Anyone living with chronic pain, or supporting a loved one who does, knows how it can take over a person’s life, putting them into a state of total despair. In this dialogue, John describes how one can not only cope with such pain, but actually thrive in the midst of it.
John gives a surprising response to this young man’s wish to be free of his addictions. Don’t stop! But he leaves the questioner with the key to his heart, and the freedom he’s looking for.
A painful physical experience has woken this man up to his body and the power of love in healing. He’s shocked to see how he’s neglected his body and wants to change, but how? John encourages him to let his feelings of guilt create a love-relationship with his body starting with the simple enjoyment of being in it “in the little things”.
“I’m haunted by my abusive past. How can I let it go?” John shows us how our beliefs are embodied in our nervous system, creating experience we make our reality. He shows how real healing doesn’t come from understanding but from something much simpler: unconditional openness and softness of heart.
The questioner in this dialogue has been experiencing heartache and loneliness. John speaks about the reasons for and purpose of heartache, revealing the opportunity for awakening that’s in it. The heartache is there to bring you to what your whole life is for; you ache in your heart until it opens.
“My sole purpose is to be, in life, what we are after we’ve died. Through openness and softness of heart and core-splitting honesty at any personal cost, I live as that while actualizing the same in others I meet. I am available as a resource for anyone who recognizes and values this way of being.”
– John de Ruiter
