On the spiritual journey, we need to unpack our challenges as divine gifts that have the ability to unlock our potential. But that potential can only be reached if we're willing to face fears, walk in partnership with our unconscious, and do the work necessary to transform the mind.
Tibetan Buddhist nun Pema Chodron tells us: "Difficult things provoke all your irritations and bring your habitual patterns to the surface. And that becomes the moment of truth. You have the choice to launch into your lousy habitual patterns, or to stay with the rawness and discomfort of the situation and let it transform you." Remaining with our own uncomfortable feelings is hard work. But the more we consciously evoke this practice, the more we train the mind to leave behind the habit of avoidance. This allows us to be present with ourselves and see the truth of who we are.
As we help the mind to remain steady, we begin to reap the benefits of a mind that is steady, confident, and compassionate. By becoming connected to the truth of our Self, we experience the "peace that passes understanding." Mythologist Joseph Campbell explains this process: “Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.” Becoming fully present opens up the reality of what yoga calls satchitananda — being, consciousness, and bliss. To dive in, we simply need to expand our awareness and remain awake.
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In The Arc Of Your Mallet
Don't go anywhere without me.
Let nothing happen in the sky apart from me,
or on the ground, in this world or that world,
without my being in its happening.
Vision, see nothing I don't see.
Language, say nothing.
The way the night knows itself with the moon,
be that with me. Be the rose
nearest to the thorn that I am.
I want to feel myself in you when you taste food,
in the arc of your mallet when you work,
when you visit friends, when you go
up on the roof by yourself at night.
There's nothing worse than to walk out along the street
without you. I don't know where I'm going.
You're the road, and the knower of roads,
more than maps, more than love
~ Rumi