RE: What do you need to be happy? Ecotrain Question Of The Week!
Great piece!
The materialism you touch upon is something I have been pondering as well lately.
Thing is, in this reality as we experience it there is the strong tendency that egoic people are more attached to materialistic wealth. But actually, there is no rule of thumb saying that materialism entails egoism.
What I am trying to say is that on the spiritual path, especially at the earlier stages of inner insights, we tend to go from one extreme to the other. So we see the overwhelming indulgement in materialistic goods, money and suddenly start seeing all materialism as bad and non-spiritual. If somebody dreams of having a car, we might think: it won't make you any happier.
For myself I found that it is very well possible to have a liking for materialistic goods yet without any unhealthy attachment.
Many 'spiritual masters' talk about lust (in any way) as being a dark aspect, yet here as well my experience has been that this is a rather reactive instead of responsive perspective. Seeing and feeling the great unbalance of the world, or should I say extreme representation of one side, especially causes sensitive empaths to assume the exact same extreme on the other side of the spectrum.
I have to say that it was particularly information circulating in spiritual teachings and communities which caused me the most inner upheaval many years ago, but from another angle I see that these experiences helped me realize that we are all just experiencing ourselves with nobody being more right or wrong, better or worse, more or less true, which then again is always shifting never stagnant for ourselves. :)
You are completely right. Materialism is not about liking material things rather attachment as being identified with and taking them as a measure of your self worth. Attachment is the underlying problem that is why I wrote at the beginning "Some people are searching for happiness in power; others search in fame, others in wealth, health, religion and relationships. Some take pride in their ethnicity, others in their color, others in wealth, others in religions and others in the sports team they feel to belong to."
Many spiritual master I have red or listened to are aware of such distinction, I guess you are talking about religious leaders who demonize materialism and promote attachment to spirituality in egoistic manner creating religious extremists.
To latter part of your reply, I guess yes, it might be religious leaders.
The lifestyle of a Buddhist monk for example doesn't make them more spiritual than other practitioners of spirituality. It is just one expression of the experience of Self chosen to find inner peace and Happiness. :)
Exactly. :)