“Pain Is An Illusion. We Are One.” Is This Actually True? – By Chris Cade

When my son was younger, I used to read to him every night. We both loved it. In one of his magazines there was a short story called “The Cheetah Nursery.” It shared about the process that baby cheetahs go through from birth until they are ready to live on their own.

For several weeks in a row, my son wanted me to read that story every night. I did, and he listened intently.

Then one day he started reading it to me. Never mind that he doesn't know how to read; he was telling me the story.

However, it became quickly clear when he'd say certain words that didn't match, that he wasn't actually reading. He was reciting from memory the story. He had associated certain pictures with certain sentences and was able to correctly remember the context of the sentences and got about 90% of the words correct.

It reminded me of something that we often do with our inner work…

A teacher tells us about a spiritual Truth, we like it, and we adopt it as our own. We start reciting it like a mantra or affirmation, perhaps even teaching it to others, without having the experience to know it's true -for us- specifically. It's in our head, but not our hearts.

It should be no mystery I'm a huge fan of finding out what is true for myself. That's why I encourage you to do the same.

So what good does it do to recite to ourselves spiritual Truths like “Pain is an illusion” when we're in the middle of a debilitating disease, an emotionally traumatic situation, or a severe injury?

It does us no good. That just becomes a denial. It's another version of “The Lie About Positive Thinking.” It lacks compassion and denies us important aspects of our humanity such as our vulnerability and our potential to grow.

Spiritual Story of The Zen Monk Whose Child Had Died

I am reminded of a story about a Zen Monk whose child had died. He was weeping uncontrollably for days… for weeks. He was in a state of terrible sorrow and completely inconsolable.

One day a student of his came up and said to him, “Pain is just an illusion.”

I don't know about you, but in that situation, if somebody said that to me, I'd find it hard to stay kind, compassionate, and not step into a state of anger.

Anyway, do you know what the Zen Monks said?

“Yes. But the death of a child is the greatest illusion of all.”

This is the reality of life. It's a tough road. The teachings are not here to be adopted and recited… they are here to guide us towards the Truth of our experience.

I find similar challenges with all spiritual teachings. It's easy to read a book that teaches us “We are all one,” and some of us are privileged enough to have at least a brief experience or two of living it.

“We are all one” sounds great. It's a wonderful principle to guide us act more compassionately in the world.

But do we really feel like one when we're facing life challenges like having our heart broken, being betrayed by a coworker, or when people project their anger onto us? (or us onto them??)

It's not so easy at those times. That's when we have to practice the Truth… and often at the same time, accept the times when we feel unable to live the Truth.

It's really no difference than my son “reading” his story to me. He's reciting just a piece of what his mind knows, without him having the experiential understanding of what it means to read.

On that note, next time you hear a spiritual Truth that sounds good…

Next time you read a book, email, or quote that seems to resonate…

Put it to the test.

Don't just listen to the words. Let them land with you. Try it out in your life. Live the teaching and see what you discover. Then practice living it more with each passing day.

Maybe you'll discover that we are all one. And perhaps you'll also discover what blockages you have to living that every moment of every day. You might find yourself deepening into that Truth and experiencing it more with each passing day.

Or perhaps you'll discover that we're all separate beings, living separate lives, uniquely. Unable to connect.

I don't know what you'll discover. What I do know is this:

“Adopting other peoples' opinions as your own is like seeing fire on a TV and being scared that it's going to burn you.” – Chris Cade

And for the record, no cheetahs were injured during the writing of this blog post.

This article was written by Chris Cade, founder of Spiritual Growth Events.