Suffering

Guy Finley explains that there is a nature inside of us that wants nothing to do with spiritual work and inner transformation. We must consciously meet this part of ourselves that is not interested in doing what is right, and work to develop the right kind of spiritual toughness so that we can be present to ourselves in every moment, in spite of what it seems to cost.

End the Dark Cycle of Discontentment - Part I...

Doing the right thing, in the right way, begins with seeing the right order of things. All of life's lessons point us toward this simple, celestial truth. Through the pain of missteps and mistakes, we are gradually awakened to discover what has always been right before our eyes: whenever things are out of order within us, our choices and actions must follow -- and sorrow is the inevitable result.

The end of suffering is not found in the pursuit of freedom from suffering, but in seeing through the very nature of desire that generates the suffering to begin with. The problem is not what we desire, but the identification with desire itself, and the endless cycle of division it creates.

The more we allow our mind to drift where -- and will -- as it pleases, the more likely will we find ourselves having fallen into some form of unexpected suffering. Being in full command of ourselves is inseparable from being in command of our attention; there is no other order, and no other freedom.

No unwanted experience of life will ever be "over" for us until we're inwardly awake enough...to get over wishing that it was.

The mind asleep to itself doesn't realize that it created the problem that it can't stop trying to resolve; and that the more it struggles to try and think through a solution to its self-induced conflict, the greater grows its struggle to escape that suffering.

Topics Covered: Being misdirected from the path; You are on this planet to understand the nature of suffering; The purpose of conscious suffering; We are the ground of all that exists; Mistaking a reaction for the only reality there is; Life is a journey in letting go; Everything you see is a part of your own consciousness; Stepping into the unknown; The Divine has already given you everything.