Thought patterns may appear, suggesting that a change in career, relationships, or circumstances will unlock appreciation, enthusiasm, passion, joy, or fulfillment.
Thoughts like, "Once I have this, achieve that, or become something better, then there will finally be happiness, empowerment, or love," may arise.
These patterns, especially when using language like "we," reinforce the idea of separation, creating an illusion of "our feelings" - which come from outside - or even from each other. In reality, these emotions are readily available now, without the need for external change, relating, or validation.
The belief that fulfillment is tied to external outcomes arises from conditioning, only seemingly linking emotions to a future moment when a promotion, relationship, or goal is reached. However, in direct experience, no external event brings true relief or joy. Thoughts of illusory comparisons can only give a misleading impression that some thing outside oneself is or will be the cause of the true nature of oneself.
These time-comparative thoughts, just like the notion of "our feelings," are misnomers. Joy or satisfaction doesn’t come from an external world - it’s simply a shift inward, a naturally occurring release of the resistance of the misleading ideas, concepts & beliefs. Through inward orientation & examination of direct experience, it’s unmistakably clear: feeling is never separate or coming from outside.
Direct experience reveals this clearly:
When a goal is achieved: A sense of satisfaction seemingly surfaces, but fullness and satisfaction are self-inherent and ever-present, only seemingly obscured by thoughts of lack or resistance. The “accomplishment” is but a ‘permission slip’ and simply reveals what was already present, prior to beliefs & obscuring thoughts.
In flow: Joy and passion are most pronounced through full, present engagement. Thought narratives about chasing states of imaginary comparisons, seeking validation, or achieving something external only obscure the joy and passion that are already present. True fulfillment is self-inherent and emerges naturally from presence, not from beliefs in separation, division, time or multiplicity.
When circumstances change: External situations are apparent and come and go, but the core - the truth - remains unchanged. If joy truly came from outside, it would vanish with every shift in circumstances. Yet, obscured or not - joy remains constant, regardless of external conditions.
‘Cleaning up’ thoughts that imply separation - like "we" and even the concept of "feelings" - unfetters underlying self-clarity. Letting go of the belief that emotions like passion, eagerness, and enthusiasm come from outside, shifts the focus inward, revealing that every thing seemingly sought ‘in thought’ - is already present in actuality. Love, happiness, and fulfillment aren’t things to chase or achieve through action or effort; but are present now, eternally undivided by notions of time or space, inseparable from what is.