The Most Important Thing to You

14:00

14:00

The Most Important Thing to You

by Arjuna Ishaya

Rated

4.6

Type

talks

Activity

Meditation

Suitable for

Everyone

Plays

6.9k

A question that might be the most important of your entire life.

Peace Happiness Self Care Responsibility Mindfulness Acceptance Inner Peace Unconditional Happiness Personal Responsibility

Meet your Teacher

Richmond, North Yorkshire, UK

Meet your Teacher

Richmond, North Yorkshire, UK

Transcript

I want to ask you a question. It's perhaps one of the most important questions you may ever be asked in your whole entire life. I know when I was asked it, It brought about a complete re-prioritization of my life. It really changed the focus of what I was prioritizing, Of what I thought was important. So let me ask you, If you could have anything, Anything in the world, Any wish, What would you ask for? If your guardian angel, If Santa Claus was to come into your room and say, I give you one wish, One wish only, What do you want? What do you ask for? What do you want? What is the most important thing to you in life? What if you say, For example, You're on your deathbed, What do you, Just looking back through your life, What do you wish that it was filled with? I've asked this question all around the world, Many Shias do. And we get the same answer from people from all different backgrounds. Everybody wants peace. Everybody wants satisfaction. They want contentment. They want love. They want freedom. The most important thing to every single human on this whole entire planet is an inner experience. The thing is though, The most fascinating thing is that we seek that inner experience through external means. We're constantly delaying it. We think, I will be happy when, I will be happy when I have a new girlfriend, A new boyfriend, A new car, A new job, When I go on holiday, When this happens, When that happens. Constantly we're delaying our peace for some future moment, Some future moment that may never ever happen. We're constantly delaying the most important thing to us, Our peace, Our freedom, Our love, Our contentment, Our fulfillment until something that may never happen comes. Do you ever wonder why so many people in the world seem unhappy? Now commonly I ask this question a lot and what people sometimes say first is wrapped up around that. They say, You know what, I want financial security. I want perfect health for me and my family. I want to meet my soulmate. And these things are very important things. I'm not saying that they're not important. They're very, Very important. But they are not the most important thing. They are not the most important thing. Ask yourself, If you said one of those things, What would having perfect health give you? Ah, That sense of all is well. I can rest, Relax, I can stop struggling. That sense of happiness. When you meet your soulmate, What's that going to feel like? Ah, Him or her will just make me happy. What will financial security be like? Ah, Yes, I can be at peace. I can stop. You see? Very important things, But actually what the most important thing is what they'll give you. And I only say this because your foundation of life needs to be peace, Happiness, Contentment, That most important thing. If you realize that you're searching for it in terms of an external experience, In terms of external circumstances, If you realize that actually it's an internal experience that doesn't need to be affected by that, Then you are so close to being free and having that all the time. You are so close to freeing yourself from the chains of needing something to make you happy. You will have peace, Happiness, Love, Freedom that is uncaused. How wonderful. You can realize that that inner experience can be your choice. That it need not rely on anybody or anything else. You get good at that choice and then no one can take it away from you. But you create that foundation and then everything that happens to you is just either does not affect you, Does not affect your happiness and peace, Or just get thrown on top to another example of how wonderful life is. It's a fascinating thing. We think money will make us happy. Money allows us to do incredible things. Don't get me wrong. But the level of security is an inner experience. You can have millions of dollars, Millions of pounds and still feel nervous, Still feel insecure. Some of the most poorest houses, Financially speaking, I've been into have been the most abundant. You walk out of there loaded down with gifts, With a cheese and a bully jumper and a full belly and a girl. They're just saying, Here please take everything. So the number in your bank account has nothing to do with how happy you are. But if that's something that you want, If you want a million pounds, If you want a million dollars, Make your foundation absolute, Secure, Happiness, Peace, Freedom. And then every step of the way will be wonderful. Every step of the way to your fortune will be enjoyable. Because happiness is no longer something you need from creating that fortune. Getting to your goal is not, As I said, A need anymore. It's just something that you want. Health. You are not in control of your health. There are certain things you can do to look after your body, To help it heal in certain ways, To stop it even getting sick in the first place. But ultimately, You are not in control. If you allow your health to dictate your levels of happiness, You are allowing your happiness to be controlled by something you aren't in control of. You are allowing your happiness to be changeable. Because it's linked to something that naturally changes your health. My mother-in-law was incredible. She had cancer for 16 years. But I think part of her journey was realizing that she could look after her body, But beyond that, It was pure acceptance. It was her choice to be at peace with what her body was experiencing. You see? So even though there was cancer, Aggressive cancer, Riddling her body, She was the most peaceful, The most peaceful, Happiest woman I've ever met. She squeezed everything from life. She didn't take a single moment for granted. And indeed, Your soulmate, When you meet that person, When you meet that perfect person who never argues with you, Who totally gets you, You start to see that it's not you that brings, It's not them that brings happiness to you. It's you that brings happiness to them. You find a symptom of the larger freedom of choice that you now have, That life does not bring you happiness, But you bring happiness to life through your choice, Through your internal choice. Not needing something external to give that to you. Not relying on anything external to give that to you. And equally, Not putting it off into some future moment, But instead having it right now. Being that right now. Now, What's important to realize is that you're not in control of the intensity of your happiness, Of your peace, Of your joy, Of your love, Of your sense of freedom. You're not. That's not your job. You choose for it. Sometimes you're wildly happy, Sometimes you're just quietly, Gently content. And that is fine, As long as you're not searching for that wow experience. Very important point. So let now be enough. Make your foundation the most important thing to you. And then go do, Go live, Go be free. But prioritize it. You have to prioritize it, Because the chances are you're not. You're not. Hand on heart. Honestly, Are you prioritizing what is most important to you? Nope. Chances are, You're like me, And that you have a long to do list. And right at the bottom of your to do list is, Ah, Okay, Then rest. Be happy, Be at peace. Do my to do list, Get through my jobs, And then I can get back. Ah. The thing is you never ever get to the bottom of your to do list. You don't. It never happens. Put your most important thing right at the top. When you wake up, Just have the intention to make the most important thing your own happiness, Your own peace, Your own freedom. In no way is this selfish. Talking to you mums out there, Especially. You will give everything to everybody else before yourself. And the idea of taking anything for yourself seems so selfish. This is not true. Your partner, Your loved ones, Your whole family and community benefit. When you're happy and at peace, When you look after that and make sure you have it, Everybody, It's so much easier for everyone to be happy and at peace. If you're running around trying to make everybody else happy without being happy yourself, It never works. It never works. You know they say, You get on an airplane and the safety talk is always, Ha, Put on your own oxygen mask first and then help others. It is not selfish to make your priority your own happiness. It doesn't mean you stop giving and being concerned with anyone else. It just means number one priority is that and a choice now. Peace, Happiness, Freedom. Okay. So take responsibility for it. Take responsibility for your own happiness and then choose for it. And that way you're going to live the most amazing of lives. The most incredible adventure. Good stuff.