Embracing Mindfulness: A Pathway to Ending Suffering
In a world that often feels chaotic and overwhelming, it’s easy to feel like suffering is an external force, something that starts and ends somewhere beyond our control. However, Jon Kabat-Zinn, a renowned mindfulness expert, and Soren Gordhamer, the founder of Wisdom 2.0, invite us to reconsider this perspective. In their enlightening discussion, they propose that suffering, in fact, starts and ends with us.
The idea of suffering beginning and ending with us is not a call to passivity. It’s not a dualistic act of being passive or active; it’s a non-dual wisdom. It doesn’t mean that we don’t act when it’s time to act, just as it doesn’t mean we don’t sleep because we’re fans of wakefulness. It’s about being fully present, fully awake, and fully aware of our narratives and how they shape our perception of reality.
Kabat-Zinn and Gordhamer emphasize the importance of turning towards the unwanted aspects of our lives, not because we enjoy them, but because they are already here. This approach requires a sense of curiosity and a willingness to inquire deeply into our pain, fear, and suffering. It’s about asking ourselves, “Am I my pain? Am I my fear? Am I my suffering?” and then penetrating these questions with direct awareness.
In the practice of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), which Kabat-Zinn developed, practitioners are encouraged to meet their suffering with openness and curiosity. This practice is not about diagnosing or treating a condition; it’s about meeting the human being behind the diagnosis. It’s about recognizing the full-blown, miraculous being that has walked into the room.
This level of attunement allows us to respond authentically and compassionately in the moment, rather than reacting out of habit or fear. It helps us not to take personally that which is not personal. Whether it’s political events, fears about the future, or our own narratives, we can recognize them as stories that may hold some truth but are not the full story of who we are.
Kabat-Zinn and Gordhamer also challenge us to question the narratives we consume and create, the “news” we tell ourselves. In an era of “fake news” and propaganda, it’s essential to discern the real from the false, not just in the media but also in our own minds. As Kabat-Zinn quotes from a Wallace Stevens poem, “The real news is there’s no news at all.”
This perspective invites us to face the challenges of our time with an “orthogonal wisdom perspective,” a shift in consciousness that allows us to see, feel, and hear the lattice structure of being. It’s about recognizing our infinite degrees of freedom in how we relate to our experiences and how we choose to respond.
In conclusion, Kabat-Zinn and Gordhamer invite us to lead with our humanity, not our fear. They remind us that this is our curriculum for the moment, our opportunity to explore what it means to be human in these challenging times. By embracing mindfulness and turning towards our suffering with curiosity and compassion, we can begin to end the cycle of suffering, not just for ourselves but for the world.
