The truth hurts…but is that what is actually causing the pain?
It is sometimes said that the truth hurts.
The truth hurts is not what is actually hurting in my experience. Often there is a pain that comes with a truthful realization, but the hurt isn’t from the truth. The pain is from the shattering of our illusions in the mind. There is literally an energetic field of energy that breaks up when an illusion breaks. Sometimes this happens quickly. Other times the uncomfortable emotion may linger for a while as the emotional energy invested in the illusion dissipates. This process affects our emotional body and it can feel uncomfortable, even painful.
“The truth hurts” or is it just uncomfortable?
Without illusions there is no discomfort to the truth. Then the truth isn’t the source of the discomfort. There is only hurt when there is a false belief (illusion) that reacts to the truth. Consider the emotions we feel when we find out someone is not who we thought they were. Our image of them in our mind breaks and the emotions we attached to that image empty from our mind.
Another source of pain can be from a judgement that we have in reaction to our realization. When we realize that we believe in something that isn’t true the judge part of our mind can criticize us for ‘being so stupid’. Accepting or believing this critical self rejection is also painful. Consider the internal dialogue of ‘How could I be so stupid to believe that about him/her.’ Again the truthful realization that we believe a lie isn’t painful. The reaction to this realization can be though.
Does the truth hurt just because we are finally aware?
Awareness of the Truth is a disruptive force to our illusions. Awareness allows us to see where we believe things that are not true. It is the means by which we break free of painful illusions. The images and illusions in our mind don’t all break right away. Sometimes the illusion and emotion take a little while to dissipate. It is a small temporary discomfort when compared to the consequences of living in emotional reactions from illusions for years without end.
Cultivating awareness leads to greater happiness simply because there are fewer illusions and lies to react to.
Gary