There is a piece of suffering which is a river that flows through the human condition and is part and parcel of our arising itself. Eckhart Tolle talks about it as the 'collective pain body of humanity.' Conscious awakening does not put a final end to suffering, but rather, allows us to bear it in a way that is luminous, generous, and ultimately sacramental. Through our prayers and our presence, we take our part in bearing the cost of this precious divine finitude, in which and through which infinite love is revealed.
What we do know is that great injustice, cruelty, physical pain, or betrayal, when consciously accepted and generously borne, can give rise to a peculiarly luminous and healing quality of love, and that this love radiates out from the site of the pain as a source of healing and hope for the entire cosmos.
~ Cynthia Bourgeault from 'Conscious Suffering' in Spiritual Practices from the Gurdjieff Work, www.spiritualityandpractice.com/ecourses/course/view/181
HEARTFELT GREETINGS to you all in this month so filled with various celebrations of new life! And what hopeful signs of new birth can be seen even amidst the ignorance of our times: the walls in Europe tumbling down ... Mandala released ... Earth day's raising of consciousness ... free elections here and there. Fr. Richard Rohr in BREATHING UNDER WATER encourages us to follow the path of Jesus who is "a social critic of the illusions and games of society, while at the same time healing, loving and caring for the individual ... If I could encourage you toward one spiritual discipline it would be SILENCE and SOLITUDE."
