Suffering

SAT., FEB. 7, 1987, 6:49 AM
FARM, STUDY

This theme has been apparent to you ever since it was uttered in your class last week, so it is acceptable that you write the title without the usual process. Know that this is an exception… the process is important. Know also that I am quite aware of your absence this week, and that there was nothing vital keeping you from this desk. But here you are now, so off we go.

Suffering can never be called desirable. Yet it is a part of the world I created. I could “change things” and eliminate it, but I would foresee the remedy to be worse than the suffering. Why? Because suffering enhances the growth of spirit, both in the one suffering and in those who can minister to that one. Without suffering there would be much more normal focus on self, for others would not show forth that vivid need for help. And this does imply that when one “suffers in silence”, not letting others know of the trouble and the response within self, that one is preventing others from benefitting. Hence, that action which is brave and courageous is also selfish. It certainly is not easy to be selfless in this earth life.

The first thought of suffering usually involves the physical. The normal body has a mechanism of pain, and when it is activated sufficiently suffering is the result. There was physical pain as I was nailed to the cross, as Jesus. I suffered as I hung there, and suffering is what brought death to most who were crucified. I actually just gave up My life. It was not to be taken from Me, finally. You have suffered some physical pain, and these are remembrances.

Suffering can be focused in any of the dimensions of being… and it can involve an amalgam of these aspects of self. Or… one dimension, the spiritual for instance, can allay suffering in another. You have written of the experience you had in which spirit, in conjunction with the social and physical environments, prevented the suffering that could have come from those cuts in your physical body. “Mind over matter” is usually a combination of the intellectual and the emotional with spirit. Pain may be felt, but suffering is minimal.

Remember the complexity, however. Suffering can have value. It is not always to be alleviated or prevented. Knowing “which is which” is one of the “measures” of enlightenment. As a person grows toward enlightenment… or just realizes his development… he more “naturally” discerns when suffering is good, and when it is not, in self and in others. Though the motivation to relieve the suffering of others is always desirable it is important to realize that relief may not be the best for that particular person. And there is no easy way to know the right way, except as this comes through spiritual maturity.

When a loved one dies, those who have had this love relationship and who live on usually suffer from this loss. Some of this suffering is important and desirable. Prolonged suffering, however, indicates too much focus on self and not enough appreciation for continuing life, here in the earth and elsewhere. As you are attempting to help one who suffers from such a loss it is not easy to discern when “enough is enough.” Be sure and mention this in your presentation this week.