Our Calmer Self

WE All SUFFER in some way at times, both physically and mentally, but imagine standing aside for a moment during your suffering. If you did you might become aware that there is another calmer self that has always been there quietly observing you, not only during your pain, but in every moment of your life.

Even in the toughest times of illness and loss, in our deepest depressions and grief, underneath our most catastrophic challenges when we feel so confused and fearful, this other self remains calm and clear, fully accepting whatever is going on in our life.

It is often able to see grim humour in the most difficult situations, (this is why people sometimes laugh unexpectedly in dire circumstances) and it subtly hints that the end of our suffering will begin when we are brave enough to turn and face it, accepting the situation, whatever it may be, for what it is.

Every experience, no matter how bad it seems.
Holds within it a blessing of some kind. The goal is to find it.~ Buddha

How can we become aware of this calm inner nature whilst in the midst of our most overwhelming difficulties? Go to the mirror. Look at your face. You will see someone who may look a little older than the perception you have of yourself within your mind. This is because your body ages with time, while your inner self is ageless and timeless.

Your body is only a temporary container for your undying consciousness that sees beyond the concerns of your immediate life situation to something much larger. This timeless awareness through which you see your body is your inner essence that knows you are here to experience all aspects of life, not just the good times.

You are in a classroom called life and all your suffering and pains are important lessons to be learned and conquered. So to understand the reason for your suffering, become consciously aware of that inner, timeless presence... for that is who you truly are...

Dan’s Quote: “You are the silent observer beneath the mind’s mental noise.
______________You are the stillness, the love, the joy beneath the pain.”

The idea for this post came from ‘The Lamp In The Darkness’ by Jack Kornfield.
Header: Ski fields at ‘Perisher Valley’ New South Wales, Australia.