Oneness Conference USA.

The intention for the Oneness Conference USA was to learn the "Art of Suffering". As many people claimed, "they suffer all the time", Sri Anandagiriji said, "if you have actually learned the Art of Suffering, then you will have no more fear of suffering in the future."

There are 3 acts of avoidance to watch for when you begin suffering:
1. our tendency to blame ourselves or someone else for our suffering
2. reasoning...."figuring" out why this or that is happening, how it could have been avoided, using the mind to figure out why, "why is God doing this to me, what am I suppose to learn from this?"
3. distraction. we then distract ourselves with a book, a movie, tv, shopping, drinking, eating, doing drugs, talking on the phone etc.

Anandagiriji says that if we just stay with the suffering and not try to avoid what is happening, then the suffering will eventually turn to joy. It is the natural law for this to happen and the only way for us to believe that suffering will turn to joy is through our own experience. So try it!