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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 13 2013 : 7:33:31 PM
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Now, when I stray off the path, the pain cannot be so easily ignored. Whereas I used to avoid the pain through substance use/abuse, now I have nowhere to hide. My devotion to spiritual living demands an honesty and intuition that is always closely aligned with moving stillness. So, if I'm trying to attach myself to an outcome, or force my desire too stringently, the mental and emotional pain is far more acute than it once was. There's no more hiding, but neither is there a need to hide, now that I know where to fall. I fall upon stillness. I fall upon prayer (samyama). I fall upon a community of like-minded souls who are actively cultivating divine essences for the sake of others.
It's probably true that pain will always be a part of life, but it's how I react and respond to the pain that matters. For if I fight it and try to will-power it away because it doesn't suit my vision or desire, then pain will become an enemy. But if I listen to it and honor the pain with proper attention, the pain will teach me what IT is trying to convey. For pain is surely a great teacher, just as pleasure is. Pain repels, and pleasure attracts. The seduction of inner silence and ecstasy leads us deeper into the truth of who we are. The pain of isolation/confinement and forceful, violent behavior repels us from the patterns that result in disharmony.
So, why not be addicted to subtler and more transcendental pleasures that are only felt through the refinement of the sensory channels of the nerves? Why not be ever-mindful of the messages pain will reveal for the sake of our evolution and learning? It's all so logical and natural--this path of yoga and consciousness expansion. And it's also poetic and mysterious, full of surprises and abiding endurance.
One of my mottos (self-inquiry tools) for 2013: Pay attention to the pain, and surrender to the pleasure of divine love. |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Jan 13 2013 : 8:50:15 PM
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maheswari
Lebanon
2520 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2013 : 01:49:01 AM
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there might be pain but definitely there is no suffering
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Ananda
3115 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2013 : 03:57:48 AM
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namaste
Thank you sharing yourself dear Bodhi.
If I may give an advise... Reverse that pain or frustration, anger toward longing for God.
Love,
Ananda |
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k123
118 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2013 : 07:20:40 AM
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| Lovely. I think everyone has different ways of being with pain. I tend towards your way, of being with it and listening to it. Then it relaxes and lessens and can be heard. |
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kami
USA
921 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2013 : 07:22:06 AM
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2013 : 08:11:54 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Ananda
If I may give an advise... Reverse that pain or frustration, anger toward longing for God.
Love,
Ananda
Hi Ananda and All,
Good advice Ananda!
Yes, taking the pain and giving it to our Ishta is a very good technique... to surrender to a higher power...
But it is important to not get caught in this. While we surrender, we also stay open to our inner guru... and at a point it will lead us to inquiry. It is important to see through the conditionings that cause us to feel so much pain. In order for us to go beyond pain, we need to see the source/ideas that are keeping us bound to this pain.
Then again, as we keep going with this, we still have to stay open so we can hear our inner guru's guidance. Inquiry is a wonderful tool, but at a point when we are ready, our inner guru will let us know, we have to let go inquiry too and be ready to be with the pain as well. Inquiry becomes a tool of escape... every time we begin to feel pain, we jump into inquiry and/or surrender... we try to be over the pain and be in a place of peace... pain in a part of the human body mind and accepting it as lovingly as peace will get us to a place of accepting what is. When we stay with the pain, we will see the pain is also mind created fear, pain and peace can be experienced with the same sense of gratitude.
These are very subtle shifts and not exclusive of each other (we may have surrender and inquiry going on at the same time... Or acceptance and surrender and inquiry going on all at one time, nothing is lost, all is integrated into one)...
So not saying one must abandon the tools that are working for them to be at a different place. But being aware that everything we do, can soon become a trap, and constantly letting go of a comfort zone so that we can continue to release and grow and accept is very important in this path.
My two cents for what it's worth! 
Much love to All of you! Feel blessed to be in the presence of so many loving souls!
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jeff
USA
971 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2013 : 08:23:13 AM
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Hi Bohdi,
What is the pain? Is it of the mind, or from the body?
Thanks, Jeff |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2013 : 11:45:46 AM
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@Ananda
"If I may give an advise... Reverse that pain or frustration, anger toward longing for God."
Yes, I really love this technique: the redirection of emotional energy towards my ideal (ishta). That's part of honoring the pain, rather than just trying to extinguish or mask it immediately. It's like fertilizer to nourish the soil of devotion. Nothing is wasted.
@maheswari
"there might be pain but definitely there is no suffering"
Yes, the witness...watching my mind and body process emotions and unwind the constrictions until my awareness is returned to its natural state of abiding expansion. The more the process occurs without interference, the more easily I am unwound.
@Shanti
A multi-channeled approach. The only way to fly.  
@Jeff
The pain always has corresponding components in the body, mind, and emotional spectrum (which links body and mind). Sometimes certain aspects of the pain are more pronounced, but the body-mind are always linked, whether it's pain or pleasure. If I really get wrapped up in some attachment, the pain tends to manifest in endlessly repeating verbal algorithms in the mind, but when I return to my body, I find there is some subtle tension or kink in my posture that can be unwound--along with the algorithm.
But...mind over matter. I find that unwinding the constriction in the mind leads to the natural unwinding of the tension in the body. I think that's why Yogani advocates having Deep Meditation as the smooth core of practices before stretching or spinal breathing are introduced. First, calm your mind, and then body will naturally follow in relaxing into the divine flow. Of course, when we have abiding inner silence, we can stretch in asanas before meditating, but we stretch from a place of inner silence.
Therefore, I subscribe to the formula of mind before body, though they are often simultaneous and functioning as One.
@k123 and kami
Thank you for the affirmations. |
Edited by - Bodhi Tree on Jan 14 2013 11:48:45 AM |
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karl
United Kingdom
1812 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2013 : 5:04:06 PM
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 great stuff Bohdi. |
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Yonatan
Israel
849 Posts |
Posted - Jan 14 2013 : 7:55:05 PM
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Namaste Bodhi Thank you for your post!
Thank you for the insightful post Shanti.
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NJL
31 Posts |
Posted - Jan 15 2013 : 11:05:16 AM
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Thanks Bohdi!
Wish it was always that easy :D |
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cosmic
USA
821 Posts |
Posted - Jan 16 2013 : 3:28:46 PM
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Namaste Bodhi
Thank you for your wisdom and openness. Your post resonates strongly with me at this stage of the journey.
Pain has always been a teacher, but I've spent most of my life rejecting it, demonizing it, and trying to lessen or avoid it. Only recently have I begun to befriend pain, to accept and be grateful for its presence. My friendship with pain is still in its infancy, but so far it's been a gateway into accepting Life as it is, unpleasantries and all. There is a strong desire for being honest and authentic, especially when it means being vulnerable and looking bad in others' eyes. Before this stage, even the spiritual path was an attempt to escape pain and to appear enlightened, conveniently hiding my humanness.
When you're ready to face pain, you're ready to face Reality. To deny Life's shadow is to deny its Light.
Love and Blessings to all
cosmic |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Jan 16 2013 : 8:56:50 PM
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| Beautifully said, cosmic. A dance of shadow and light. Glad we're on parallel paths. Love. Unity. Strength. Inner Sensuality. |
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mr_anderson
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Jan 16 2013 : 9:05:54 PM
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very true and timely bodhi.
Pain instantly alerts me if I've strayed into identification with form, in a negative way. In a way that puts the separate 'me' into conflict with a separate 'other'.
For instance, I was trying on a shirt today, and the changing room attendant came across as kind of passive aggressive rude. For a few seconds I felt tension arise in my body, a subtle wave of anger toward him. Inner silence /witnessing suddenly arose, and I saw my predicament as the result of believing in/conceiving of separation, the belief creating a 'me' and a 'him' and then putting us into a place of conflict. The irritable sensations dissolved, and I wished him well, realizing perhaps I had seemed unfriendly or hostile toward him, in a way that perpetuated the feelings of separateness. It all happened in a matter of minutes, but as we parted ways the momentary hostility had evaporated, and I'm grateful that the sensations of anger and unpleasantness alerted me that I was straying from my soul. |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Jan 19 2013 : 09:19:26 AM
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I can really relate to that, Mr. Anderson. If I see a trait in another person that annoys me or rubs me the wrong way, I just remember: Ah, the only reason I recognize that vibration is because it's also part of mySELF.
Everything gets blasted with stillness...pulverized, decimated, obliterated, lovingly destroyed in the sweep of non-identified awareness. And yet...everything STILL remains. Relational self-inquiry. |
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Pain is a teacher
