Often I write about the addictions of the material reality such as drugs, alcohols, sex, gambling, and food.  They all fall into the category of material obsession.  By very definition all of the material reality is addicting.  When reading ancient spiritual and philosophical texts, one sees this inherent bias. 

Specifically, it comes out as disdain and disrespect for the material world.  In fact, pure logic proves that the only thing that exists is consciousness.  For ancient spiritual masters, this was enough to negate the entire physical world.  They spent most of their time learning to ignore it. 

Some methods, such as that of the fakir, use self-flagellation or extreme deprivations to reduce dependence on the physical reality.  Christians speak of the prison of the flesh.  Ascetics wander as Sannyasi surrendering all physical attachments.  One or another of ancient schools even praise a form of enlightened suicide. 

To most Westerners, these ideas seem ridiculous.  In fact, the Age of Reason culminated as the Western nations sought to release humanity from the grip of the Eastern spiritual traditions which sought to keep humanity’s aims lofty and above that of the mere material.  Technology from these nations has brought our species to the greatest technological development in modern history. 

Yet logically, philosophers still hold the upper hand.  The spiritual or nonphysical precedes the material.  How do we reconcile these notions?  In our time, we seek to rejoin these two paths or polarities.  In other areas we can discuss the pairs of opposites, here we will only address these two keys:  physical and nonphysical, spiritual and material.  We can see the battle for balance in the largest conflict currently on the globe,
Iraq. 

The battle occurs between religiously aligned individuals and materially aligned ones.  Materialists seek domination through control of oil, spiritualists through control of thought and behavior.  Both are obsessed, neither entirely right.  Humanity craves balance, the hardest of tasks.  Self-masters often call this perfection balancing on the head of a pin.  In other words, difficult is an understatement. 

For the materialist, all that exists is the physical world.  For the spiritualist, all that exists is the spiritual.  The lover of the material will spend the entire of life trying to extend material possessions and dominion over the physical, or sensory realm.  A spiritualist spends all of his or her time trying to transcend their current existence to reach a place of infinite, or non-changing reality. 

No matter how hard you try, materiality will not satisfy you inner craving.  All objects decay and die.  Even if we perfect cloning, at what point does one get tried of consuming?  The addict is most prepared to realize that no material object ever leads to happiness, they only leads to obsession at best, death at worst.  Look at those who eat or drink themselves to death.Although the spiritualist immediately understands that no physicality will make himself happy, he does not realize that intellectualizing, or transcending oneself etherically neglects one thing, your body.  You are here now.  No reasoning, koans, or mantras will change that fact.  You must raise your entire existence to immortality, the physical and spiritual. 

Thus, the goal in our time is to know the spiritual in every breath while performing right action and elevating our material.  Imagine the states of utmost spiritual ecstasy combined with physical success.  Most experience this joy through sexual union with another partner.  Yet we possess the ability to know this state in all of our lives.   

Planet Earth is a planet of dualities, or pairs of opposites.  Where the two merge is this state of divine sexual union; where the eye perceives light, or the ear sound.  A worthy goal of existence is to remain at this point in all experiences without falling into one side or the other-denial or obsession.   The alcoholic and the dry drunk are the same person as they both obsess on alcohol. 

Only the one without obsession truly knows life.  Find your obsessions, find your balance point, stay there.  Historically, humanity has continually fallen around the pairs of opposites, from materialism to spiritualism and back.  The church fathers of the West once held complete dominion over the soul of humanity, while the scientists now hold utter sway over our bodies. 

Neither are right in the absence of the other.   Only through balance can we achieve the greatness that is humanity’s birthright, to ascend WITH our bodies to the highest in spiritual and physical development.  Sick and overweight spiritual people are no more right than fit and obsessed materialists.  Those of us who seek and surf the balance truly achieve greatness.   

Become a fit spiritual being, bring your body with you to transcendence, it is a worthy journey as myself and my clients testify.