This third session of the True Self series examines how the experience of pain and suffering in our lives is directly correlated with our state of spiritual consciousness.

A select transcript extracted from this audio session is as follows:

“It’s been said that in life “pain is inevitable but suffering is optional”. Wise and insightful as this statement may be, it is not entirely accurate.

Suffering in its truest form is not avoidable but reducible. We all suffer to some degree or another. What varies with each person is our ability to cope with the magnitude of suffering and that is conditioned by the person’s level of spiritual maturity….

In Baha’u’llah’s paradigm, suffering is understood as an inevitable product of life set before us to elevate our souls….

‘As long as there will be life on earth, there will be also suffering, in various forms and degrees. But suffering, although an inescapable reality, can nevertheless be utilized as a means for the attainment of happiness….

Suffering is both a reminder and a guide. It stimulates us to better adapt ourselves to our environmental conditions, and thus leads the way to self-improvement. In every suffering one can find a meaning and a wisdom. But it is not always easy to find the secret of that wisdom. It is sometimes only when all our suffering has passed that we become aware of its usefulness.’…”