In this Ask Dr. Miller segment, Dr. Emmett Miller explains that the fundamental source of all suffering is the desire for things to be different from how they are. He argues that when we accept reality as it is, the body transitions from a sympathetic, fight‑or‑flight state to a parasympathetic, vegetative state characterized by rest, calm, and openness. This shift allows us to experience the present moment without pre‑judgment, recognizing the inherent beauty of the world. Miller contrasts days when a mental “filter” clouds perception with days of clear, present awareness, invoking the Buddha’s teaching about letting the filter dissolve and fully inhabiting the “suchness” of each moment. The segment concludes with a call for listeners to send questions via email and to explore his mind‑body health resources.
Welcome to Ask Dr. Miller, where Dr. Miller answers your questions about mind-body health.
The source of all suffering is wanting things to be different from how they are. Therefore, when you accept things as they are your body shifts from a sympathetically charged paradigm of readiness, fight and flight, into the vegetative, parasympathetic side of the nervous system. That— the vegetative side. Rest, peace, quiet. Stillness. Calm. Receptivity. Openness. Openness to the world. To experience it as it is. Free of pre-judgment. Free of prejudice. To let this moment in. Knowing that we live in the most perfect world possible. This is the most perfect of all possible worlds right now because it's the only one that exists. And if you can accept that it is filled with beauty, and maybe a few moments ago you didn't notice how beautiful things things were. Maybe you've sort of been in one of those sour moods, you know, when everything looks kind of bleak, and no matter what happens, something that ordinarily would get you to laugh, you don't laugh today. You know, can't make me laugh, no. The world's crap. Life's a bitch, and then you die. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and even if it can't, it still might. Can't fight City Hall. Pfft. Nothing to laugh at. And then there are those days when you're like, "Up!" It's like no matter what happens, you go, pfft, pfft, and you see the humor in it. What's the difference between those two days? The filter that you have between you and the world. And what the Buddha is saying is, let's see if the filter could go away. Can you imagine the filter going away? Can you imagine simply being present in the moment? In the here and now, in the essence of the moment, just to be here. To experience the suchness of things, the uncarved block. This moment is emerging right now. And you don't need to think about any other times, right now. And now—
Thanks for listening to this segment of Ask Dr. Miller. Send your questions by email to drmiller@drmiller.com. For more information on mind-body health and Dr. Miller's CDs, DVDs, and books, go to drmiller.com. That's drmiller.com.
