Pain Can Set You Free
Throughout the past seven months, I have been trying to learn how to deal with chronic pain. I can personally tell you that pain can be used as a doorway to the Truth. The subtle observation of pain, and the realization that pain itself is a manifestation of the conscious energy that creates everything, can be a way to transcend the pain itself. To view pain as a ball of energy, as a constricted form of the conscious energy that exists in everything, and to go inside the ball of energy and then let it dissolve into the bliss and joy of the Heart is the way to freedom when experiencing chronic pain. This may not make sense to those of you who have not or do not experience chronic pain; however, pain can be a doorway into caitanya, into the freedom of the blemish free soul: into our true being.
In other words, pain, too, just like everything else that exists, is a manifestation of energy. What I'm saying is don't be afraid of the pain. Don't run from the pain. If you are in pain (whether physical or mental) just be with the pain. Label it as a manifestation of energy. Watch this 'ball of energy' that is pain, and let it dissolve. It will dissolve back into the pure energy that it came from.
How to do this? Let's say you are in mental anguish because you are angry at yourself or someone else. Don't think about what triggered you to be angry. In other words, forget about who or what made you angry. Just sit with the feelings and the emotions that you are experiencing. Recognize in what part of the body you feel the energy most significantly. Just sit with the feeling. Then, take an in breath and breathe into the energy. Breathe into your feelings of anger. You will witness the feeling dissolving.
So much of the time, we, as humans, feel it is not 'okay' to be angry. We think it makes us less human, or less worthy of being loved if we are angry. But, I have found that the key is not to push away the anger, as this only suppresses the feelings of anger--they eventually have to come out somehow, maybe in the form of a disease or illness, or in the form of frantic, uncontrollable rage. We must accept that feeling angry is okay, because it is a natural human emotion. Contrary to popular belief, emotions are not good or bad, they just are.
If we could just embrace the fact that we are angry, and sit with our feelings--forgetting about the trigger--but just sit and acknowledge our feelings, then we will find that they will dissolve back into the pure energy whence they came from. Just like a violent wave that crashes upon the shore dissolves back into the ocean, so too will your feelings of anger return back into their source, which, of course, is pure bliss. The bliss of the Heart.
All emotions are cyclical. No emotions last forever. To be truly alive, we must not cling to them. We must witness them, acknowledge them, and let them flow back to the source.
Is it possible to stop a wave from crashing onto the shore? Is it truly possible to deny ourselves the feelings of anger?
No. To be alive means to have emotions and feelings. To be truthful to our own being, we must experience our emotions. We must 'go with the flow'. To go with the flow, we mustn't cling to the river bank, we must trust our experience of life, and experience everything fully.
If we view physical pain in this way, we can experience it as a manifestation of the loving energy that has created all. Physical pain is at times excruciating, yet it can take us to our Truth. It can make us realize that our physical bodies are not going to last forever. I know that my physical pain has brought me closer to God/the Truth than I could have ever imagined. I am not afraid of death, I am afraid that I will not be able to live! That is a great place to be! Rather than thinking about what I CAN'T do, because of my physical limitations, I am taking inventory of what I CAN do! I have been given the opportunity to look at my life and to think about what really matters to me. This is a blessing!
It's time to live! Right now!
I offer you this: Go within, right now! Don't wait for tomorrow! The time to live is right now.
Whatever you are feeling right now, FEEL IT! Don't push it away. Don't suppress it. Feel it, so that you may be free. Be true to the moment. Whatever you are feeling in this moment-- Feel it. And let it go.
Years ago, I asked my beloved teacher Sally Kempton how to deal with a particularly strong emotion I was dealing with. She said, "Experience it, and then let it go."
I will forever cherish these words. They are a jewel in my crown. They are so true. And now, two or three years after she said them to me, I am understanding their beauty in action.
May your life be lived to the fullest. May you accept everything that you are experiencing so that you may be free. May you experience your emotions and feelings as pulsations of energy that come and go: everything comes and goes, except for the Supreme Bliss of the Heart.
"The Heart is the hub of all places. Go there and roam" --Bhagawan Nityananda.
Blessings,
Bhakti
tags: jaibhakti, chronic pain, Sally Kempton, Bhagawan Nityananda
In other words, pain, too, just like everything else that exists, is a manifestation of energy. What I'm saying is don't be afraid of the pain. Don't run from the pain. If you are in pain (whether physical or mental) just be with the pain. Label it as a manifestation of energy. Watch this 'ball of energy' that is pain, and let it dissolve. It will dissolve back into the pure energy that it came from.
How to do this? Let's say you are in mental anguish because you are angry at yourself or someone else. Don't think about what triggered you to be angry. In other words, forget about who or what made you angry. Just sit with the feelings and the emotions that you are experiencing. Recognize in what part of the body you feel the energy most significantly. Just sit with the feeling. Then, take an in breath and breathe into the energy. Breathe into your feelings of anger. You will witness the feeling dissolving.
So much of the time, we, as humans, feel it is not 'okay' to be angry. We think it makes us less human, or less worthy of being loved if we are angry. But, I have found that the key is not to push away the anger, as this only suppresses the feelings of anger--they eventually have to come out somehow, maybe in the form of a disease or illness, or in the form of frantic, uncontrollable rage. We must accept that feeling angry is okay, because it is a natural human emotion. Contrary to popular belief, emotions are not good or bad, they just are.
If we could just embrace the fact that we are angry, and sit with our feelings--forgetting about the trigger--but just sit and acknowledge our feelings, then we will find that they will dissolve back into the pure energy whence they came from. Just like a violent wave that crashes upon the shore dissolves back into the ocean, so too will your feelings of anger return back into their source, which, of course, is pure bliss. The bliss of the Heart.
All emotions are cyclical. No emotions last forever. To be truly alive, we must not cling to them. We must witness them, acknowledge them, and let them flow back to the source.
Is it possible to stop a wave from crashing onto the shore? Is it truly possible to deny ourselves the feelings of anger?
No. To be alive means to have emotions and feelings. To be truthful to our own being, we must experience our emotions. We must 'go with the flow'. To go with the flow, we mustn't cling to the river bank, we must trust our experience of life, and experience everything fully.
If we view physical pain in this way, we can experience it as a manifestation of the loving energy that has created all. Physical pain is at times excruciating, yet it can take us to our Truth. It can make us realize that our physical bodies are not going to last forever. I know that my physical pain has brought me closer to God/the Truth than I could have ever imagined. I am not afraid of death, I am afraid that I will not be able to live! That is a great place to be! Rather than thinking about what I CAN'T do, because of my physical limitations, I am taking inventory of what I CAN do! I have been given the opportunity to look at my life and to think about what really matters to me. This is a blessing!
It's time to live! Right now!
I offer you this: Go within, right now! Don't wait for tomorrow! The time to live is right now.
Whatever you are feeling right now, FEEL IT! Don't push it away. Don't suppress it. Feel it, so that you may be free. Be true to the moment. Whatever you are feeling in this moment-- Feel it. And let it go.
Years ago, I asked my beloved teacher Sally Kempton how to deal with a particularly strong emotion I was dealing with. She said, "Experience it, and then let it go."
I will forever cherish these words. They are a jewel in my crown. They are so true. And now, two or three years after she said them to me, I am understanding their beauty in action.
May your life be lived to the fullest. May you accept everything that you are experiencing so that you may be free. May you experience your emotions and feelings as pulsations of energy that come and go: everything comes and goes, except for the Supreme Bliss of the Heart.
"The Heart is the hub of all places. Go there and roam" --Bhagawan Nityananda.
Blessings,
Bhakti
tags: jaibhakti, chronic pain, Sally Kempton, Bhagawan Nityananda
Labels: Atman, Bhakti Brophy, Dharana Technique, Jai Bhakti, jaibhakti, living with chronic pain, living with spinal injuries, meditation, Pain can set you free (©2005 Brophy), Raja Yoga
posted by Unknown at 1:13 PM
27 Comments:
Bhakti, this post is a blessing.
Did you post this just for me? ;)
My son has been having trouble dealing with his emotions lately. He gets so frustrated with his learning disabilities! I'm printing this out for him. Thank you!
KENJU: Yes, it is. I wasn't planning on writing a post; I opened up Blogger with the intention of posting another picture of Kitty! Then, these words started rolling off my tongue, so to speak, and here they are. So, indeed, they are a blessing! ;)
TSHSMOM: I hope that your son gets some relief in reading this post. Please remind him that it is his resistance to his learning abilities that is causing the emotional pain. Suffering is caused by resistance to pain. Tell him that it is TOTALLY okay to be upset about his learning disabilities, but to accept them and to do the best that he can to overcome them. And, of course, remind him everyday that he is PERFECT just the way he is. ;)
Love to you and your son.
bhakti said: Contrary to popular belief, emotions are not good or bad, they just are.
YES. It is all part of the deal. I love this! I don't know if you saw my last post, but I was experiencing an overwhelmingly peaceful moment and started to reflect on what got me there. I know I ran the risk of ruining the moment, but I just had to know. The answer: perception - and a lot of other introspection, but the fact is that even with the same distractions the world has always had, today ir's different.
Just thought I'd share that.
May peace be with you my friend,
~Mike
Hey, that's surely some good advice!
I like your picture of Flatcatter too; kind of Wizard of Oz-ish.
Now, if I only had a heart!
As Benjamin Franklin said, “Those things that hurt, instruct.” It is for this reason that wise people learn not to dread but actually to welcome problems and actually to welcome the pain of problems.
We must 'go with the flow'. To go with the flow,we mustn't cling to the river bank........
i agree with you Bhakti
Mr.A.: I didn not get a chance to read your article yet, but I will!
Most of the time, happiness has to be cultivated. My teacher, Gurumayi, says (paraphrasing) that sometimes people just wait around for happiness to come--like it's a given.
Truly, happiness has to be cultivated, just like anything. It takes effort to find the peace and love within. And the more we make this effort, the easier it becomes.
Thank God! :)
FLATLANDER: Yes, you look good as a cat. Unfortunately for Flatcatter, I have awarded an actual cat to be the March CAT OF THE MONTH, but I will keep your likeness up there for a day or two.
;)
I think you have a very big heart!
PASSERBY55: You are very wise. Thank you for your inspired comments. :)
I was very touched and emotionalized by your posting Bhakti.
An' I also hafta say that I is in agreement with most everythin' that Passerby55 jus' said. In fact, that's probably why so many peoples voted fer me in my past two elections. They was welcomin' me an' the instructional opportunities I afford.
There's definitely some Taoist undertones.
GYROBO: Since you mentioned the Tao, I decided to open the Tao te Ching and read whatever page I opened to. Not surprisingly, the passage I read is very relevent to my current post:
51--
Every being in the universe
is an expression of the Tao.
It springs into existence,
unconscious, perfect, free,
takes on a physical body,
lets circumstances complete it.
That is why every being
spontaneously honors the Tao.
The Tao gives birth to all beings,
nourishes them, maintains them,
cares for them, comforts them, protects them,
takes them back to itself,
creating without possessing,
acting without expecting,
guiding without interfering.
That is why love of Tao
is in the very nature of things.
Although I was not thinking of the Tao te Ching when I wrote the post, the post is very clearly a culmination of what I have learned in my 37 years of existence. I studied the Tao extensively about 12 years ago. The study of the Lao-Tzu's work was an integral part of my spiritual journey. And, as you can see from my post, it most certainly must be ingrained into my being.
Having said that, I must add that all great beings and teachings teach the same thing as the Tao, except use different words to represent the same thing. The 'Tao' that Lao-Tzu speaks of is the same Caitanya that the Veda's speak of, and the same Truth that Jesus spoke of.
It's all the same. All of the great teachings and the great mystics and sages tell us that the fundamental energy that created everything is right inside us. Many people spend their lives searching for the Truth outside themselves, when actually, we hold the key.
Thank you, Gyrobo, for mentioning the Tao. I am going to enjoy diving back into Lao-Tzu's precious words of wisdom. The Tao te Ching is a mystical treat that reveals itself more and more upon each reading.
Much love, my little metal guy,
Bhakti
A few moments ago I was sitting here thinking if I do not control my feelings my BP will no doubt kill me. I think perhaps you are an angel Bhakti...
MILADYSA: I am but a mere reflection of you. :)
beautiful thoughts Bhakti :)
You and me both Sa!
Isn't this amazing? You and I are having problems helping our sons in different ways, and Bhakti has the PERFECT post for both of us.
There are no accidents!
GRASSHOPPERBOY: Thank you, my beloved Grasshopper.
TSHSMOM: I feel like the people who visit this blog are my angels. We are definitely reflections of each others' goodness. :)
Pain is an illusion. The only thing that's real is the magic. You must adhere yourself into the cosmic pattern you've carved out for yourself. It's very hard to find, unless you have a thorough understanding of string theory.
That's the secret to magic.
Dearest Bhakti, I cannot tell you how happy I am to read this honest post. Enlightenment comes after much karmic cleansing.
I have had interesting experiences, which have forced me to wonder about the following:
Some of us have the power to see and also the power to express, but our words either go unnoticed or grossly misunderstood.
And yet, there is a gnawing force that pushes us to express and share what we see.
It does get frustrating sometimes, because the people we address seem to have some kind of predefined defence mechanism in place that acts up when they see/hear a new idea that challenges their old notions. They seem to simply not want to learn.
Sometimes we are scoffed at, and sometimes shrugged off with indifference. And yet, this force encourages us to share.
Wonder why!
I am so thankful I found your post on pain tonight. I suffer from chronic pain and what you said makes so much sense...I can't run from it, I have to feel it not fear it. You are very wise. Thanks!
like the way you link pain and emotions and offer suggestions for dealing with them. nice post
hEY BHAKTHI ,
I have a gr8 news for u , that i know will make u the Happiest 30 year ol lady , ( atleast for a day ).
My friend has purchased a DOMAIN
www.KittyWar.co.uk and what do u know .
We are gonna make it a KITTY gallery . AND I KNOW u r the GIRL , who are gonna help us , with u r CUTEST , catty pictures . SURE i would give u a lotta "CREDIT" along with free advertisements , to u r blog . SO WHAT DO U SAY ? "i dont expect NO from u "
So , common lady . post me a positive result. i would give u a seperate gallery , along with holds on other categories , like petcare , food , etc...if u would like .
Iam counting on u .
BYE
(now u know , why i didnt come by this side , a long time .... i wanna help this Hindu loving LADY )
:D
PRADEEP K: Thank you for your insightful comment.
The only thing I can tell you is what I told TSHSMOM in the third comment (see above): I didn't plan on writing the post--it pretty much wrote itself. I don't think 'we' actually have the desire to speak of such things; I think the Truth compels us to share it with others.
Much love, Bhakti
BAR BAR A: I hope that you found this post to be helpful in dealing with your pain. You can breath into the acute pain that you are feeling, and then disperse the energy of the pain. I'm not saying that the pain won't stay away forever, mine doesn't. What I'm offering people is a way to be relieved of the pain for awhile (however often they choose to do the exercise) and to have a greater understanding of pain.
Good luck!! And I, too, am glad that you found the post last night! :)
SAGE: Thank you. ;)
BOOTCAT: "YES" I will help you. Just tell me what you need from me. I keep the © on my photos, of course, but you may use them at your leisure (within reason). :)
""I am not afraid of death, I am afraid that I will not be able to live!""
Waoh...What a great attitude to be with.
Loved your post.
Oh my gosh. I have to meet Sally Kempton. She's self-actualized. Those are powerful words.
Bhakti, I'm listening to Nightwish doing Howard Blake's Walking in the Air. It's so pretty. I don't know if you liked Nightwish or not, but that was my favorite album of the 2000s.
Loving the CD you made me. Thanks so much. :)
My 58 year spiritual journey has taken me but an inch toward the ifinite, but what beauty in my humility. I stumbled accross your site looking for the lyrics to Yaganandajis' " No Birth No Death" song and instead found the words .."misfortune teaches us the truth" from the film Ikiru. This after just reading (again by chance syncronicty) the Zen passage "Dissapointment is the chariot to enlightment" Bless you and all who seek a higher self , a higher Truth. A Karmayogi
Bhakti,
I am going thru the same pain at a smaller age. I need to practice your techniques.
http://dharma.indviews.com
Emotion is what we experience during gaps in our thinking.
I think not; the Self is what you find in the gaps between thoughts.
If you are able to 'feel' or 'sense' the emotions that you speak of, then you are still in the 'thinking' mode.
(I better not post anything else today...I can see I am in the 'take no prisoners' mode that I loathe myself to be in--simply because it is the place of the ego.)
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