MEDITATION: SITTING WITH OUR OWN SUFFERING
written by Sandile Tshabalala – MEDITATION TEACHER @ THE NEST SPACE
Namaste Nest Tribe. Welcome to The Nest Space Blog!
A lot us are scared to sit with our own suffering; we fear what will arise when we observe the true nature our suffering. It may be our past traumatic experiences, the inadequacies that we’ve validated about ourselves or our disatisfaction with our routine, our partners, our jobs, our self-esteem or even our habits. All of us are suffering one way or another. It is natural to feel this way, but it is unnatural to make suffering define us because we have the potential to actualise long-lasting happiness.
Meditation is the path of awakening our true nature, our infinite connection to the divine. We come as we are and we leave as we want to be in meditation. You are the boss of your own mind. As my teacher so sincerely asks ‘‘Can I touch the centre of my pain? Can I sit with suffering, both yours and mine, without trying to make it go away? Can I stay present to the ache of loss or disgrace-disappointment in all its many forms-and let it open me?’
Meditate
Getting close to our own suffering through meditation is an invitation to ourselves; to allow us to really delve deep into the understanding of our thought patterns and to just observe. To see this flowing river of thoughts without the urge to swim and drown.
sit with your suffering
Sitting with our suffering is a welcoming of all that we are, and all that we aspire to be. To experience the impermanence of suffering is the ultimate goal of sitting with our sensations. We fixate our suffering, we’ve build high walls of defence against our suffering. It is time to call it in and acknowledge all the layers of our suffering – to let each layer tell its story and leave. To let each story unfold and leave its wisdom behind.