Wake Up Call

Wake Up Call

There is hardly a person alive who has not had to endure or does not endure some form of personal suffering in their life. Suffering can hit us in a wide variety of ways from personal tragedy, to depression, anxiety, fear, worry and maybe even just a general dissatisfaction with life or how one perceives their life to be.

Suffering is something that all human beings have in common just as we all search for happiness. Happiness often seems very illusive, especially when one is caught up in the many dramas that life can bring upon us.

When suffering becomes a burden and feels unbearable, this can actually be a blessing in disguise. This is our WAKE UP CALL, our call to awaken to a new consciousness that is free from suffering. This consciousness is something everyone is capable of awakening to, yet most find that it remains hidden from them, or aren't even willing to acknowledge or explore the possibility that  such an existence can be experienced.

To awaken one must first begin to realize the true nature of suffering. Keep in mind that there is a distinction here between pain and suffering. Pain is the physical discomfort of an ailment or injury. Suffering is entirely our own creation. Suffering can not exist unless we create it in our own mind and give it the attention and energy to continue. Suffering is created entirely by our own thoughts.

The awakening process begins with learning to observe our thoughts and to see them for what they are, and recognizing that our thoughts are creating suffering both in ourselves and others. Without these thoughts there is no suffering. Suffering and the thought process that drives them is entirely a product of ego, part of who we "think" we are.

When we learn to observe, then shift out of the thinking mind, and thereby shifting beyond our ego, we awaken to a new level of consciousness. We awaken to a Pure Consciousness, a Pure Awareness that is no longer burdened by thought. Without thought there is no suffering.

One who has endured enough suffering will find themselves ready to strive for this state and will continue working tirelessly observing their thoughts, quieting their minds, and will continue until the ego no longer exists.

If you are not ready to put in this level of effort, perhaps it only means you have not suffered enough yet. It is like the old man and his dog sitting on a porch. The man's friend asks why the dog is moaning. The man replies that the dog is laying on a nail. "Why doesn't he move?" asks the friend. The man answers "I guess it doesn't hurt enough yet?"

Michael L. Fournier