Must We Suffer To Reach Higher States Of Consciousness?

Question

I was reading a question here pertaining to the "Dark Night of the Soul"...a topic to which I am completely ignorant.

Yet I wonder if a person can be happy with life and still "shift into higher states of consciousness."

*I welcome all answers, but the most helpful come from the heart, not a book. Thank you!

Answer 1

You dont neccessarily have to suffer to reach a higher state of consciousness. Suffering comes when you go against the Laws of Nature or when you follow a wrong path.

I have learnt to live everyday as it comes because you really cant determine what the day will bring so I swing with the present and give the best of me as my intuition guides me.

When worries come I accept they and seek for the lesson it brings so that I dont entangle myself again by repeating the sama mistake.

If you live like this you will become happy and alive. That is consciousness.

Answer 2

Unfortunately, yes, we do, for two reasons. The first is that people who never suffer aren't given reason to move from where they are, psychologically speaking. Or, put another way, if it works for you, why change?

The second is because what I think of as higher states of consciousness involve a better understanding of everything, and suffering is part of everything. In fact, suffering is a huge and often defining characteristic of being human. It's difficult for a blind person to really understand color, and it's difficult for a chronically happy person to really understand the suffering of others.

The experience that I've had that I've heard called "The long, dark time of the soul" is when you suddenly realize that the things you hold dear are meaningless, that the immense energies that you've put into your place in life have all gone for naught, leaving you with no identity or direction.

Answer 3

Not necessarily. Suffering comes from being so caught up with the world that you are not in touch with the essential parts of you--which could be called spirit or a higher state of consciousness.

My understanding of "dark night of the soul" is that it is the realization of the meaninglessness of the world and the remorse that the inner world has been neglected.

Answer 4

Suffering and happiness co-exist. We need both to mature in intelligence and wisdom in life. Meditation really can bring us to very high level of awareness where we actually experience true awe, peace and light! On the other hand, suffering, once we understand it, brings the same level of consciousness, as well as happiness. Without either one, we can never experience fully life and higher levels. I don't mean that suffering is happy, but, it opens up doors that were unknown before, this is a different awakening, yet as wonder!

Answer 5

Of course you can grow while you're happy. Even if it is just learning how to share your hapiness to others (when appropiate). You also have a bigger awareness about yourself and what makes you happy, and how your hapiness affects others around you in certain circumstances.

However, because of my life's experiences of bits of happy and....not so good, to say the least, parts of life, I have to agree that for a majority of things, in order to grow in that kind of perspective and way, you must suffer somewhat.

If we never suffered, our conscousness would have no need to grow, would have no reason to grow. Consciousness is an awareness, and how can we be aware of problems and their solutions should we never be exposed to them? It's kind of like math. You learn the lesson, but you can never truly tell if you can use it until you've gotten to the homework.

EDIT
also, in a religious view of christianity, suffering is especially important. As christians, it is important for us to present upon people the concept of God (not force upon). Sometimes God puts us through trials and tests because in the later time, we can use our experiences to the benefit of another. After all, the best lessons come from the teachers that have experienced something through and through. Not only that, but we can never reach a higher strength of relationship with God if he never made us fall back to realize what we did wrong, or simply to test our faith, and by that way, securing it in him.

Answer 6

Yes I read a book on the "Dark night of the soul".................

They say that when you suffer and in your darkness of pain and despair you will reach higher states of consciousness I believe this to be true my soul in the past three years has reached great levels...............

and I think to when you truly love another with a pure heart and nothing to gain...........but compassion and love for anothers well being....................
it can bring you closer to God as well...................

Answer 7

I have heard a saying, man learns from two way. Self experience or others' experiences. Inteligent one learns from the experience of others , whereas dull and stupids learn from exeperience of self.

The suffering makes One's consciouness sharp and enables one to learn more about consciousness. as far as happiness is concerned, it depends upon persons whether he has attachement with Objects, which ultimately becomes a misery for him, or just enjoys it for the moment and yet remains on the Peaks of consciousness.
Dark Night of soul remains till the Sun shine of consciuosness is seen within.

Answer 8

Catholicism

You will find all the information you require below, but let me try and cut to the quick, assuming you believe in God you may find yourself questioning yourself and the path you are taking to reach God, or as non-Christians may view it a higher plane of enlightenment and peace with the Universe. Suddenly the conventional ways of expressing yourself in your religion no longer suffice and you reach that dark night of the sould where the light of God seems all but invisible and you either find the love within to reconnect with your God or your religion or you do not.

As for happiness;

Of course you can be happy. You don't even have to have this type of crisis in your life. For some , the path to God is straight and simple and prayers and dogma alone can see them through their life. This is for the person who questions such dogma, who questions is there more, is this correct, am I getting there or not, is this really God. That is when the darkness sets in and you either find that you are the light and the way to God or you do not.

I don't mean to draw on other things but it is find a higher love, becoming love, and using that love to reach what is a source of pure love. It is a cathartic experience.

Do you need it?

Not necessarily, but for clergy and deep thinkers, it is possible that their happiness may be threatened if they can not identify with so large a portion of who they are as who they believe in.

As I find myself in yet another duldrum over the loss of yet another person I grew up calling a teacher, a friend, a relative, I can tell you it is easy to fall into this darkness and never come out. I am spending a lot of time trying to keep a person from not doing that, but luckily, her heart is pure and her faith strong and her love unwavering. Her happiness is there just beneath the surface if only I can touch it now and then and help her to remember who she is and how far she has come in her life to date.

I hope this helped. You asked for something from the heart. I gave you what little heart I have left. I hope it was enough.

Now you can read the poem and the explanation that goes with the poem that you are referring to in your question.

If you have more you want to know just ask....

After thought:

You left this question in religion so I answered it that way.

If all you want to know is if you have to suffer to mature, the answer is no.

Not all change has to be difficult.

It depends on how strongly you hold on to your beliefs as to how willing you will be to change.

Maturity is about learning from our experiences and our education. "The Dark Night of the Soul" is a reflective of a belief so engrained in who we are that it shakes the very core of our being. When you find yourself threatening such a construction in who you are you will most likely suffer, but on the other end of the ordeal; you will grow as a person, or so you will tell yourself.

I add this thought because I hear the echos of my immaturity screaming out at me like a small child wishing not to be forgotten. A higher state of consciousness may just be a load of garbage, a lie we tell our selves, like maturity to make us feel better about who we are and how much we have "grown".

In my younger days I would have known that this is a load of garbage and that we are who we are from the day we are born to the day we die, and people either accept us for who we are or they don't.

It is sad when we start questioning ourselves to the point that we begin to doubt that we are good, or happy, or intelligent. That is what we have to do to get along with others, but; it should not be what we have to do to get along with ourselves. It just shouldn't.

Wanting to give you the best answer I can, I have to tell you that if you look deep inside you and you see happy then you will be happy and perhaps that is the highest state of consciousness.

Happiness can be an illusion for some or a state of being for others. Be happy if that is who you are, and tell the rest of us to do the same. People may think you are simple minded, but; that is just them no being happy.

I forget this truth from time to time because I am exposed to so much sorrow and angst, but; to remember my greatest teacher, you just have to be yourself and that is enough.

Be happy.

And for whoever gave me the thumb down, do the same. Be happy.

Answer 9

If you and I try to go there I think we will meet others who don't have to do anything. To be victorious over demonic powers, you can only do it with the Blood of Jesus. EDIT--sorry but I misread the first part of your question, I read intelligence instead of conscious.

Answer 10

if you want to find out about painting: go to an art gallery (or an artist's studio if you can).

if you want to find out about france: go to paris (lille or clermont ferrand is even better).

if you want to learn about planets: look at the sky.

suffering will teach you about suffering. despair will teach you about despair.

it is nice to think that some good must come out of suffering.

but adults deal with the truth, not reassuring fantasies.