"Living Well Beside the Pain"

 

A mantra crystal is a seven syllable phrase, usually beginning with a gerund (an "ing" word). The concept was crafted by Ira Progoff, and forms an exercise in Progoff's Intensive Journal. Mantra crystals are repeated silently to help focus one's attention on particular concerns, especially concerns of a spiritual or psychological nature. They work best when they arise from one's own deep resources, though there is no harm in sharing them. After working in the Journal for several years, one can accumulate a variety of mantra crystals.

I would like to share with you the mantra crystal that came to me, "Living Well Beside the Pain,"  when I was dumped by a man I loved. Meditating upon this mantra crystal helped me recover; it also helped me through the grief of losing my father four years later.

What is the meaning of living well beside the pain? Obviously, it means to continue fulfilling one's responsibilities to self and others, and to carry on with life, knowing that the pain carries on right beside you. The pain claws at you, and you are in danger of collapsing into its abyss. You must carry on beside the pain, and in spite of it. Only then will you accept that living with it is a fated part of your individual journey. The pain will then subside.

The practice of this concept is more difficult than contemplating its meaning, but meaning is useless unless it is honored with practice.