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This resistance to existence? Is this the hallmark of our persistence? Perhaps we must simply flow with the go. Justice in motion, even poverty is karmic, does this one not know? Go about the day, let it not tarnish your glow. Ignorance we must resist, its tangled web makes our intellect insidiously slow. Throw down the gauntlet? If you do, make it a show! The storm leaves not a drop of rain in the cloud -- this is how gray skies come and go!
\V/
#OM #Namaste

 Yes, exactly! "Giving joy back not to be lost" -- what a great phrase. Our Dharma our God-Given-Purpose is "burning off karma". ~~~Your dharma is to eradicate Karma~~~. This is the yin and yang of it all. I hope others can see the full picture and move on from the seat of suffering.

 I like Echart Tolle's writings; they were helpful in my path of recovery. However, for those of us who have come out of the fire, is it not our duty to eradicate suffering? Do we let the world wage war and stand by idly because "well, the world needs to suffer to mature"? Last year, 500,000 Libyans, many brown and black children were blown up by nato bombs paid for by our taxes. Was this necessary suffering? 1,000,000 Iranian children died because of US sanctions on Iran. Was this necessary suffering? Then secretary of state Madeline Albright said she thought the cost "was worth it". So you see, we have people in the highest echelons of power who have a Malthusian world view -- that the population has gone out of control, "so what's the big deal if we eradicate a million or two people here or there?" We must move beyond the idea that suffering is necessary for growth. For the ignorant, yes, suffering is the only door they can walk through. I consigned my ex-wife to this fate by divorcing her. I realized the lies in our marriage would only fester and get worse. The only way to grow was to end the charade and "induce" suffering. But as for the next generation, the YOUTH, please, listen to my words, suffering is completely unnecessary. We have to the tools through social media to empower children to follow their dharma, their God-given path by simply embodying and practicing love. Love is Truth and the truth will lift us all up, regardless of creed, gender, economic status. I pray we end war and eradicate suffering from the face of this planet. We can affirm Tolle by sharing our own stories. Peace.

Also if one reads Ram Dass' book, he actually talks about being beaten by a monk with sticks. Ram Dass was a white male of Jewish ethnicity. He sat himself down at the feet of spiritual brown men only to be beaten by them. This gave me pause as someone who has been in a verbally abusive environment both at work and in the home. I've learned a lot from Ram Dass but collectively we can surely do better.

The main lesson of all these gurus is to live truthfully and actively. Depression, anxiety, stress are rooted in a lack of spirituality. Some days I am more spiritual than others. Here's to a day when spirituality and science can be respected hand in hand. #peace

 Well said. I believe those of us trapped by our karma, once freed of this karma, can say with faith, "Through God's grace I was saved from my eternal suffering." This is the catharsis we experience after quitting (or even being fired) from an abusive job. Or when an abusive relationship truly comes to an end. For others it might be doing yoga for the first time and feeling a respite from a food addiction. Or it can simply be finding the serenity of the intuitive faculty through mindful meditation for the first time.

All this being said, we should not "encourage" suffering. I find often in spiritual circles the "master" or "guru" believes that since he/she suffered, his/her disciple should too. I am guilty of this as a parent when I refuse to take the time to plan out my son's day. I leave things to chance, and then when he inevitably misbehaves because the environment was incorrect to begin with, I start snapping at him, and somehow I try to say to my inner self, "Well this is building character." No it is not! It is simply a reflection that I have not properly dealt with my anger and letting the power or "rush" one gets with procrastination keep me in ignorance.

Our dharma is to liberate the world from karma. "The Truth shall set us free!"

Suffering is a byproduct of an adolescence delayed. In other words, pain is a natural part of growth. If we mature naturally, then the suffering is practically nill. We experience the growing pains of being a teen fully. If however, our development was arrested then the lessons of adulthood come later in life. I'm experiencing this now, at age 34. I have gained grace through my suffering, yes. However, I believe our purpose is then to turn around and share our experience with others to lessen their suffering. Premature death is something we can eliminate as a species, but this requires us innovating at our highest level. Put another way, in the garden of eden, was there any suffering? We must return to the Tree of Life.