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The experience I am going through now I call the Zen of Being Sick.

Over the weekend I became sick. I lost my voice. I probably have bronchitis. I have a fever, chills, no energy for work and too much discomfort for sleep. And the end result is feeling miserable.

And yet, it serves a purpose.

Illnesses and the suffering they bring are opportunities. Most people don’t realize that while they are going through them, but some, after it has passed, do. I’ve even heard of cancer patients (from the director of a cancer institute) wishing they had the disease years earlier because the experience was so transforming.

When feeling sick and weak, a lot of the limiting patterns of life are broken. Things that formerly seemed so all-important are pushed to the bottom of the list. What was formerly unimportant take on a new priority. The claims of the spirit prevail over the claims of the ego-mind.

Until something like an illness breaks the patterns, life becomes so habituated with deadlines and money and excitement-seeking that we forget about the subtle things of life that give it the deepest meaning and flavor.

A supposedly higher lifestyle is supposed to lead to greater happiness but more often than not, it focusses energy on meeting the financial demands of the higher lifestyle. The great disciple of Meher Baba, Bhau Kalchuri, calls it “Bill Meditation.” It’s all the game of the ego asserting its separateness from others, trying to stand out, to be noticed, to be congratulated. We make progress only if we are able to progress from bill meditation to something that nourishes the soul.

What is real meditation? Meditating on what is real. Eternal values — love, truth, beauty, knowledge, oneness, understanding, ethics and aestetics. It’s also meditating on Masters who embodied those values in everyday life — great souls like Ramakrishna, Ramana Maharshi, Meher Baba, St. Francis, Rumi, and Hafiz.

But being laid up in bed invites new interests. They float to the top as the old encrusted habits, like ice of ages past, melts away. Habit patterns that were part of the old identity are weakened. A lot of the attachments begin to fall away. The mind slows down and perception of true and lasting values becomes clearer.

It’s like the world’s economic health. It brings a lot of suffering and hardship. But in the long run, the world will be better for having gone through it. Corporate greed is being addressed. Huge bonuses for executives of failing companies are being addressed. The darkest shadows of corporate excess are coming to light. When the light of consciousness turns on, the darkness of unconsciousness vanishes.

But back to physical health and illness. Great suffering brings with it great spiritual insights. People who are suffering from illnesses and accidents begin to see the transitoriness of life. Little things like a flower blossom or a smile from a child touch the heart. And sometimes happiness comes for no external reason at all. That is when you know from experience (and not from a book) that true and lasting happiness comes from within. That is mysticism in its beginning stage.

Mysticism? Yes mysticism. Suffering seems to launch a lot of people into mysticism. I know it did for me over 33 years ago. And when a person becomes mystically inclined, it is a new way of life that will never be given up. It is a clear perception of reality. It comes with the knowledge of what is illusory and what is real. It differentiates between the Real Self and the False Self.

A mystic would never consider stealing the money from someone to pursue their own selfish desires. That’s because a mystic knows that the inner joy he has come to know increases when he is able to share that joy with others, by touching the hearts of others.

To be the cause of suffering of others is only inviting more suffering on himself. Why? Because we are here to learn — we are spiritual beings striving towards spiritual freedom. And to learn the lesson the lesson of suffering, he too will suffer from the hand of another. Then he will understand. Without the lesson there is no learning.

We live in a world of oneness. We all have effects on each other, even when we don’t see it. Just the elevated spiritual vibration of someone walking into a room has an impact on everyone else in the room, without a word being spoken. It’s just like adding hot water to a tub of water that has already started to cool. All of the water is affected. Not some drops, but the whole.

Don’t curse your illnesses. They have a purpose. If you are really fortunate, they will unveil to you the highest purpose of life — to discover the Infinitude of who you really are.

Remember that the next time you have your head in the toilet heaving up a $100 meal from a restaurant that made you feel so chic and high-class. It’s amazing what opportunities life can present.