Don't Be Fooled by Your Attachments

When was the last time you gave a second thought to your attachments? For the most part, many of our attachments go unnoticed, yet they play an enormous role in shaping our lives. In this video, we will be talking about attachments in the sense of liking or disliking someone or something. For example, he felt a nostalgic attachment to the town in which he grew up, or she was attached to her negative feelings about some of the people in her workplace. Since this video is coming to you from pure heart, clear mind, you shouldn't be surprised to learn that getting rid of our attachments is an essential part of self-cultivation. Around 2,500 years ago, Siddhartha Gautama, better known as the Buddha, taught that attachments are a source of suffering that impede spiritual growth. Fast-forwarding to the present, the teacher and founder of Falun Dafa, Master Li Hongzhi, talks at great length about the crucial importance of letting go of our attachments, both big and small, if we want to return to our true home. So, let's see what we can learn about attachments and the role they play in our daily lives. Please note that I am looking at attachments from my limited understanding and experience, and not as an authority. I also realize that many of you may not be on a spiritual path of self-cultivation. Nevertheless, you can still benefit from understanding how attachments work and how letting go of them can bring a new sense of freedom in your life. Identifying your attachments requires looking within yourself, looking into your heart, so to speak. With a little practice, you will soon discover that, along with some that are really obvious, many of your attachments are more subtle and a little harder to find. You will also see that every attachment triggers a particular feeling or emotion, which can be pleasant or unpleasant, and anywhere from very slight to very strong. Now, imagine that you are a human electromagnet. This means that you can increase or decrease the strength of your magnetism towards people, situations, and habits, as well as turn that magnetism on or off. As you move through life, you will be attracted positively and negatively to many of these things. Think of this as creating attachments. If you really like a particular person, situation, or habit, the magnetic power within yourself automatically increases, and the bond becomes that much stronger. It works the same way for people and things you don't like. This means that the more you dislike, the stronger the bond. And if you want to completely break a negative bond to a particular person, situation, or habit, you just turn off the power to your electromagnetic self. This means letting go of the attachment. This has to happen before you can experience that sense of freedom we mentioned a moment ago. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could turn our attachments on and off so easily? But, in reality, we are not electromagnets. Whether you want to cultivate to higher spiritual realms or get rid of unpleasant attachments, it will take time and effort. That's because most attachments have deep roots, even the little ones. Most attachments are habitual, and, as you know, it takes time to completely get rid of habits. There's something else you should know about attachments, and that is their sticky nature. This is perhaps easier to see in positive attachments. For example, you may have strong feelings for someone, but after a while you begin to notice that those feelings somehow stifle your freedom in the relationship. You may find that closeness brings a certain happiness, but being separated for a while brings a longing. In other words, that attachment brings you joy, but it also brings you pain. If you step back and give this issue some quiet thought, you may sense that letting go of a strong personal attachment brings a real freedom for both people involved. The pain that came with the attachment turns into benevolence and compassion. Letting go of this attachment doesn't dissolve the relationship, of course. It only makes it better. Coming to this realization is an important first step. Since attachments reside in one's heart and mind, even though they manifest physically, the next step would be to experience this internally by starting to let go of the attachment. If this video has resonated with you in any way, it could be a sign that you are ready to work on some of your own attachments. Why not invest in a little quality time to bring a genuine freedom into your daily life?