STEP AWAY FROM THE OPINION!
This weekend I participated in a Oneness Bhakti Yoga workshop. The purpose was to provide a platform and support for stepping ever more fully into our true nature; a state of Oneness with our Personal Divine. Admittedly, I don’t really know what this means. It is a feeling state that my brain cannot and probably will not understand. Sitting here right now, I’m okay with that.
Distilled to its essence, we were shown how to tell ourselves the truth about how lonely and disconnected we feel, allowed to feel the pain and fear inherent in that sense of disconnection, allowed to see how, because of that sense of isolation and the suffering that stems from it we have lost our faith and forgotten how to feel compassion and gratitude.
Today’s offering is from my heart and soul and a place far beyond my ability to comprehend it. Today’s offering is to all the suffering of all the people currently on the planet and even as I type these words I feel my chest start to swell with the pain of all and my desire to help heal that pain. Today I offer this healing energy coming through my heart and out of my typing fingers to any and all who are in pain and feeling lost or lonely or unloved whether or not you are currently willing to believe that it might be different; that there might be joy and happiness and love here for you.
My story today involves an insight I am grateful to have received yesterday. During one of the exercises someone in the group was crying out loud (I’m fairly sure everyone in the room was crying but I do not actually know because my eyes were closed). As soon as I heard her crying my heart literally went out to her. I felt its energy leave my body and travel to another part of the room to encircle this crying suffering woman with love. As this was occurring I realized that up until that very moment I have had a picture of the kind of suffering that was worthy of my compassion. As with most epiphanies I had about a million realizations in the space of a minute. I simultaneously thought about another woman in our group, who I knew was having a hard time. However, her suffering was demonstrated by walking into things, knocking things over, looking dour and, generally, engaging in behaviour that I was attempting to not find annoying. And then, WHAM, the realization that even though I actually know when people are suffering I have been judging some suffering type behavior, like crying and sadness, as worthy of compassion but other suffering type behaviour like anger and fear and hopelessness as unworthy of compassion, especially under my own roof.
To the crying, sad, pathetic person I offer a hug, a kind word, attention and my love. To the angry and demanding person who is equally in pain I offer my scorn, judgment and a cold relentless heart. I was stunned to see this, incredibly grateful and very ashamed. I sat with the shame and asked forgiveness from every person in my life whom I have treated in this severe and withholding manner, including myself.
Many things have become clearer to me this weekend and I am certain that as this knowledge is processed and incorporated there will be many more. One of most important and at the same time most fundamental is that we all suffer and that all suffering, regardless of the apparent cause, is the same. All suffering deserves compassion; all people, in fact, All That Is deserves compassion and I am so incredibly grateful to have found the place in my heart that recognizes this and knows itself to be part of All That Is.
My promise is to wake up and stay awake. Perfectly and not at all coincidentally while sleeping last night I was given a “vaccine for clouded individualism”. I just love that name. I actually made myself get up in the middle of the night and write it down so I would not forget it by this morning. So, we’ll see how it works. I promise to let you know.
To all the pain in any heart I send you love and compassion which come from something far greater than “I” and hope which comes directly from me.
To be continued...
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