There is a lawfulness to the way suffering arises and happiness is lost. When we understand it, we can interact with it in such a way that it dissolves our suffering at its very root and sets us free.
Most suffering begins in the mind. A stressful thought arises, for instance “He hurt me,” and we believe it. We attach to the thought.
If we don’t know how to set ourselves free from the thought, it generates an emotion. The emotion (hurt, anger) is experienced as a combination of the thought and body sensations.
Not knowing how to dissolve the emotion, it drives behavior. We may withdraw, become reactive and aggressive, complain or indulge in our pain. Such attempts to escape the issue, repress it, or act it out will make us further unaware of the true causes of our problem. Even if these attempts appear to resolve the issue, they will increase our unconscious habits of suffering.
“Behavior driven by negative emotions impairs our relationships and creates a stressful world for us”.
This is the progression of how stressful thoughts and feelings manifest a stressful world for us. To free ourselves from these unconscious habits of thinking and feeling, we must do more than layer positive thoughts over our deeper stress. We must get free of the deeply engrained negative patterns.
Suffering develops from thinking – to feeling – to action – to physical manifestation.
We can interact with this chain of events on any level: we can for instance take a pill (physical), act differently (behavior), take steps to allow our emotions to come into harmony, or liberate our thinking.
While all these interventions have their place and purpose, the most skillful action is to dissolve the true causes of suffering. When our heart is open, our thoughts clear, and our emotions in harmony, we will happy and radiant and live our full potential.
These are the three primary causes for suffering: a closed heart, stressful thoughts and stressful emotions. Directly disbanding these causes is the most proficient way to set ourselves free of suffering.
Loving: When the heart is closed we unable to experience our natural state of openness. Stressful thoughts and feelings close the heart. We can engage the heart directly and ‘drink’ from its ever present essence in us. This love is not an emotion but the free state of the soul. The Skill to open the heart directly is HeartSourcing.
Thinking: Once we have gained a basic perspective on our thinking through stillness and reflection, we can inquire into our thinking to find a deeper truth. This truth will set us free. The primary Skill to free the mind is The Work of Byron Katie.
Feeling: At times emotions are predominant. Having developed the soul-focus desire for freedom, we can engage these feelings skillfully. They will dissolve and return us to our natural state of internal balance and harmony. The Skill to bring Emotions into harmony is Open Attention.
Our natural state is a deep abiding happiness, a great peace, and the ability to love unconditionally. This is the pure state of the soul and nothing less will bring us lasting fulfillment. To return to this natural state means to live life as a path to enlightenment.
To free ourselves from the root of our suffering will allow our original light to shine once more into the world. This is the greatest service we can render.
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“It is your nature to crave for the revelation of That which is, for the Eternal, for truth, for limitless knowledge. This is why you do not feel satisfied with the evanescent, with the untrue, with ignorance and limitation. Your true nature is to yearn for the revelation of what you ARE.”
Anandamayi Ma