Sleep is the means by which the mind withdraws temporarily from the pressure exerted by its age-old load of impressions and desires…
In spite of the periodic release and refreshment that deep sleep supplies, the mind continues to be dissatisfied. Driven by need to escape from the burden that finite consciousness imposes upon him, man associates himself with like-minded individuals. By merging himself in a group that has similar problems, he hopes to fortify himself against his growing sense of dissatisfaction.
But his hope is ill-founded. He finds no more redemption by identifying himself with the false “we” than by identifying with the false “I”. The increased strength of the group is nullified by increased expectations. Instead of finding his powerlessness mitigated, the individual finds that it is merely shared by many others. His sense of helplessness is accentuated through participation in the group-consciousness, for he shares their collective feeling of helplessness as well as his own.
Although occasionally a means may be found to eliminate some one worry in life, the final solution to recurring problems remains to be found. Suppose, for example, that a man is extremely miserable because others in his office seem to be given better treatment than he. Then suppose he is suddenly relieved of all his worries by inducing himself in a studied indifference to his surroundings.
–Listen Humanity, p123