Due to being deeply over-identified with the false-self of the ego, humans have maintained the cycle of suffering outlined in the Four Noble Truths on planet Earth for centuries through their Karma (thoughts, words, and actions that have a cause and effect in the world). And this attachment to the false self is maintained and emboldened by the dynamics of our ever-changing societies.
Societies, which are mostly (if not entirely) created by individuals with attachments to ego identities to maintain “order” (often hierarchically), often create more separation, confusion, and suffering than humans would naturally experience living closer to their nature and connected to their True Self. But for promises of convenience, and due to fear, most people adopt their sense of identity from the “order” they are are put into when they become a member of these groups.
No society on planet Earth, however, because they are all unnatural constructs built to reinforce power and control for a very few (who often obtain control and power through violence and force), existing as ego-based holding spaces that maintain unnatural orders, is truly “healthy” for human beings to exist within at its core.
Health, which is not simply the absence of disease, is a context of existence that encompasses well-being on all levels from the physical to the mental, emotional, and social. Most societies, however, are inadequately capable of supporting health on any fundamental level, especially when profit margins (numbers representing intangible funds on a page) and other empty markers are the primary criteria under which most societies evaluate their success and the success of individuals, and ingrained delusions of self-hood cause many to feel entitled to valuate the worth of others (and even the planet that hosts all life itself) based on insubstantial arbitrary standards.
Regardless of its promise to do so, human societies are not adequate for fulfilling the true needs of human beings and can never support humanity’s healing from most traumas, especially ego-trauma, since society itself is an ego and trauma-creating and perpetuating machine.
Gaining Liberation
To gain freedom from this cycle of suffering, one must metaphorically step outside of society, and get closer to his/her True nature and Self in order to fully heal the effects of the trauma inflicted by being in relationship with other egos, and ego constructs, in society.
Though this message may seem “radical” for many, the basic fact is that in order to truly be free in body, mind, and spirit, one must give up all attachments to false constructs and identities (which some may never do, because depending on historical timelines, they may appear to “benefit” from these false identifications even at the expense of others and their true Self and liberation).
The Eightfold Path is an inward journey for a reason: you cannot find yourself in the world, but must instead look (without distortion) within you for true liberation and freedom.
In Yoga, the strategy for coping with this Reality is to be in the world, but not of it.
Thank you for reading.
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