Natascha Marler, LMT, E-YRT, CSNF

In Defense of Suffering

The deepest desire of the soul is not to feel good or to be stable, but to be alive and to experience itself in the world. Indeed, love is not one of the most comfortable feelings but one of the most important and meaningful.

For some reason, however, there seems to be the idea that it is not normal to suffer. However, growing, changing, and learning entail some degree of suffering, it hurts to change, to transform. And often, feeling bad, angry, or sad catalyzes change, growth, or a leap of understanding. The problem is when the negative feelings get stuck because we don’t or can’t allow ourselves to feel them or because we don’t seem to be able to do anything about it. Sometimes there is an insurmountable reason for this, but other times, the biggest hurdle is just the fear of these powerful negative feeling themselves. The fear that these feelings will overpower us and leave us lost in darkness, or that there is something wrong with us if we feel such terrible darkness. There isn’t. There is something right.

A friend of mine told me that being on the spiritual path means being mindful but doesn’t mean no suffering. It just means that we do it fully so that we learn the lesson and get through it and onto the next lesson quicker.

Natascha Marler, LMT, E-RYT 200, CSNF, has been studying healing philosophies for over 18 years. She has been a massage therapist for 15 and a yoga teacher for 9. Her newest modality is Neurosculpting ® meditation, a five-step meditation process that is specifically designed to consciously rewire neurology. She offers healing meditation and massage in Goodyear, AZ. For more info: http://www.gypsymamabliss.com