Futility

When we really ask what drives us we have to conclude that with every right-minded passion there is a dark one attached to it. In the olden days we dealt with them by declaring them sinful. We built up the psychological punishment mechanism that gave us some protection to do the right thing. But boy, when we crossed over to the dark side, we did punish ourselves. After all, we humans are powerful, whatever we believe in, we manifest into our lives. Then came Freud's insight about the superego along. I think this concept is still relevant for us spiritual path travelers today. By speculating what our True Self is all about, we create a superego in us. Actually, the superego is the modern day sin concept. If you know what your higher authority in you wants and you nevertheless give in to your temptation, you generate psychological conflict in you.

The other option you have is understanding where exactly your behaviour will lead you. I have often told the fairy tale of the fisher and his wife which is a classic story of the ego-driven desire. A fisher finds a golden fish who offers 3 boons, and his wife uses them to first get a bigger house, a palace, then a kingdom, and lastly, the fourth wish, to become God. While the first three wishes are granted, she ends up in her old fisher hut when the fourth wish is uttered. Futility! When we follow our dark passions we know where we will end up. We can see it in people who have been down this road, and we can feel it in ourselves. Yes, it is hard to stop the car and turn it around, and yes, there still will be conflict, but it is our choice, we do not need to appeal to any higher source in us and accumulate psychological baggage in the process. We reposition and channel our frustration into a more productive area. After discovering that your road leads to nowhere, no temptation can get you anymore.