BillHustonBlog: Is gas drilling (or anything else) getting you sad, angry, depressed?

This is another in a series on Spiritual Activism.
The intent of this is to help all suffering beings.

I have met quite a few people lately
who are doing activist work,
mostly fighting fracking activities in their back yards,
having compassion for future generations,
and a sense of stewardship, wanting to protect the air, land, and water...

People who are filled with deep anger, fear, sadness,
sometimes with guilt, rage, shame, or blame,
motivated by a strong craving or aversion affect
with an impulse to urgent, desperate action.

Please allow me to share with you
lessons I have learned from my own life,
which has been filled with great suffering.

I would urge great caution
if you are one of these people
because everything I have studied
(as well as my own life experience)
indicates that many bad things--
violence, destruction, suicide, physical disease--
come from this energy.

When your life begins to seem
so very serious, and very much not fun...

Remember this:

The Soul of God is not a static thing (in this phase).

You are a necessary part of it.
Ishvara evolves by exploring these
Samsaric realms.

Stay here, be present with the pain.
Don't run away.

There is peace of mind in presence.
In this state, you can find Sat Chit Ananda
(Transcendent Ecstatic Joy).

Nirvana, Heaven,
Freedom, Happiness, Enlightenment:
These are not places
which lie apart from Here-Now!

"The difference between Samsara and Nirvana is your head!"
-- Lama Marut

Please understand me correctly.
I am not saying we should not be doing this work.

I am saying: if you are miserable all of the time,
then this is a problem.

We should be doing all of our work with joy!
And if you cannot find joy, then dispassion.
This can be accomplished with practice.

They call it spiritual practice for a reason!

If you feel your life is not joyful, then this is for you.

If you can find some calm and joy in your life,
you may find that your activist efforts
are more successful.

And this is practical empowerment
while we exist here in the relative world.