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Article:

Strategies for
Cultivating Detachment

by Rev. Sue Annabrooke Jones

      Various versions of this article have appeared in The Isis Scrolls, The BodySoulSpiritExpo.com Newsletter, and The SpiritVoice Newsletter. Copyrighted by the author.

      "Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions;
reality can be attained only by someone who is detached." —
Simone Weil
     Many souls have come to this Earth plane to learn, among other things, how to work with detachment, or nonattachment, as it is sometimes called. Because each of us must develop and eventually master the ability to work with nonattachment, it is worthwhile to explore its meaning as it applies to our lives.

      The term detachment, which is most often heard in connection with Eastern philosophy, is widely misunderstood, in the West and in the East. Detachment does not mean disconnection or withdrawal from a person or situation, or from life.

      The Christian tradition offers us perhaps a better term, that of divine indifference. But this term too can be misleading, because nonattachment does not mean indifference to the needs or the suffering of others.

      What then does it mean? Detachment means involvement without emotional attachment to the outcome. In other words, involved nonattachment.

      Practicing nonattachment requires a measure of both discernment and wisdom, which generally increase as we mature. For example, a child who loses a cherished toy may wail and carry on like the end of the world has come. But the adult knows it isn't the end of the world. The grownup smiles and comforts the child, saying if the toy can't be found, it can be replaced with another, perhaps even better toy.

      The adult in the above hypothetical situation is exercising wisdom gained from life experience, but this same adult likely has some attachments of his or her own. If these "cherished toys" are lost or taken away, he or she may experience sorrow, anger, grief or some other form of emotional pain. Sometimes this pain heals quickly; sometimes it does not.

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