Once pleasure becomes a determined pursuit, the world divides itself into a pleasure/pain polarity. We now pursue pleasure, both to sustain a pleasant feeling and to avoid the discontent of pain.
Homework
Begin noticing the pain of pursuing pleasure. Notice how addiction to pleasure can lead to neediness, dependency, and the loss of vitality. See if you can notice the discontentment behind the pursuit. You may be moving forward toward pleasure to distance yourself from the pain of your self-assumptions. Are you looking out there so you won’t have to feel in here? Explore this discontentment thoroughly. Desiring is sustained by giving something exaggerated significance. Drop the charged thinking and just look at the desired object directly. Is the significance you are giving this object coming from the object or from your conditioning? Throughout the week ask yourself, “Where is true contentment in this moment?”