In the many workshops I have done in the last 10 years I have occasionally come across individuals in the crowd who espoused a philosophy that went something like this:

"Suffering, as manifested through say illness, abuse, violence, natural disasters, loss of a loved one, death etc. are important learning experiences that are to be treasured, invited into one's life, embraced, accepted as a normal part of life, accepted as part of our journey to becoming more enlightened and loving human beings, and part of our purpose in being in this life".

Whether this is you or not I'm sure that you are familiar with this kind of thinking. It derives from many of the world's religions and may take varying forms of the above statement.

In summary one can condense the above statement into one line which goes like this:

"Suffering is supposed to make one's life better".

So is that really true? Well if you recall some experience of suffering that you've endured and "get right into it", that is recall it in its fullest details, then kindly notice how you feel.

I'm sure, that is if you can feel anything at all, that you will feel hurt, pain, sadness, loss, emptiness, anxious, depressed, confused, bewildered, angry, frustrated, heaviness, weighed down, helplessness, feel like giving up, like a victim and so on.

So did you get any learning out of that?

Do you feel like the quality of your life just improved?

Do you feel like a more enlightened or loving human being?

Do you feel that this is what you came here for, to be a victim?

Is this an experience that you really want to embrace or invite into your life?

Well if you're honest with yourself I think the answer to all the above questions is likely to be NO, correct?

So what is the purpose of suffering then? Well actually there is no purpose, at least not one that will benefit you.

So who or what does it benefit?

If you want me to be honest with you it only benefits "that" which seduces you into giving up your power, your vital life energy and becoming a victim.

So what is "that"?

Well, believe it or not, "that' represents all of the beliefs that you have become conditioned with, which live in your mind/body, which deplete your vital life energy and your creative power, which creates the illusion of you as a defective human being and which most importantly deprives you of the experience of your Divine Self.

I know that this may be too much for your to swallow in one go so I only ask you to ponder what I have said here. It will most definitely challenge the very spiritual beliefs you have spent your life "acquiring" from others.

On the other hand what I've said may actually resonate at some deep level within you. If that is the case then notice how you feel about that.