“You wander from room to room
Hunting for the diamond necklace
That is already around your neck!”
—Rumi
 

ife for most people is like an Easter egg hunt.

We’re dropped here on this planet, brainwashed to believe that happiness and fulfillment are somewhere hidden and out of reach somewhere, and then we’re left to go figure out how to get it. So we scramble about day-in and day-out looking, trying, and efforting until the day we die. If we get close, or if we get a few items checked off from our list, satisfaction may last a few moments, but then we’re off to the next great chase. “What I got was okay, but perhaps there’s something better over there!”

Now, this is a very good arrangement for the voices in your head. From their perspective, keeping you distracted and busy with the chase is as good as it gets. The drama keeps you suffering, and your suffering is exactly the kind of energy they enjoy siphoned off. A suffering smoothie for them to slurp after a long, hard day of guiding your attention about. So your life force is sucked away—leaving you drained and the voices well fed. As long as they fool you into playing the game, you’re their property.

Then, by some chance, along comes meditation. You’ve heard it’s good for you. People are talking about it and how it works to clear the busy mind. And the people who are practicing it suggest that you sit down. Sit down and remain silent. Look inward. Breathe. Focus all of your attention on the breath.

And then what happens?

Perhaps it’s pleasant in the beginning. But eventually, the voices freak out. They go to work to sabotage your practice. They jabber on, scream, whisper, discourage, and distract. Maybe they’ll even have a hand at causing you to “forget” your practice. You’ve listened to them and believed them for so long, you listen to their frustration and irritation and assume it is your own. You listen to their excuses and complaints and nod your head in agreement. So you may, or may not, continue to meditate. Perhaps for a bit, and then quit.

Or maybe you play the Easter egg hunt again. Except this time, you play it with “find the right meditation and spiritual practice.” You look here, there, and everywhere for the right practice for “you.” One that will suit you. The one you like. The one that’s least threatening. Scrambling about from retreats to yoga studios to temples to programs…never finding anything quite right. The frantic search for peace continues and the voices are quite happy with this arrangement as well. See them gleefully rubbing their hands? This is how they fold spiritual practice and meditation into the worldly objectives that you must attain and obtain to experience happiness and fulfillment. More conditional happiness. More hunting.

When all that was required was for you to sit down. In silence.