No matter how far along someone is on their path of spiritual awakening, life will continue to present situations that are challenging and potentially uncomfortable. This is the nature of life, a dichotomy of pleasure and pain—two sides of the same coin. However, despite the drama or chaos that a person may be experiencing internally in the midst of a challenge—“Why does this always happen to me? I wish this wasn’t happening to me!”—ultimately, every experience is grace. Every event that has happened to you, the “good, the “bad,” and everything in between, is serving your growth and awakening.
Every challenge provides opportunity for growth, for evolution, and to learn more about oneself and the nature of reality. If there were no challenges, life would not only be very boring, but our experience would not progress. We would remain stagnant, without inspiration to move or change. The ego would prefer to erase all painful experiences from life, not understanding that to do so would rob a Soul of the catalysts essential for transformation. Holding this new awareness, then, how could you ever wish for the events of your life (or in the lives of others) to have played out any differently? Check out this heart opening exercise to help cultivate more faith and courage along the spiritual awakening path.
Looking back on my own life, I see how losing my father at an early age, developing a disease, and going into deep states of anxiety and depression all served as a catalyst for transformation and my spiritual awakening. It is through our suffering that we develop such a strong motivation to know ourselves beyond the limitation of the mind. Suffering causes us to look more closely at ourselves, to understand how the mind works, and to begin creating our thoughts, emotions, and actions more consciously.
For many years of my life I did not know what my purpose or passion was for living. I was simply plugging away like many people do, unaware of the greater reality within and around me. But as my suffering increased through living a shallow and disconnected life, I found myself seeking for answers and meaning with greater focus and determination. The suffering is what propelled me to dig deeper, and resulted in a profound shift in my inner reality. It was then that I had my first spiritual awakening. It truly couldn't have happened any other way.
Suffering arises when the mind reacts against the present moment, believing that “this shouldn’t be happening.” But if it shouldn’t be happening, then it truly wouldn’t be happening. Just the fact that it is happening lets you know that the experience is serving a purpose. You may not be able to see what that purpose is now, but as you move through the experience, you will likely gain a greater perspective on why that event occurred in your life. The more you embrace challenges, and the full spectrum of human experience, the more you will begin to see that everything truly is grace. In the holistic counseling work I do, I often encourage my clients to cultivate greater acceptance, love, and understanding for their life experiences. It is a constant work in progress to practice re-perceiving your life through the most expansive lens that you can, but when you do, it makes a huge difference. When you see the purpose of your life as a process of growth and evolution, rather than a set of goals to achieve, you open yourself up to really learn and grow. It takes time, patience, and practice, but it can be done.