Greetings and blessings friends and thank you once again if you're continuing our journey through the Prophet.
Khalil Gibran trying to understand the meaning he inferred written a hundred years ago.
Still finding relevance and wisdom in his words.
This next segment is in my very humble opinion perhaps the most important of all segments in this book.
The Prophet answers the question about pain.
In the Yoga Sutras Patanjali,
The sage offers five causes of suffering,
Of pain.
The first is ignorance of our true nature.
The feeling of disconnectedness from that true nature.
Which leads to the second,
Which is the ego dominated by fear.
The ego struggles towards an impossible feat of self-preservation.
Not the true self,
The physical self.
And so the third and fourth attachment to things that bring us joy and comfort and aversion.
Those that bring us pain and discomfort.
And finally the fifth is our fear of impermanence,
Of mortality,
The fear of death.
These fears dominate our internal story.
That story we're telling ourselves.
Author,
Speaker Eckhart Tolle refers to this as our pained body.
He says oftentimes our suffering is caused not by our life situation but our reaction to it.
He believes that much of our pain is generated by the mind and it's toxic narrative.
That we can only move beyond it through awareness and awakening and see the pain and suffering as doorways to understand our true nature.
I referred before to one of our favorite teachers who passed this last year,
Thich Nhat Hanh.
He offers four mantras.
You can offer these to yourself or to another.
But before I read this segment on the Prophet,
I'm going to read these four mantras.
And if you'd like,
And if you're not already,
Please take just a few moments to find a comfortable seat.
Stack your spine,
Draw the line of your jaw back so your head is square above the shoulders and just close your eyes.
With the spine straight,
The eyes closed,
Our mind is alert.
You can rest your hands,
Maybe on your lap,
Maybe a mudra,
Feeling that energy flow through your body.
Let's take a full cycle of breath here together,
Stoking the fires of our prana.
Let's take a deep breath in and a long relaxing breath out.
The first mantra is simply,
Darling,
I am here for you.
As you reflect on those words,
Let the meaning of presence resonate.
As we go to the second mantra,
It might be something you need to say to yourself.
It may be something you long to hear from another.
If you're alone in this space,
Your physical body,
Know that you're not alone in spirit.
And so I offer the second mantra to you.
Darling,
I know you are there and I am so happy.
Such a simple mantra,
Such powerful meaning,
Gratitude for another's presence.
And once we've arrived,
Fully arrived in presence of ourselves or another,
Our hearts and minds are open to the third mantra.
Darling,
I know you're suffering.
Although we know the five causes of suffering already reviewed,
Sometimes we forget we're all struggling,
Maybe more or less.
But just that acknowledgement,
Even if to yourself alone.
And then we can arrive at the fourth mantra.
Darling,
I suffer too.
I am trying my best to practice.
Please help me.
When we meet ourselves with those words,
Those four mantras,
We're able to acknowledge the pain.
Not to avoid it.
Just to observe it.
Not judging.
Experiencing.
It's only then that we can learn from it,
That we can grow.
When we let go the fear,
The futile effort of physical self-preservation,
Then we can heal.
Imagine the tree that should withhold its leaves in the fall.
In order to grow,
The leaves must go give way for new fruit,
New growth.
In both,
The pain and the growth come from love.
The importance of our practice is sitting with our pain.
It might be physical pain due to an injury.
Sometimes physical pain might be just a manifestation of other tensions,
Other stress on your body and your mind.
Unless we create the space and the time to sit with that pain,
Not ignore it,
Not compartmentalizing it,
But sitting with it.
Aware of it.
Awake to the potential for new growth.
And a woman spoke saying,
Tell us of pain.
And he said,
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
Even as the stone of the fruit must break,
That its heart may stand in the sun,
So must you know pain.
And could you keep your heart and wonder the daily miracles of your life?
Your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy.
And you would accept the seasons of your heart,
Even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.
And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.
Much of your pain is self-chosen.
It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.
Therefore,
Trust the physician and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility.
For his hand,
Though heavy and hard,
Is guided by the tender hand of the unseen.
And the cup he brings,
Though it burn your lips,
Has been fashioned of the clay,
Which the potter has moistened with his own sacred tears.
Darling,
I'm here for you.
Darling,
I know you're there.
And I am so happy.
Darling,
I know you're suffering.
That is why I am here for you.
Darling,
I suffer.
I'm trying my best to practice.
Please help me.
Three simple words,
Almost as powerful as I love you.
We all suffer.
Part of our physical body,
The reality of the decay of life,
Our mortality,
The practice of self-care and self-compassion are not weaknesses.
Our greatest strength.
And if we can lock hands,
Practice together,
Maybe even just wrap your arms around yourself in a warm and loving embrace,
Knowing you are worthy of love.
This practice is truly heartfelt.
Maybe more than enough.
May this practice reveal the happiness even in the pain,
Reveal your health even in the sickness,
And reveal the peace despite the suffering,
Letting go of the tension,
The light,
The love,
The breath of life we share.
With all my love and with all of my gratitude.
Namaste.
