Hello.
And welcome.
I thought today I'd like to talk about pain.
It could be pain that you're having or someone that you're close to is experiencing pain or you may have experienced pain or just be interested in the subject.
So whether your pain is recent,
Or it's been with you for many years,
I hope just talking here for a few minutes offers a little understanding and perhaps a little relief if you are experiencing pain.
Pain is one of the most powerful experiences we can have.
Because it has the ability to capture our attention completely.
It can arrive suddenly,
Like a boat from nowhere,
Or gradually settle into our lives until it becomes an almost constant companion.
Acute pain and chronic pain may feel very different.
And you kind of can be experiencing both at the same time.
Yet both can affect every part of our lives.
And pain doesn't simply exist in the body.
It can influence our thoughts,
Our emotions,
Our sleep.
Our relationships,
Our confidence and even our sense of who we are.
When pain becomes persistent,
It can feel relentless.
It demands attention.
It asks us to stop,
Even when we desperately want to carry on.
Sometimes it leaves us feeling frightened or exhausted,
Frustrated or isolated.
If this is where you find yourself today,
Know that your experience is real.
Pain is real.
Your suffering is real.
And you deserve kindness,
Both from others and from yourself.
Many people know emotional freedom technique or tapping,
EFT tapping.
As a way of calming the nervous system.
And it's something that I practice myself all the time.
And for many situations tapping can be wonderfully supportive.
But there are times when pain itself makes tapping uncomfortable.
Or even impossible.
And the simple act of touching the skin may feel too much.
If you've experienced this,
You haven't failed.
Your body is simply telling you what it can tolerate right now.
And one gentle alternative to that is imaginal tapping.
Rather than physically tapping the acupuncture points,
You can simply imagine yourself tapping them.
You visualize yourself moving from point to point,
Perhaps from the eyebrow point,
Imagining that,
The side of the eye,
Underneath the eye.
Underneath your nose,
Underneath your chin,
On your chest,
Underneath your arms.
And then perhaps.
Imagining you resting your hands on your chest and taking a deep breath in and a deep breath out.
So you can visualize yourself moving from point to point,
From tapping point to tapping point.
And perhaps sensing the rhythm of doing that in your mind's eye.
Our brains often respond remarkably well to that imagery.
Sometimes this nervous system doesn't need physical movement,
It simply needs the intention.
And that is what you would be doing with this imaginal tapping.
Another approach,
And one I often find particularly helpful,
When pain is intense.
Is to begin with the breath.
Not changing the breath,
Not forcing it,
Simply becoming aware of it.
Allowing it to become a little slower,
A little softer,
A little more settled.
Allowing yourself as much as you can to be in a settled place,
A quiet place and allowing your breathing to settle down.
Breathing in,
And breathing out.
So practices such as heart math gently encourage us to breathe through the area of the heart while intentionally cultivating feelings such as appreciation,
Compassion or care.
Especially appreciation,
Compassion and care for ourselves.
And this isn't about pretending everything is fine,
It's about offering the nervous system,
The autonomic nervous system,
A different message.
A message that in this moment there is enough safety for it to begin to soften.
When our nervous system moves out of survival mode,
Even slightly,
Our experience of pain can begin to change.
The pain itself may or may not disappear immediately.
But our relationship with it can shift.
The struggle softens,
The resistance eases,
And in that quieter space something else becomes possible.
Curiosity.
Instead of asking.
How do I get rid of this pain?
We might gently ask.
What is my body trying to tell me?
Or perhaps.
What does this pen need me to know?
This isn't because every pain has an obvious This isn't because every pain has an obvious emotional cause.
Many painful conditions have clear physical causes and we should always look for appropriate medical care.
That's always important.
Yet our bodies are constantly always communicating with us.
Pain may be asking for rest,
For gentleness.
For slower living,
For support.
For grief to be acknowledged,
For boundaries to be strengthened.
Or it may simply be asking us to listen.
Without immediately needing an answer.
Sometimes the meaning isn't clear.
Sometimes it only becomes apparent months or years later.
Sometimes we never fully understand it.
And that's okay.
The invitation isn't to solve the mystery,
It's to stay in relationship with ourselves while the mystery unfolds.
So today,
Perhaps you might offer yourself one small act of compassion.
A slower breath.
A gentle hand over your heart.
Imaginal tapping if physical tapping feels too much.
You don't even have to say anything to yourself as you do this imaginal tapping.
You can just tap through the points and not say anything and your body will welcome that.
Or you could simply sit quietly with your body and say,
I'm listening.
You don't have to force healing.
You don't have to battle your body.
Sometimes healing begins not when we stop the pain,
But when we stop fighting ourselves.
Thank you for spending these few minutes with me.
Now you finish this little session,
Knowing.
That whatever your experience of pain today,
You are leaving.
That you know that you are more than your symptoms.
Your body is worthy of compassion.
And your story matters.
And even in difficult moments.
There can be small spaces of calm.
Understanding and hope.
And you might just begin to find.
But small.
Understanding and hope.
Thank you for listening with me.
