I think people have turned the “spiritual journey,” which is life’s journey actually, into some sort of dramatic movie filled with hurdles and suffering.
It’s true; just as it happens with everything else, there are obstacles and problems that arise. There are times when you feel really low, and what not. Very often however, even though it may feel like some unseen forces are conspiring against you — what is simply happening is that your beliefs are in conflict with the reality of things.
As an example, most lovers suffer tremendously because they believe they’re meant to spend their lives together, and constantly be in love, having none but each other as their whole world. These kind of beliefs are thrown into our minds during childhood with Aladdin, Cinderella, and so on.
Truth is, our lover is a human being like us, with rights and boundaries, and so on. Our lover makes mistakes, isn’t perfect, and can’t fulfill all of our expectations. Another truth is that our bodies are programmed for the perpetuation of the species. During different periods of our lives, our hormones play with us and make us believe anything. Etc.
When our beliefs and reality clash therefore, we suffer. And when we’re in pain, we make up stories in which we are the victim. This is what makes people lament over the spiritual journey or life itself. There is no need for any of this.
Whenever we feel low or in pain, let’s simply ask ourselves why.
Which one of our beliefs is “arguing” with the reality of things? Perhaps we believed spirituality would bring us everlasting peace and bliss, yet here we are, experiencing hell. Maybe our belief about the spiritual journey was not so accurate after all. Maybe growing as a person requires much more persistence than we believed. Maybe it requires that we are more pragmatic, and diligent.
Okay, we adjust. Things seem to improve. Another obstacle; we feel low. Which belief is causing problem here? We investigate. Something comes up. We adjust. Good, things seem to be back on track. And so on.
When we are feeling overly emotional, the best way to “combat” this feeling is by leaning on our practical and reasonable aspect. When we are overly intellectual, hence ungrounded and restless, we “combat” it by reconnecting with our emotions through being of service, appreciating the small things in life, doing something creative, and so on.
I hope it helps.
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