Life in Small Bites

By Dr. Jeff Alexander

Founder of Warrior Spirit (http://www.WarriorSpirit.com)

Jeff is my personal mentor and wonderful friend.  He is Courage and Leadership personified. For the last 25 years, through seminars and trainings, Jeff has devoted his energies to unleashing these life-success strategies and competencies in others. – JY 

Have you ever heard an old song on the radio and it immediately reminds you of a place or person? You may get a smile on your face or suddenly feel a knot in your stomach. It depends on whether you were having a good or bad experience during the first time you heard that song. It can dictate the emotion you currently feel, even twenty years later. The mind organized it and sent it all down to your subconscious. Ninety five percent of everything that comes up daily got programmed in before the age of five.

Students on the path often experience the internal conflict. When the challenges begin, celebrate! You have entered sacred territory. Krishna referred to this internal war in the Bhagavad Gita. Jesus spoke of it as a “House divided against itself.” Buddha said that suffering is due to desire and attachment. To be liberated one must first consciously enter the battleground of the mind where all suffering exists. This often takes a great leap of faith.

The mind is not the enemy. Your mind is a thought-generating machine. It organizes the thoughts automatically according to your perceptions and judgments. The delusion is that we get upset and fearful at what we create in our heads. We think it is coming from the outside world rather than noticing it is coming from within. Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is within you.”

Suffering does not come from the events or people in your life. It comes from your perceptions and choices about those events and people. While you may still feel the pain of the old experience, a new awareness begins to grow. And over time, the pain of that old dark experience transmutes into a higher state. Some call this enlightenment.

Jesus said, “Go within!” He was referring to your consciousness. He advised to not look to the world but the answer is within you. Yogananda said, “Where your energy is, there is your consciousness.” By going within, you direct your energy to your internal programming. This is the first step of your spiritual path. Have you noticed that there are a few bumps along the way?

The obstacles along the way are part of the curriculum. When they arise, just know that they are supposed to. The ego says they delay your spiritual progress. Consider the possibility that what stops you dead in your tracks, can be the very thing essential to your growth. These obstacles are like weights in the gym. They may be painful when you work your spiritual muscle, but it is key to your growth. Just because you have an awakening moment, doesn’t mean you are done. The awakening moment is just the first step of a long and sometimes difficult path.

What do you do when you feel lost? The ego attempts to jump in and take over. The ego is not capable of understanding the infinite. Thoughts are finite. The finite cannot comprehend the infinite. You know you are in trouble when your mind attempts to take over your spiritual progress. You can’t think your way back to the divine. When feeling lost, start to interpret this as another lesson in your curriculum. When I feel lost or depressed, the first thing I do is to notice and describe the feeling. I ask spirit for clarity. I don’t ask why, I ask what to do with what is in front of me. This is where you get to practice divine patience. And while I wait, I look for something to be grateful for.

When experiencing those dark moments, we can often feel alone and spiritually depleted. When that occurs, the first step is to first be aware of the internal battle. The Buddha said that the way out of suffering starts with detachment. He meant that when younotice you become a witness and immediately detach yourself from the suffering. You may still feel the pain, but the consciousness is now one step away.  That is what Christ meant by, “Being in the world, but not of the world.” Remember you havea mind. You are not a mind.

In order to have what you have never had, you must do what you have never done. This is where your leap of faith is waiting. You will never think your way to the kingdom of heaven.

In my last year at UCLA medical dental school, I met two patients in the terminal ward. This ward was where patients spent the last three months of their life due to terminal illness.

One patient in this ward was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He was 42 years old. He was given three months to live and experienced great physical discomfort and pain. He was angry, yelled a lot at the staff and complained continually about how he got such a “bad deal.” When his family visited, they didn’t stay long, there was arguing and a great amount of stress. His energy was draining on anyone who attempted to help him.

Another patient with the same cancer, prognosis and age was right next door.  He experienced severe pain every moment of each day. I was captivated by his sweet energy and gentle manners in spite of his obvious pain and physical discomfort. He greeted everyone with kindness and warmth. He spent long hours touching and gazing into the eyes of his wife and daughters.

It has been over thirty-five years since that time at UCLA. Both men have passed from this world long ago. Both of these blessed beings taught me a great lesson I will never forget. Both of these men were in extreme physical pain. Yet only one of them was suffering. Pain is an experience. Suffering is a choice. In order to light up the darkness of your life, you must cultivate the courage to first enter the darkness. Once you take the first step, you begin your journey home. This always takes a leap of faith.