How to Skillfully Deal with Suffering in the World
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I was shocked recently when I read about a man on a bus in Canada who suddenly pulled out a knife and for no apparent reason stabbed a young man next to him to death. Then he gutted him and cut his head off. After which he taunted police with the head and apparently ate some of the man he killed before being arrested.
Often it can be difficult to see how spiritual views and pursuits that aim towards states of peace, joy, love, happiness and compassion can be reconciled with the very dark and heavy bombardment we all receive from the media of terrible things that occur daily around the world.
Firstly of course the news is largely one sided. Love and compassion are not very sensational to the world. Such things are unlikely to grip the regular news junkie. And so there isn’t very much money in presenting a balanced account of the world’s happenings.
That aside, what about the very terrible things that undeniably are happening? Let me tell a little story. There was a very rich person who was a follower of a certain guru. One day the rich person asks the guru - I have a great deal of wealth and I see so many poor people suffering through their lives. Should I give all my money away to ease their suffering? The guru replied - No, right now there may be 20 poor people suffering but if you give your money away in their aid there will only then be 21 people suffering. You will only add to the suffering of the world.
The point is - when one sees suffering and pain in the world if one responds only with suffering oneself, such as by getting depressed, then one is only adding to the suffering of the world. Those who suffer should be lifted up out of suffering. One should not go down from a higher level to a lower because then there is just more people in a lower state and more suffering. Rather one should use one’s current state to bring those who are lower up out of suffering to a higher level of being.
This philosophy is the driving force behind BalancedExistence.com. I have experienced what is possible first hand. At the beginning of this year (2008) I went through what you might call a health revolution. I have always been health conscious to some degree or another. Thanks to a number of excursions into poor health. I had major open-heart surgery to close a hole in my heart when I was seven years old. Shortly after I started lifting weights. By the time I was seventeen I had been suffering from debilitating migraines daily for a number of years while trying to do well in high school. Doctors just advised me to take painkillers when the migraines came on. After consulting with a naturopath I found out I was allergic to just about every food you could imagine. Once I eliminated foods such as wheat, chicken, yeast, milk and about a hundred other things the migraines abated.
In the second part of this article I will continue with my own personal story of health battles and personal growth. I’ll show you how through your own personal transformation you can skillfully and positively have an impact upon those closest to you and the world at large.
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August 18th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
[...] presents How to Skillfully Deal with Suffering in the World posted at Balanced [...]
August 19th, 2008 at 12:58 am
[...] presents How to Skillfully Deal with Suffering in the World posted at Balanced [...]
August 20th, 2008 at 12:04 am
[...] presents How to Skillfully Deal with Suffering in the World posted at Balanced [...]
August 21st, 2008 at 11:17 am
This article was featured in The Twenty Second Edition of the Carnival of Improving Life.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:08 am
Wow. What an amazing post. This is so much along the lines of how I’ve been feeling for years.. and why I ended up doing what I do now. That I had, dare I say, a “calling” to play a role as an uplifter, an “entrainer”, a radio antenna. We need to work on keeping ourselves in the ‘higher place’ if we want to be able to lift others up. It’s the best work we can do.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:20 am
Hi Gina,
I’m glad you enjoyed my post. I also agree with you that lifting others up by lifting ourselves up is the very best work. As someone I look up to once said - We can only bring others up to our own level, no further.
By the way I noticed you added me to your blogroll on your website. Thank you for that.
August 27th, 2008 at 2:50 am
No problem. It’s an honor and I look forward to reading more.
August 27th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
[...] jeramy lim This article is a continuation of the theme I brought up in a previous article entitled How to Skillfully Deal With Suffering in the World. In my personal experience, after I set out on a many facetted journey of personal development, I [...]
August 31st, 2008 at 4:42 pm
[...] presents How to Skillfully Deal with Suffering in the World posted at Balanced [...]
September 1st, 2008 at 10:16 am
[...] out a knife and for no apparent reason stabbed a young man next to him to death. Stephen presents How to Skillfully Deal with Suffering in the World posted at Balanced Existence. bf8 This entry is filed under Blog Carnval on Personal Power. You [...]
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:11 pm
[...] presents How to Skillfully Deal with Suffering in the World posted at Balanced [...]
September 4th, 2008 at 3:01 am
[...] like to keep in the back of my mind. I’ve written about entrainment in previous articles such as How to Skillfully Deal with Suffering in the World and The Only Way to Truly Help [...]
September 22nd, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Thanks for submitting this post to our blog carnival. We just published the 39th edition of Brain Blogging and your article was featured!
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Shaheen
October 5th, 2008 at 3:38 am
I am almost left to wonder if the persistent migraines may be a symptom of an unresolved PFO. I am guessing you had surgery to close a patent foramen ovale. Perhaps the surgery was not successful, or the pressure exerted from weight lifting caused a relapse. An echocardiogram can be done to double check this is not the case…although doubtful, a common symptom of PFO in adults is persistent migraine.
October 13th, 2008 at 4:58 am
Interesting post. Another quote from Gandhi was “prayer is the most potent instrument of action”. I believe in this literally and see this as the best way to deal with suffering in the world.
October 13th, 2008 at 6:51 am
Hi Julian,
I’m glad you found my post interesting. I read a very interesting book recently called The Intention Experiment which I think might interest you. It includes information regarding scientific research into the effect of prayer. One study showed that prayer actually affected how events in the past turned out in the present!
October 15th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
[...] The Power of One Aug.15, 2008 in Happiness, Health, Influence, Law of Entrainment, Personal Development, Relationships & Communication, Spirituality, Worry & Stress If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my free RSS feed. Or you can subscribe via email by using the form on the right side of this page. Thanks for visiting!This is the second part of an article that began with How to Skillfully deal with Suffering in the World. [...]
April 13th, 2009 at 4:58 am
[...] Stephen Cox’s Balanced Existence Article: Skillfully Deal With Suffering In The World Notes: An interesting sharing and perspective of ‘truth’ from someone very [...]
July 6th, 2009 at 4:34 am
[...] How to Skillfully Deal with Suffering in the World [...]