In our meetings here, we have tried to show you how this Freedom from suffering becomes possible. The question is: “How do I get rid of suffering?” Or: “How to get rid of suffering?”
First of all, we need to understand that element in us which sees itself in suffering and which naturally sustains this self-pity. When you find yourself alone, abandoned, rejected, losing something or someone, when something happens and you find yourself alone, not knowing what to do, this psychological and physical state hits you. This state is called suffering.
What will be the truth of the suffering present? Why do we cultivate this pain? Yes, we cultivate this pain, because we are burdened with this thing called “self-compassion,” feeling sorry for oneself, feeling pity for oneself. To see oneself as someone who is a victim of life, of existence. So, the pain is present, the suffering is present, because of this self-compassion.
Is there a new way for us to approach what we are at this moment, when we feel as if we are being struck by this pain? When you lose a loved one – as in the case of an unexpected death in the family – or when someone leaves, goes away, or rejects you, is it possible to look at yourself without this self-pity, without this self-compassion, becoming aware of this present pain and understanding its meaning?
Would there be any pain if there weren't a linked image psychologically attached to that given situation that makes you suffer? Would there be any pain, any suffering if there weren’t this thought you have at this moment about that situation, as a thought of rejection, of resistance, of struggle? We'll become aware of this in this meeting.
The thought we have about what is happening, or what has happened, puts us in a position of resistance to this incident, this occurrence, this given situation. And when there is this thought, when there is this separateness, and an image is cultivated in us, a self-image, this sustains the presence of pain, the presence of suffering, and there will be no possibility – listen to this – of getting rid of suffering.
People ask: “How do I get rid of suffering? How do I get rid of anxiety? How to deal with obsessive, negative, bad, sad thoughts?” While asking these questions, we don't realize that there is an image, a self-image, in us that cultivates self-pity, self– compassion.
There will be no possibility – listen to this – of freeing ourselves from suffering until thought is observed. Behind all this is an internal movement of thought, creating ideas, opinions, evaluations, judgments, rejections, fighting against what is shown there, against what is presented there.
So, against what is happening or what has happened through thought, the thought that is present, is sustaining the psychological condition of self-pity, of self-compassion. Then, suffering is present.
Is it possible to have a direct encounter at this moment with experience? Direct contact with experience only becomes possible when we eliminate two things here. The first is thought. The comprehension that it's thought in you making ideas and suggestions; it's thought in you thinking about it. So, the first thing here is the concept of what thought represents at that instant.
Thought is just a curtain between what is happening there, or what has happened, and you. This curtain is present when there is this separation between you and that. And this thought, which is this curtain, is perpetuating the rejection, the resistance, the struggle, against things as they appear, against facts as they happen.
So, the first thing here is to eliminate this internal movement, which is the movement of thought. Then, we first have to comprehend what thought is. There are two things. The first thing here is thought and the other thing here is time.
First, what is thought? Thought is the idea formed in us, something that comes from the past. Thought is a remembrance, a memory, a recollection we are attached to, clinging to, that we want to cultivate, that we want to sustain. This is part of the image we make of what life is or what life should be.
This thought has to do also with the image of who we are, about the importance we have, the value we bring, what we deserve or don't deserve. Thus, thought is what sustains this self-compassion, this self-pity. So, thought is something that comes from the past and is being cultivated in us, sustained in us as part of this image, which is the image of the “I,” this “me,” this “person.”
Notice that it is in this “person,” in this “me,” in the ego, that suffering is sustained. We ask how to get rid of suffering, but we never ask what this “me” that is suffering is. The answer to this is exactly this one we are giving.
This ” I” that is in pain is a self-image, an image you have about who you are, about what you deserve or don't deserve, about what life is or should be. This is the “I,” this “me.” So, the elimination of thought is the elimination of the past that sustains this image.
The other element here is the element of time because it is in this time that the idea of the continuity of this one, which is in suffering is sustained. You say: “I'm suffering, but it will pass” or “I'm suffering, but I need to get rid of this suffering.” Notice, “it will pass” is in the future. “I need to get rid of the suffering:” that's in the future. “Why did this happen to me?” “Why is this happening to me?” Here we have the element of time.
We're trying to explain something we did in the past, and the result of that, which we did in the past, is showing itself here and now, as suffering at this moment. So, we have this element, which is the element of time. It's the idea of the past. Then, thought creates guilt, remorse and regret on top of this idea of the past. This sustains the suffering at that moment. Or the idea of the future: “this will pass” or “tomorrow I'll be free of this.”
So, we don't learn – note how delicate this is – to deal with suffering at this instant because we are cultivating thought and cultivating time. The elimination of thought and the elimination of time is the elimination of suffering. If you eliminate time and thought, you eliminate this self-image, you are before suffering.
Realize the beauty of it. There is only suffering, this pain, this hard hit, this feeling. There is no “someone” present to sustain this self-image through thought and time. So, what's the real way to get closer to suffering? Because it's only when we approach suffering, without an idea, without a thought, without judgment, without self-judgment, without resistance, without self-defense, without a struggle, without an attempt at an explanation – notice that – only when we approach suffering as it is – not as it should be or could not be...
Notice this: “This couldn't be happening to me” or “It couldn't be like this.” So, it's what “should be” or what “couldn't be.” When we get rid of thought, we get rid of all that. Then, notice the intimate relationship between thought and time. “It couldn't have been like that,” or “it could have been different,” or “that couldn't have happened:” that's thought, that's time.
So, thought and time shape this identity, which is the “I,” the ego, this self-image, in this movement of self-compassion, self-pity. Human beings live burdened with self-pity and self-compassion. It is on top of this self-pity that internal states of anguish are present, the pain of loneliness, depression, fear, and all of this is suffering.
So, notice: what sustains all this suffering in us is this identity. The identity of the “I,” of this “person,” of this self-image, and this requires the presence of thought and the presence of time. Then, this thought creates time – this psychological time – and this psychological time sustains thought.
Now, notice what an interesting thing we have here. As has been said: how did this thought come about? It's something that comes from past experiences and, therefore, thought is also born of time. So, thought is born of time and thought creates time.
So, thought, which is born of time, creates the continuity of time, and this is the psychological continuity of this “me,” this “I,” this ego. If we have the end of thought, we have the end of time, we have the end of the “I,” of the ego, and, consequently, we have the end of suffering.
So, what is the real way to approach suffering, to look at suffering? It's without the observer. Because the observer is thought, it's time, it's the self-image, it's the “I.” Then, thought, time, self-image and the “I” are the observer, which separates itself from the observed thing. Thus, we have the observer and the observed thing. The observed thing is suffering and the observer is the “I.”
Can we eliminate this duality between the observer and the observed thing? The answer is: yes, when we become aware of this game, this movement that the thought “I,” time, sustains, that the self-image, which is thought and time, sustains. Do you get that?
Thus, the way to approach experience in order to eliminate suffering from our lives is: there is only what is here. A look free of the observer is only the awareness of suffering without the sufferer. The awareness of suffering without the sufferer is without self-compassion, without self-pity, it's without this element that has a history of thought that it cultivates.
So, this direct contact with suffering, without this center, is the end of suffering. Then we have the answer to how to deal with thought, how to deal with self-image, with self-compassion, with suffering.
Then we have the answer to: “How do I get rid of suffering?” By becoming aware of the end of this “I,” this “me,” this ego, we have the end to suffering. Thus something is revealed here, at this instant, that is outside the known, outside time, outside thought, outside the self-image, that is outside this self-pity. It is the Reality of your Being, it is the Divine Reality.
So, there is a contact, at that moment, with the Reality of Life, without this sense of separateness, without this duality. In India this is known as Advaita, Non-separation, Non-duality, contact with Life as it is, without “someone,” without this “me,” without this “I,” without this ego.
How can we become aware of this Reality? How can we live this Reality in our lives? How can we really have the ability to deal with negative, bad, obsessive thoughts? So, how can we live a life in this Reality of Being, in this Reality of Presence, of True Consciousness, where Love, Peace, Happiness are present?
How can we live a life completely free from thoughts, of that quality of psychological thought which is obsessive, negative, bad, repetitive ones? How can we have a life free of suffering?
Contact with this work puts you in an internal condition of life free from illusion, from this sense of duality, of separateness. This is the end of suffering, the end of fear. Some call this the Awakening of Consciousness or Spiritual Awakening. This is the Reality of your Being revealing itself at this instant, at this moment. The Reality of what you are when the illusion of the sense of an “I,” of an ego, of that self-image, is no longer present.
We have online meetings that take place on weekends. We have Saturday and Sunday together. So, through questions and answers, through contact with the Silence of Meditation, we go deeper into these subjects with you. It's something, really, greater than these videos we have here on the channel. It's a direct contact with this work.
So, if this is something that makes sense to you, here in the description of the video you have our WhatsApp link to take part in these online meetings on weekends. We also have face-to-face meetings and retreats.
Then, if this really makes sense to you, let us know in the comments: “Yes, it does.” Go ahead, leave a like, subscribe to the channel and we'll see you. Thanks for the meeting and see you next time!
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