There is something interesting about pain. Of course it’s not that interesting if the pain is yours but I’ve been on both sides of the pain window. I am an avid athlete who has been exposed to the glory of competition and the suffering associated with overuse, over doing it or just plain injuring myself in an attempt to go past my limits. Sound familiar? Well here’s what fascinates me and I want to share it with you.
It seems that you never notice pain in your present moment. What you do notice is a memory of it or an expectation of it in the future. Sure you might say “this hurts right now and I can tell you exactly where it is, how it feels and how it makes me feel.” But by the time you are reflecting on your misery that moment has passed and all you have is an attachment to the memory of the pain or the memory of how it made you feel. Or are there other times that you have been anxious about how the pain will affect you in your future? Maybe you wonder if you will still have it in the morning or maybe you wonder if you will be able to do what you really want and need to do if that pain is still there later. In either case the pain that you experience has little to do with now and everything to do with your past or your future.
Keep in mind that your past or your future may be immediate or pretty far away from right now. But I’m convinced that pain does not exist in your present. The trick to dealing with pain, especially chronic pain is to find a place in your mind that exists only for a moment and stay present in that moment. Let me give you an idea of how that works.
Have you ever had a pain, maybe an excruciating pain, maybe just an annoyance? Now as you remember that pain let me ask you a question. If you experienced a huge emotional event would you notice the pain in that moment? If for instance, you noticed a child in danger of being hit by a car, would you at that moment notice your pain? How about when you see a tree falling toward your brand new car, do you notice your pain? When you are absorbed by a beautiful sunset, so stunning that it takes your breath away, do you notice your pain at that very moment? Pain doesn’t exist in your present moment. It exists only in your past or your future. So the trick to dealing with pain is to absorb yourself in your present moment. In fact this is the key to living a conscious life. I am not saying that this is easy, it’s not. It takes laser focus, all out effort and the ability to detach from the part of your mind that seems to default to past and future instead of now. So are you ready to take a leap into the now? It really is the best place to be for so many reasons. ***If you would like some strategies for pain management please feel free to contact our office by phone 530-583-7475 or email office@balancedoctor.com . Our professional staff will be happy to be of help. Phone calls and emails are always free.
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