BHAGAVAD GITA -That which possesses the body is eternal.

[Guest guest]

Hi Vicki,

A serene spirit accepts pleasure and pain with an even mind

,

and is unmoved by either. He alone is worthy of

immortality.

These are helpful words for dealing with physical pain. The

problem I have now is somewhat different.

My illness that has returned (CFS/ME/fibromyalgia) causes

emotions to arise - sometimes fears, sometimes depression...

I know who I am, but I live in this body which creates these

emotions, and they aren't easy to deal with. I can only treat

the illness - and we know so little about it - and keep clearing

emotions. Myfriend points out that the opposite of fear is

faith. I do have complete faith that I am guided and watched

over - always have been. But it isn't easy to try to keep this

in clear focus when the body is throwing up more fear. I found

your quotation from Ramana very helpful:

Maharshi

:

As one strives to know the "I" , attachments to

objects

and degrading thoughts gradually drop away.

The more one does not forget the Self , the more

the elevating qualities

can take root.

Holding the awareness of the highest does help, but how to do

that constantly during all the hours??

I'm writing about this because I think there may be others on the

list with the same problem.

Love,

Dharma

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 2/6/02 12:13:28 AM Mountain Standard Time,

deva writes:

 

<< I'm writing about this because I think there may be others on the

list with the same problem. >>

 

You bet. Hi Dharma, I'm so sorry you're not feeling well. To a lesser

degree, I've been having the same difficulty with menopausal mood swings.

They are hormonally driven, have no personal content and don't touch the part

of me that "knows" (so I get in these weird states where I'm mostly in unity

consciousness but also thinking "who the @#$^ cares!"). I regard these days

(fortunately, there are only a handful a month) as somewhat unwelcome

opportunities for practice, and I'm trying St. John's Wort. I completely

agree with you that observing physical pain is quite different from observing

bodily-driven emotional pain. I'm sending prayers your way. Love, Holly

[Guest guest]

A serene spirit accepts pleasure and pain with an even mind ,

and is unmoved by either. He alone is worthy of immortality.

These are helpful words for dealing with physical pain. The problem I

have now is somewhat different.

My illness that has returned (CFS/ME/fibromyalgia) causes emotions to

arise - sometimes fears, sometimes depression...

Hi Dharma,

So sorry to hear things have not improved. My situation is not

the same as yours, in that my body does not in itself seem to cause

emotions as you describe. Yet, for other reasons, l think the net

result is similar to yours. After being besieged by debilitating

problems for so long, including the fact that any attempt to do

spiritual practice only increases the energy and greatly exacerbates

these problems, l have long sensed that the only thing l can do is

open my heart. Nothing else feels relevant. Of course, it's not the

easiest thing to do. )

Wishing you well,

jerry