We are “asleep,” compared with what we could be. We are dreaming. We are entranced. We are automatized. We are caught in illusions while thinking we are perceiving reality…
… We need to awaken to reality, the reality of the problems caused by our fragmented selves, so we can discover our deeper selves and the reality of our world, undistorted by our entranced condition…
… There are many paths available for seeking the light within. To start, you have to recognize that there is something precious within to be found, in spite of our culture’s pressure to keep us externally oriented, looking for happiness by being consumers of external goods. You have to continually struggle against the social current, of course: people who go within are dangerous and unpredictable, so society distrusts, discourages, and often punishes them…
… The paths have led some people to happiness, some to disappointment, some to mild delusions, some to insanity. Some paths are powerful, some may have been effective in the past but no longer work, and some are dangerous. Some are merely fantasies about paths; some are dangerous neuroses disguised as paths. All genuine paths require courage: courage to buck the social tide, courage to see yourself as you really are, courage to take risks. Progress on any genuine path is a gift to us all, as well as a gain for yourself.
– Charles Tart
