Quote on Suffering as Refusal to Surrender "False Truths"

[watchingthewheels]

Came across this quote today on YouTube, and thought it might have relevance for some here, even if one isn't religious. I know I've personally had to come to terms with accepting "I don't know" this past year, while also learning to let go of past things I thought true...


"The critical point in all spiritual work is the capacity to be willing to tell the truth. Very often that truth is "I don't know,' and out of the 'I don't know' comes the willingness to surrender to God. The truth comes about through the act of surrender. The truth is not 'causing' the pain, and it is a mistake to worship the pain and think that suffering is therefore the royal road to Enlightenment. It is by realizing that the suffering within oneself is not due to the truth but to the unwillingness to let falsehood go. It is by surrender to God that the truth is revealed.

"By remembering our inner innocence when we begin spiritual work, we ask to have that which is not the truth brought to our awareness. The process is therefore the evidence of success. As a result, there may be a somewhat chaotic appearance to the lives of people who are labeled spiritual seekers. The inner person is pleased because it says, 'I have been asked to see what stands between me and the truth, and that has been brought up from my awareness to be recognized, re-owned, recontextualized, and healed.' We provide a safe space and context about our spiritual work by being centered in the Heart—not the physical heart, but from the ultimate compassion, the owning of ourself from this level, the joy of the spiritual work, and the saying 'thank you' to all the things that come up out of gratitude. The crisis is the very event of the spiritual healing. It is out of the crises that the healing occurs."

Hawkins M.D. Ph.D., David. Healing and Recovery (Kindle Locations 2283-2294)

 

[BornofDust]

Excellent quote. It is important to acknowledge your suffering in order to channel it to make yourself a more stronger person. Running away from it and embracing it are two pilot opposite of faulty solution. One suppresses the suffering, the other wworships it to your needless death. Suffering must be acknowledge and eventually if possible channeled. In order to help you endure life's challenges better

 

[timf]

There used to be a saying, "As funny as a rubber crutch". This is also a picture of trusting in that which ultimately fails. We might grab a hold of an illusion because it seems to sustain us or make us feel good in the short term. However, like a rubber crutch, it will ultimately let us down.

Truth is the only portal to reality and reality is future in which we will all have to live.

 

[UseItOrLoseIt]

"When we find ourselves in a midlife depression, suddenly hate our spouse, our jobs, our lives – we can be sure that the unlived life is seeking our attention. When we feel restless, bored, or empty despite an outer life filled with riches, the unlived life is asking for us to engage. To not do this work will leave us depleted and despondent, with a nagging sense of ennui or failure. As you may have already discovered, doing or acquiring more does not quell your unease or dissatisfaction. Neither will "meditating on the light" or attempting to rise above the sufferings of earthly existence. Only awareness of your shadow qualities can help you to find an appropriate place for your unredeemed darkness and thereby create a more satisfying experience. To not do this work is to remain trapped in the loneliness, anxiety, and dualistic limits of the ego instead of awakening to your higher calling."
—Robert A Johnson

 

[signifying nothing]

I've personally had to come to terms with accepting "I don't know" this past year, while also learning to let go of past things I thought true...

I like the term 'unknowing' for this.

 

[Makko]

My natural inclination is to refuse to surrender to anything at all. Even to good things.