Pain and The Nasty Wench

Talk about attachments. Let's look at our attachment to pain. Some of us are married to our stories about how life our road is or has been, how much our bodies hurt, our chronic aches and pains, how unloved and unworthy we are, how we had to walk 25 miles barefoot in the snow to go to school everyday, etc... Some of us are even have an attachment to the avoidance of pain. "i don't want to hurt anyone" "I don't want to be hurt." Well wake up and smell the roses cuz there will be pain. I don't care if you are Gandhi, Socrates, Jesus. Oh yeah, they knew some pain. And there are others, I just don't know all the names.

One of the big differences is they had a different relationship to that pain. They did not spend their lives avoiding pain. And they preached peace, love, kindness, empowerment. And not everyone who heard those words heard them with loving ears. Some heard threats through those kind words, and the pain those kind words caused them created so much fear that they were poisoned, jailed, crucified. And there are others. I just don't know them all by heart.

Often when we are talking about the yamas and niyamas, we get all soft and gooey about being nice to everyone and what I keep hearing is that we are trying to not cause others harm or pain because if we do, it will cause us pain on the other end. Karma. The nasty wench. I'm not saying that we shouldn't pay attention to the yamas, niyamas, 10 commandments, or whatever other rules or guidelines or suggestions that have come from above regarding what constitutes being a "good person." What I'm saying is, what is underlying our motivation for following the rules? Is it quid pro quo, which lead to tit for tat? If so, it's based on fear. Fear that our karma will come back and bite us in the ass, or fear that we won't be loved, or fear that we won't get enough people in our classes, etc... The question is, is fear our biggest motivator? If so, I believe we have missed the point of those teachings.

I believe that spiritual teachings should result in a release of fear, and and increase in the joy that comes from living without that fear. Our decisions, when not fear based, can then come from our higher Self, because frankly, the higher Self has nothing to be afraid of.

So why are we afraid of letting go of those constructs that keep us afraid? Are we afraid to feel our fear? Our we afraid to show our fear? Own our fear?

And being fearless has nothing to do with bravado. It has to do with making decisions and acting from a place where you Know that you are doing exactly what you need to be doing. No matter what the consequences. You are just that clear.

Back to the pain. Yes, that was me avoiding even talking about it. It was way easier to talk about being fearless from my soapbox in the sky. I'm mighty clean up there - all that soap. And yes, i did have my mouth washed out with soap once. It was Irish Spring. And painful. The nasty wench.