Pain, suffering and the present moment
My take on pain, suffering and the present moment
Pain is something that could be happening to my body or my emotional state in this moment. It can be anywhere between a scale 1 – 10 depending what’s happening in the moment.
Suffering is something I consciously choose to experience. I choose to truly feel the pain that I am experiencing and I would rather wish that I wasn’t in pain.
I see pain as a very useful tool to help us protect ourselves. For example when you are spending time with someone just out of obligation. It isn’t a natural friendship or a loving and a soulful connection. The pain tells you to leave and be happy. Suffering is choosing to stay where you don’t want to be. In some cases where you can’t escape then it’s best to accept where you are. Suffering is also when you are no longer in a painful or happy situation but keep ruminating over what has happened in the past and how it will affect your future. In reality, everything that is available to you in this moment is all you have. You can’t change the fact that you are feeling the pain. I tend to compare various scenarios and wish to be in a better situation that makes me happy. My mind doesn’t stop with one thought, it simply magnifies the pain and all sorts of creative stories. All of this rumination is making me believe that where I am right now isn’t good enough. But if right now is all I have and it is the situation I am in, then accepting is the only solace I can find. Accept it, accept the pain, accept the love, accept the happiness, accept what ever the situation is.
The moment you are attached to the pain that has happened a few years ago, your mind starts reliving it.
During my University days, I remember failing a test. The situation was I failed a test, but my mind started making stories as to why? Stories like I am not good enough and will never be. Then my mind saw me fail more tests and then never getting a job. That is the story I’ve written for myself.
The suffering here was the time after the event has happened. The thoughts that kept me stuck in the past also formed my beliefs. My limiting beliefs were reinforced. I now strongly believed I wasn’t good enough. This belief played out in the way I carried myself, it showed in my work, it showed in the way I spoke. No wonder why the world reacted the way it did to the way was in that moment. This belief totally stoped me from being the actual person that I secretly dreamt of being.
The reason why your thoughts are so important is because they form our beliefs. Beliefs are important because they determine how you show up in the world in this moment. Your actions, your decisions, how you treat others all depend on your core beliefs.
Then time for a bit of self awareness I thought. Finally a spark of positive thought that I harnessed. I have decided to fully accept my past and in this moment I will believe in me and I will believe I have what it takes to achieve my goals. Then the results started showing soon after. I was doing well in my exams, understood the complex maths behind the engineering concepts. I even scored a job that uniquely suited me my personality.
The pain or love you have experienced a moment ago may no longer be present in THIS moment. When you are comparing THIS moment to another time you are automatically invoking suffering. When you are reliving a situation that happened in the past that caused you pain is causing you suffering. When you wish you were in the great big position career wise already, then you are causing suffering. So accept where you are and who you are. Be that exact person in THIS moment to be open and receptive. Free your mind of burdens that are irrelevant in this moment.
When you are comparing two different instances, e.g now with the past or now with the future (what could be) you are already not being in the present and you are not doing what you need to do. Your energy and focus is in the past or the future. So your full potential isn’t available in the NOW. Future has not happened yet, the past is already gone. Even if the current now is the future you saw accept it fully. If what’s happening now isn’t something you wanted, then accept everything you have now. Because suffering happens when wanting to be somewhere other than where you are now. Before you can move on, fully feel the emotions and let it go. You can in this moment accept and have the ability to influence your happiness no matter what is happening now.
So in short,
1) Don’t worry about the past it has already happened and you can’t change it.
2) Don’t worry about the future because you are not in control to fully control the outcomes.
3) Being fully present in this moment means you are no longer thinking about the past or the future. You are at your full potential and being self aware. Least path of resistance to fully receive opportunities and ideas happen here.
4) the more you accept the present moment the less you suffer physically or emotionally depending on what your situation is.
5) Accept how you are feeling. Give your emotions names and ask why to get to the root. Once you get to the root forgive those that cause you pain. Then move on. Thank your will power everyday because it is available to everyone free of charge.
6) the more you accept and in the present moment, the more in the flow with the universe you are. This is called being in harmony with your surroundings. It looks like collaboration, creativity and active listening. You are more receptive to the universe and you have access to abundant energy to live your life in that moment.
7) Gratitude and breathing help you to tune into the present moment.
So I hope I have answered the what, why and how. Really hope this helps your day to day. It doesn’t matter if you are musician, a doctor, a home maker or a dancer. You are all important and contribute to each other’s way of life in the grand scheme of things. We are all in a beautifully choreographed dance energy flowing harmoniously in the NOW. To really feel your worth be in the present and be open to the possibilities.
Take care dear ones. You have the power of the universe in you in this present moment. Wishing you abundant amount of receptivity for knowledge, love and high vibrations.
This is my interpretation of what I’ve just learned from Sadhguru’s teachings. His teaching combined with David Hawkins gave me this blog. I am hoping to spend my Monday accepting where I am and who I am completely. No judgements and no “I would rather be..”. Monday’s are the hardest days for me because it is packed with meetings and most painful. So I want to use this understanding to be fully aware of every NOWs that happen and accept how the world unfolds in every moment. I accept, I accept, I surrender..
Chethana
