How To Transcend The Suffering Cycle

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Have you ever made a giant life decision thinking it would unlock the key to utter fulfillment, complete peace, and a lifetime of happiness?

Yeah, me too.

I remember walking out of my 9-5 feeling giddy, as if I had just solved world peace.

I was walking away from a job that was out of alignment and into my dream role – an entrepreneur. It was a shift I had wanted to make for months, and I thought that everything would be perfect once I made the leap.

However, perfect doesn’t exist in the way we picture it. And as humans, we cannot avoid pain; it is inevitable.

However, when we hold onto pain, it is suffering. In Yoga, we call this suffering cycle the five Kleshas.

1. Ignorance/Avidya

2. Ego Identification/Asmita

3. Desire/Raga

4. Aversion/Dvesha

5. Clinging/Abhinivesha

How this showed up for me is that I took my old beliefs, mindset, and work habits from my corporate job into my new role as an entrepreneur and healer.

Despite the freedom to consciously create my own schedule and security, I fell back into old habits of hustling and putting work above all else. I was choosing my own suffering.

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It started with Ignorance. My body started to send its familiar signals of burnout (acne, fatigue, and frustration), but instead of slowing down and finding compassion for myself, I became critical.

Then the Ego spoke up. The voice in my head said, “but you’re a healer. You shouldn’t be getting acne or have tension in your shoulders. Are you even that good at your job if your health isn’t perfect?”.

Desire wanted a turn. As much as I knew I needed to slow down, my desire of wanting to heal others and become a leader in my field overshadowed it. I had become attached to the outcome and prioritized it over my own needs.

I found myself in Aversion mode. I knew that taking breaks would make me more productive but when I took them, I felt uncomfortable. The guilt of not being productive would appear, and I ended up creating even more projects for myself.

Then, I found myself Clinging to my old ways. The more signs the universe gave me to slow down (my computer got water damage, apps glitching, strange accidents, etc.) the more I pushed to get back to the work grind. Ultimately, I was afraid to not live out my potential, and that fear was the driving force of my habits.

It was only when I brought awareness and compassion to these patterns that I was able to transcend the Suffering Cycle.

Now, when I noticed old mental and physical habits, I find stillness and ask myself these three questions.

1. What is truly present in this moment – fear, scarcity, a belief from childhood, or cultural conditioning?

2. How can I meet whatever it is with love, forgiveness, and compassion?

3. What is the lesson from my highest Self in this situation?

By answering those questions, I am able to release my attachment to the Suffering Cycle and transcend the old habits and patterns.

They key to inner peace is to sit in the seat of the soul as the witness and to love so deeply that you can recognize and welcome every aspect of this moment into the heart.