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And what of suffering?
Is suffering the way and the path to God? Some say it is the only
way. I
am
not pleased by suffering, and whoever says I am does not know
Me. Suffering
is an unnecessary aspect of the human experience. It is not only
unnecessary, it is unwise, uncomfortable, and hazardous to your
health.
Then why is there so
much suffering? Why don't You, if You are God, put an end to
it if You dislike it so much? I
have put an end to it. You simply refuse to use the tools I have
given you with which to realize that. You
see, suffering has nothing to do With events, but with one's reaction to
them. What's
happening is merely what's happening. How you feel about it is another
matter. I
have given you the tools with which to respond and react to events in a
way which reduces- in fact, eliminates- pain, but you have
not used them. Excuse me, but why not
eliminate the events? A
very good suggestion. Unfortunately, I have no control over them.
You have no control
over events? Of
course not. Events are occurrences in time and space which you produce out
of choice- and I will never
interfere with choices. To do so would be to obviate the very reason I
created you. But I've explained all this before. Some
events you produce willfully, and some events you draw to you- more or
less unconsciously. Some events- major natural disasters are among those
you toss into this category- are written off to
"fate." Yet
even "fate" can be an acronym for "from all thoughts everywhere.' In other
words, the consciousness of the planet. The "collective
consciousness." Precisely.
Exactly. There are those who
say the world is going to hell in a handbasket. Our ecology is dying. Our
planet is in for a major geophysical disaster. Earthquakes. Volcanoes.
Maybe even a tilting of the Earth on its axis. And there are others who
say collective consciousness can change all that; that we can save the
Earth with our thoughts. Thoughts
put into action. if enough people everywhere believe something must
be done to help the environment, you will save the Earth. But you
must work fast. So much damage has already been done, for so long. This
will take a major attitudinal shift. You mean if we don't,
we will see the Earth-and its inhabitants-destroyed?
I
have
made the laws of the physical universe clear enough for anyone to
understand. There are laws of cause and effect which have been
sufficiently outlined to your scientists, physicists, and, through them,
to your world leaders. These laws don't need to be outlined once more
here. Getting back to
suffering--where did we ever get the idea that suffering was
good? That the saintly "suffer in silence"? The
saintly do "suffer in silence," but that does not mean suffering is
good. The students in the school of Mastery suffer in silence because they
understand that suffering is not the way of God, but rather a sure sign
that there is still something to learn of the way of God, still
something to remember. The
true Master does not suffer in silence at all, but only appears to
be suffering without complaint. The reason that the true Master does not
complain is that the true Master is not suffering, but simply
experiencing a set of circumstances that you would call insufferable.
A
practicing Master does not speak of suffering simply because a Master
practicing clearly understands the power of the Word- and so
chooses to simply not say a word about it.
We
make real that to which we pay attention. The Master knows this. The
Master places himself at choice with regard to that which she
chooses to make real. You
have all done this from time to time. There is not a one among you who has
not made a headache disappear, or a visit to the dentist less painful,
through your decision about it. A
Master simply makes the same decision about larger things.
But why have suffering
at all? Why have even the possibility of suffering?
You
cannot know, and become, that which you are, in the absence of that which
you are not, as I have already explained to you. I still don't understand
how we ever got the idea that suffering was good.
You
are wise to be insistent in questioning that. The original wisdom
surrounding suffering in silence has become so perverted that now many
believe (and several religions actually teach) that suffering is
good, and joy is bad. Therefore, you have decided
that if someone has cancer, but keeps it to himself, he is a saint,
whereas if someone has (to pick a dynamite topic) robust sexuality, and
celebrates it openly, she is a sinner. Boy, You did pick a
dynamite topic. And You cleverly changed the pronoun, too, from male to
female. Was that to make a point? It
was to show you your prejudices. You don't like to think of women
having robust sexuality, much less celebrating it
openly. You
would rather see a man dying without a whimper on the battlefield than a
woman making love with a whimper in the street. Wouldn't You?
I
have no judgment one way or the other. But you have all sorts of them- and
I suggest that it is your judgments which keep you from joy, and your
expectations which make you unhappy. All
of this put together is what causes you dis-ease, and therein begins your
suffering. How do I know that
what You are saying is true? How do I know this is even God speaking, and
not my overactive imagination? You've
asked that before. My answer is the same. What difference does it make?
Even if everything I've said is "wrong," can you think of a better way to
live? No.
Then
"wrong" is right, and "right" is wrong! Yet
I'll tell you this, to help you out of your dilernma: believe nothing
I say. Simply live it. Experience it. Then live whatever
other paradigm you want to construct. Afterward, look to your
experience to find your truth. One
day, if you have a great deal of courage, you will experience a world
where making love is considered better than making war. On that day
will you rejoice. |
Contact: info@kulshreshtha.org |