We only suffer with "matter of the mind' ~ all suffering is mind made, in the thoughts, stories and unconscious patterning.
These stories and unconscious patterning developed when we were small, making sense of the world; we have a basis for what we think the world should be according to our thoughts. If we believe the world should unfold to our own wanting and desiring - we will suffer greatly.
Unfortunately, many don't know why we suffer; some suffer more than others. It is the matter of the mind - how dense and heavy is your mind patterning in believing it is your way or the wrong way?
This gets into the layering of the mind; because we don't often know what we think is the way; we are acting out and reacting until one day, a light is shined and creates our shadow.
We begin to look within and at ourselves to unearth what has been covered for so long, which is uncomfortable initially. We become aware "I am the reason for my suffering," "all my attachments and resistance to what I think life should be or shouldn't be."
Yet, at that moment is our FREEDOM.
If I am responsible for my suffering, I am responsible for my freedom.
Here we often begin the inner work, the journey, the unearthing and the undoing of all our doing that at one time we thought we true in our unconscious suffering - we look within for our freedom and joy, and this is liberation; to be free from our old reactions and cravings to the external world. We become powerful in our living, over the powerlessness of life.
Liberated, knowing we aren't born onto this earth to suffer and suffering is of the mind attaching to the world in how we think it should be. We begin to open for the whole human experience - in the human be-ing. In this full human experience is the pain of loss, disappointments, illness and death. And the joys, love, peace and laughter.
Life flows when we are liberated from expectations and self-inflicted suffering.
We flow in our practices to help us build human resiliency and endurance for the challenging life ahead. In the practices, we gain trust in ourselves to navigate the painful moments we are promised, and we will be open to receiving knowing the deep wisdom they bring.
We become the alchemist to transcend that pain for purpose, possibly to share and raise others, to have profound heart-opening experiences or to learn the truest meaning of compassion.
In those moments, what do we do in the human experience of emotions? We feel, as feelings are our teachers - to open to the pain is to open to the guilt, grief, anger or shame. We as humans should lean into it all with a yes to life!! It is beautiful here!
A vulnerability comes from our energy bodies and souls when we give ourselves full permission to be emotional and messy with ugly cries and gut-wrenching screams.
I love the archetype of the Bodhisattva, the path of heart-centred devotion and compassion - a path that courageously embraces life's pains because it is the path to oneness.
While the Buddha is clean, detached, and purified non-dual awareness, the Bodhisattva is a tantric, fleshly, wild-divine being who knows what to do with the blood, pain, and filth of life.
To be that wild in the murk of life and see it as beauty is what I think this life is all about. To be on my deathbed to say 'what a wild ride that was' because I said yes to it all, even knowing my heart would break and I would fall, but I knew I would have the strength to stand up like a warrior.
Light awareness is consciously choosing to be with a deep yes when the human experience doesn't go our way because what I have learnt is that if you surrender, life will be more beautiful than you ever thought, and all you have to do is breathe through it and give birth to something you didn't even know was waiting for you.
