objective” and trying to keep our emotions under control. We often call this “being professional” or “being an adult” about something that upsets us. This is a good practice, as far as it goes. What we must do if we are to really let go of our self centered viewpoint is to become clearly AWARE of our biases and reactivity, moment by moment and then inquire into what they are about. This is work best done with the emotions as they are experienced in the body.

In the Buddha’s story of enlightenment, as he is deeply immersed in the process of attaining enlightenment, Mara the deceiver and creator of all illusions appears to try to prevent Siddhartha (the Buddha-to-be) from overcoming his spell. Mara throws everything he has at Siddhartha to try to distract him from his goal: armies attacking him with flaming arrows, seductive women, etc., etc. And Siddhartha is unmoved by these illusions and awakens through his practice of seeing reality as it is – not as Mara tries to convince him it is. However, throughout the Buddha’s life Mara would show up periodically to try to catch him back up in delusion. And the Buddha would see Mara and his machinations and he would say to him, ”I see you Mara.”

This is exactly the kind of self awareness we need when our own clouds of self centered delusions come out to confuse us. In my own personal life, Mara keeps showing up whispering in my ear the same old, same old, old, old story, “you’re not worthy, You’re not important. They won’t listen to you. They don’t take you seriously.” This old story from my childhood has caused me no end of pain and vexation in the past and can still trip me up even though by now I have seen this story play out countless times before.

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