“Everything works to your advantage as you do what must be done. You may not see this at first, in fact, you may feel that you are losing instead of gaining. __This loss is your gain.__ See this! Your present life goes the way it does because you have certain ideas about it. Well, honestly, what kind of life is it? If the life is wrong, the ideas in back of it are also wrong, so they must go. It is the loss of the harmful familiar that you feel. Don’t love the familiar just because it seems comfortable. Love whatever is beyond the familiar, which is true love.”
–Vernon Howard, Esoteric Mind Power, p. 153
Svaha 
I hope I am misunderstanding this, because I can’t disagree with it more. It does horrible dishonor of those who have died horrible death and suffered miserable lives. More than our minds control our lives and the world cares not for us. I don’t buy into an all caring great mind in the sky.
You see, I must misunderstand it.
Hi Sabio,
I don’t know if you misunderstand, I am perhaps more familiar with Vernon Howard’s teaching…
I take these words as saying – it is possible to notice the futility of the mental argument with reality and give it up, even in the midst of deep suffering and pain.
Vernon Howard says, ‘love whatever is beyond the familiar’ which means, as I understand it, love what is beyond thoughts such as ‘this is awful, this should not be happening to me, this should never happen to anyone, I don’t deserve this, no one deserves this, this isn’t fair, this isn’t right, I know what needs to happen, I know what is right, etc.’
There can be a peaceful surrender to life, even when it is horrible, painful and miserable… Surrender to life does not mean devotion to ‘an all caring great mind in the sky’ as you say – for me, it is a recognition of the limitations of my individual mind and way of thinking. I can think and think and fight and fight, but that will never make the horrors of the world stop. Resistance is familiar, but painful. This is just my experience and understanding. I don’t know what it is for you.
I really like your answer to Sabio, Aly. Very well said.
Thank you Krzysiu, thanks for reading : )
This sounds like a philosophy the British Raj should have instilled in all her subjects. Keeping them happy with their lot and not challenging their suffering. Happy, complacent slaves — who could ask for more.
All to say, discernment with the usefulness of struggle is important. For struggle, dissatisfaction and effort have incredible value.
Huge topic here…
You seem to suggest that dissatisfaction (or suffering) is a necessary prerequisite to action…
In my understanding, action does not have to come from resistance/dissatisfaction/struggle (in the form of ‘what is happening should not be happening’).
Truly useful action comes from acceptance of how things are, followed by a clear assessment of what works and what doesn’t work, that is not riddled with value judgment. (For a great discussion of value judgment and description see The Path of Awakening, in the chapter ‘Honesty’)
I know this is a radical view.
Suffering is very personal and I write what I have found to be true by experimenting in my own case. I study Teachers who act to promote healthy human functioning while also experiencing a lack of dissatisfaction. The True Teaching is not a trick to make us all ‘happy, complacent slaves’ as you say. That is not where the Teaching on freedom from dissatisfaction takes us.
That is the funny thing about words, aphorisms and sayings.
I have heard people in India embrace phrases very similar to yours above as them steamed slowly in their pathetic existence and made no effort to change it. Witty words can be double edged swords — words depend on their use and how we integrate them to all the other parts of ourselves, I guess.
Yes, for me, the Teaching is meant to be used, applied to my actual life and situations… since the map is not the territory ;) I don’t know what other people are doing, I have ideas about what they seem to be doing (thinking, feeling), but that is only ever my guess, my take on it… especially when I think about large groups of people that I do not have any contact with… Thanks for the dialogue.
Here I posted the section on value judgment and description: http://alycliffhanger.wordpress.com/2011/03/02/description-or-value-judgment/
Vernon Howard teachings makes me always come back to myself.He changed my life
Your post brought me back to my Path from great turmoil in my head. Thank you.