The Phenomenal

January 25, 2024

There are only four sources of our suffering — other people, ourselves, God, and circumstances. Other people can be our primary cause of suffering when they don’t do what we want them to do. We suffer when we make mistakes, harming ourselves and others. God causes our suffering when we blame God for whatever may go wrong. Finally, adverse circumstances cause suffering.

In the spiritual life, we are the source of our needless suffering. What we do, what others do, and all circumstances that hurt us, when perceived through our unchecked Ego, are potential sources of needless suffering. But when we experience things through our soul, we have the possibility of infinite comfort, understanding, forgiveness, compassion, and endless connection to the Divine. If we enter the sacred soul, our perceptions change, our spiritual capacities increase, then our feelings and responses change. In soul, hopeless suffering is dispensed with. The Ego doesn’t have that capacity because, as a mental structure, it doesn’t come from our depths.

Yes, the soul suffers its grief; yes, it feels the pain of others and even the suffering of the family and the collective. The suffering of the Ego is a different pain; it comes from experiencing our Ego’s story, its dreams, expectations, and hopes as having failed. The Ego’s story is not necessarily wrong or misdirected. The Divine smiles upon many of its dreams and hopes. However, when the Ego’s story is the only reality we can conceive of, we are vulnerable to much needless suffering.

Ruled by our Ego, we are vulnerable to seeing God as our loving parent when things go as we wish. However, our Ego is also susceptible to seeing God as a punishing and condemning parent when things do not go as we wish. The phenomenal thing about the conscious spiritual life is that, through the soul, we experience the Divine as grace, mercy, compassion, and as the author of the Holy Plan. Even the soul’s suffering is perceived as part of that plan. The soul views suffering as a teacher, as medicine, or as a pathway to higher consciousness.

The soul has a way of helping the Ego to surrender its plan to the Holy Plan if and only if the Ego submits to the leadership of the soul. This is the phenomenal pathway to stop our needless suffering.

Inquiry: Why would you want to suffer needlessly?

Dear God,

I surrender all my suffering to you. There is no way I can achieve my Ego’s story. Your Holy Plan is what I pray to accept. Amen

To receive Dr. Howell’s Reflections in your inbox everyday, complete the form below to begin your journey into who God has made you to be. The path to wholeness starts now!