For as long as we human beings have been walking on this earth, we have been searching for a state of mind or way of living that will redeem the sorrows of life and give us a deep and meaningful experience of being. In a psychological and spiritual sense, we are forever on the move, searching for something that we intuitively feel but have a hard time articulating. This restless pursuit of lasting satisfaction, God, or happiness has defined the human psyche for as long as we know. It seems to me that at the heart of this search is a desire for a deeply rich, profound, and meaningful experience of being. An experience of being that not only justifies but embraces the tragic sorrows inherent in life by orienting us toward the greatest love and wisdom that we are capable of experiencing and embodying. The question is, do we come upon such an experience of being by forever searching for it? Or might there be some other way of orienting ourselves toward this restless longing that might prove to be more fruitful and satisfying?
This book that you now hold in your hands, Ending the Search, is an answer to these two questions. Ending the search does not mean to simply walk away from it. You may change the mode of your seeking, but you will simply pick it back up again in some other more disguised form sooner or later. Neither does ending the search indicate a form of defeatism or failure to engage in something as important as our human aspirations. Truly ending the search is not a denial of the search but rather a wise and loving way of engaging with the desire for a deep and meaningful experience of being. It is a way of engaging with the seeking energy in such a way that you are not looking for satisfaction in what may happen in the future, or in who you may become, but are instead exploring the deeper nature of your immediate experience here and now. As the subtitle to this fine book says, it is about going From Spiritual Ambition to the Heart of Awareness.
There is no future or the exercising of spiritual ambition in this book, nor any attempt to aggrandize or justify the spiritual ego. Nor is this book some sort of cheap shortcut, or clichéd promise of freedom with no price to pay. The price will be your spiritual ambition, and the egocentric orientation that goes along with it. Seeking can become a lifestyle with hidden perks for the ego, but to come to the end of the search is to let go of all that is unreal about your current idea of you, and to step into only what is real. In this sense, Ending the Search is ruthless kindness and wise compassion. It speaks of ending the ego’s search outside of itself and finding in the Heart of Awareness something extraordinary and immediate. Something of great value and meaning beyond mere words. And something immediately available for anyone who is ready to stop right now and see.
This is not a book to simply be read; it is a book to be contemplated, practiced, and lived. Take this book as good medicine, and as a lovingly offered teaching. It is the product of decades of Dorothy’s experience. You will find yourself, your true nature, being encouraged and reflected on every page of it. For it is a book about you—not someone you may become, but something that you inherently are.
Adyashanti