What is the message we might be missing when we try to get rid of our physical or emotional pain?
When we feel pain whether it is physical or emotional, our first impulse is to get relief. When we are feeling emotional pain we tend to medicate with drugs, alcohol, shopping, fixing others, complaining or a multitude of other ways to get relief. When we have physical pain we try to move away from it through medication, massage, or other alternative resources. We have a hard time being with pain, we are in a big hurry to get rid of it.
We forget that pain whether emotional or physical is a way of letting us know something needs attention. When something triggers us emotionally we know that this is an opportunity for us to look at ourselves in a deeper way and change limiting beliefs. When it is a physical pain it could be something as simple as a headache telling us that we haven’t eaten or something more major that is letting us know of an emotional issue that hasn’t been dealt with. In both situations if we pay attention we will know what to do to heal ourselves.
I remember quite a few years ago when I had a neck issue and was really working hard to get rid of it through aspirin, heat, chiropractic care, etc. When I was talking to one of my teachers, she asked me if I was willing to explore the pain. What this meant was to not try to get rid of it and just be with it. So what I did was I leaned my head into the pain and when I did that I remember so many emotions coming up. I continued to just be with it and cry. I believe that I was releasing old trauma and exhausting karma. This lasted about an hour and after leaning into and being with the pain, I noticed that there was huge relief.
It’s important to pay attention to wherever the pain is so that we can grow and evolve through it, not get stuck in it. I teach the importance of being with our emotional and physical pain in my personal retreats.
