Dealing With Chronic Pain

This is a unique opportunity to engage deeply in the journey of conscious evolution. Traditionally, knowledge is shared through a Q&A format, where the disciple sets the direction and pace. Join us to share your questions, insights, and doubts as we grow together on the path to an open heart. Let’s explore the issue of chronic pain, what can we learn from it, and how it can perform as a lever to awakening. Feel free to bring a friend, and together, let’s spark a movement toward collective sanity.

Transcript

We are gathered here today to deal with this issue of chronic pain, Chronic pain. What is chronic pain? Pain is pain that doesn't leave, Right? Like everything chronic, Just stays. And you would like to say something about that? You came with the subject. Me? Last session I had the thought that, You know, That you say pain comes and goes and then I thought about people with chronic pain and how probably it doesn't feel that same way where sometimes it's there and sometimes it's not. Or at least the perception and the context is a bit different. Because there's always pain there, Even though it ebbs and flows in intensity still, Similarly. So I thought maybe we could speak a little bit more in detail about those intense feelings or phenomena that we experience. Trauma might be another one, You know, Where it's something that never fully goes away and just sort of something you're always having to deal with. And then Barbara's asking, So by chronic pain do you mean chronic, Uncomfortable, Unpleasant physical sensations or are we talking about emotional pain too? All of it? Both? Everything? Anything that feels really like you can never be cured of it. Like it's a part of you and never going to go away. It's not something that just is like, You know, You step your toe when that pain leaves or that your body heals completely and you no longer have the physical pain. Or last night we watched a movie where the main character got into a car accident and two of her family members were killed. And so, You know, She started to get an addiction to pills because she was taking them initially for the pain from the accident. But then she ended up in one of the meetings, The Narcotics Anonymous meetings or whatever, To talk about how it got to the point where she couldn't distinguish between the physical pain and the emotional pain. She knew she was avoiding whatever she was feeling, The grief or the guilt or whatever. So sometimes that pain is hard to distinguish whether it's physical or emotional. Are we recording this? Yes. So AJ is saying, Isn't chronic pain yet another physical experience that teaches a deeper lesson? Up to us to learn what the lesson is. So, Yeah, Let's let's address those questions as delicately as we can. Let's come closer. Finally! I didn't know what else I could do to make you come closer. This subject is delicate. Not just because it's painful physically or emotionally. It's also something we build an identity around. And once shaken, It can be very threatening. It can be devastating. So let's try to be as gentle as we can when dealing with this question. So generally speaking, As a law of nature, We said that anything chronic sticks because we reject it. What you resist, Persists. You tag it as bad or as awful or as too much. Slash a traumatic event. And you find ways to avoid experiencing it. One way to avoid experiencing it is keeping it in a controlled environment where you have this illusion that you can deal with that pain as long as you control the level of the flame. You know what I'm saying? You don't want to fully experience the pain. So you contain it in a jar. And you control the potentiometer, The level of how much pain exits this jar at a given time. So this is a way for you to feel that you're in control. This is why people eat their fingernails, For example. Do you know that, Those people? Or maybe it's you eating their fingernails. Why do we do that? Because of stress, Yes. But what's the point behind it? Consciously or unconsciously, We hurt ourselves in a controlled manner. We create pain and we create injury on a small scale, As if this ensures that we won't experience higher levels of pain. I give my 10%, So I won't be having to experience 80%. Do you know what I'm saying? What you resist, Persists. Now we have to differentiate here, You know. We live in a body, And this body is very, Very complex. Extremely complex. It is able to sustain itself and remain healthy most of the time. It's quite remarkable, Think of it. Most of it is happening without us knowing or being aware of whatever is happening inside. It just does it naturally. It's quite amazing if you think about it. It doesn't matter how much junk and emotional garbage we dump in it, It still remains relatively healthy most of the time, Right? Of course, The body has its thresholds like everything else, And if the barrel of junk is overfilled, It will start to create symptoms and get out of balance. So like a car, You know, A car that you don't take care of, Eventually will function. So if you have pain, First remember pain is not a problem. Pain is not a problem. Pain is just a way of your body to ask for some attention. That's it. Don't tag pain as a problem. We talked about it in many circumstances. Pain is just a way of the body to say, Hey, Listen, There's something not quite right in your knee or in your stomach. So instead of swallowing a pill, Hoping the pain will go away, The more intelligent thing to do is to listen and try to see what's going on, What's the problem with my knee or with my digestion system. The closer it is physically to the chakras, The more seriously we should listen to that, Cry for attention. If our belly is in pain, There is some kind of an emotional entanglement that we don't put enough attention on, We're not aware of. So what I'm saying is if there is pain, A, Don't tag it as bad. B, Be aware of it, Be attentive to what your body has to say. And if you cannot figure it out by yourself, Go to somebody that is more trained than you are. It could be a doctor or it could be some kind of an alternative medicine, Some acupuncture or ayurvedic, Homeopathic, Somebody that is able to communicate with your body for you and figure out what is out of harmony, What's going on, And help you to re-harmonize that. So don't be angry at your body for experiencing pain from time to time. And if that pain doesn't go away, Doesn't matter what you do, How you try to treat or heal it, If that pain remains, What to do? Accept it. Accept the pain. The alternative is suffering. Now you're not just in pain, You're also suffering. The difference between these must be very clear. Pain and suffering are not the same thing. Pain and suffering are not the same. How do you call it in English? Two words that have one meaning. Synonymous. Synonymous. Synonymous. Yeah. Something like that. Synonymous. They are not synonymous. Pain is the physical experience we encounter from time to time, Or all the time in case of chronic pain. Suffering is not to do with the pain. It has everything to do with rejecting the pain. Trying to avoid it. Trying to persuade ourselves that we can be happy and content and fulfilled only when the pain goes away. Then we are not free anymore. That's suffering. So you do whatever you need to do to deal with the pain, But you let go. Like every action that you choose to do, You let go of the dependency on a specific result. You let go of that demand. Now I'm doing this, So that will happen. I'm going to the doctor so the pain will go away. No. I'm going to the doctor because that's my way to show my body the intention that he is asking for. But I don't know what should happen because of that visit to the doctor. I don't know. Should the pain go away because I went to the doctor? I don't know. And this is not where I put my attention. Do you see what I'm saying? A successful life is not a life that works according to your plan. A successful life is a life fully lived. And how do you fully live your life? You stop rejecting it. Stop arguing with it. Stop trying to persuade life that you know better what should happen. Let's talk about emotional pain. I'm thinking about, First of all, What leads us to becoming chronically ill or in chronic pain. It's always a version of your body, Physical, Energetical, Emotional body, Disharmonized. There is some sort of stress in the system. Disharmony is created. Why? Because we are arguing with life, Rejecting life, Afraid of life. Somebody is asking, What if we were born with this chronic pain? You might be carrying it from your previous life. I don't know. Or intergenerational. Again, It's not that important. Where it comes from? It's not that important. You can go to a therapist and dig into that history, Into your story. You can go to a psychotherapist. You can go to someone who deals with hypnosis, Help you go down, Find hidden memories from your life, From your previous lives, Find the origin of that knot that closed you and doesn't allow energy to flow harmoniously. Is there a purpose to doing that? However, You can also just embrace that. There is pain. And how to untie these knots? How to untie these knots? Going to the origin point that created that knot is one way. Another way, Which doesn't require you to dig so deep in and get too entangled with your story, Is stop rejecting it. Truly, Honestly, Courageously accept it, Love it. An open heart is the ultimate medicine. When your heart is truly open, You don't need the pain to go away. This is when usually the pain goes away. But then there is no dependency anymore. It's not the motivation anymore. Do you see what I'm saying? If you truly want to burn your karma, How to burn the karma? That's in one sentence, That's it. Make sure your heart is open, Embracing, All embracing. Loving yourself, Loving the present moment, Loving your neighbor as they are, No conditions apply. And if your body is painful, You love a painful body. It's not that you ignore the pain. As I said, Yeah, You treat it, But you let go of the idea that you can only be happy when the pain goes away. You are happy. Why? Because you're alive. Because you have the chance to experience what? To experience this pain, For example. As Carly said in the beginning, Even chronic pain has different levels. Like any situation, Like any phenomenon, It comes and goes, It changes the intensity, Right? Sometimes you don't feel the pain at all for a graceful five minutes. Just observe that. Observe how it comes and goes. Don't judge, Don't reject it. Emotional pain. Is it difficult to feel the difference between emotional pain and physical pain? I mean, Some physical pain is very obvious and you can source it. It's, You know, A finger or, You know, Whatever. But in this movie we watched last night, I was struck by her inability to differentiate at some point in her healing process where the physical pain of the accident ended and where her emotional pain of the grief was. You know, And then she, Because she started out with using the pills for the physical pain, Then she carried on with the pills to help her with the grief, Which became the emotional pain that she was numbing. What's the name of that movie? It's called A Good Person or something like that. It has Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman. Yeah, But we are all too familiar with that, No? We have pain, Whether physically and even more commonly emotional pain. So what do we do with that pain? We avoid it. We run away. We shut it down. Okay, Just a minute. Summer asked, Did you already say whether or not understanding why it is happening is important to resolving it? You didn't really answer my question. What's your question? If it's important to go down that road of finding out where it's coming from. Yes, I did. I did. I said, This is one way to do it. Go down, Dig, Use a professional to help you if you need, And find the source of when that knot was created. Another way to do it is in the present moment, Open your heart, Embrace life. You can tell which one your own prefers. Think about when I say these words, Do you hear yourself believing? No, No, No, This is too simplistic. It can't be that easy. You walk around with trauma, With chronic pain, Whatever. People experience so many difficult situations. They cannot just decide to love life and that's it. It sounds way too simplistic, No? Do you hear that thought in you? Don't believe it. You are entitled to have that thought and not identify with it. You are already free from your story. The story is not the answer to the question of who you are. Letting go of past events as an identity is our inherent nature. It's just you choosing to wake up to that reality, To let go of that story, To let go of that holding on to past events. I'm telling you now, In the present moment, You can choose to open your heart. You can choose to love life, To become a lover of life. Pleasurable and painful, Both. And the rest will take care of itself. And you won't be bothered by that anymore. Things happen in the physical realm, Emotional realm, Energetic realm, So what? You are not a victim of that anymore. AJ said this is one area that the massive energy draw that chronic pain puts on our existence makes the process of letting go a problem. The challenge is finding presence as it draws most of our attention. Remember, What drains us from energy is not the experience. As extreme as it may be, What drains us from energy is a split consciousness. Experiencing one thing but believing it should have been experiencing something else. This is what drains us from energy. This internal constant battle with reality. Pain is not a problem. Pain is not a bad thing that should go away. You have a body. The body is painful sometimes. How do I know? I'm in pain as we speak. It's okay. It's not a problem. Of course you can make yourself miserable and ask for some attention and love, Which I am happy to do, Especially when I'm sick. But don't identify with that too much. It's the game. You know what I'm saying? Can it be that simple? Just keep that option open. Keep it open. What will happen to the interaction I have with life, With my body, With my circumstances, If I choose again and again to keep my heart open and not argue and not try to impose my opinions and ideas? Just embrace life as it happens. What would happen? How would that affect the interaction? Because usually that's not the case at all. Usually we just argue. We run away. We try to dim the experience if it's too painful. That's why people take drugs. Opioids. It's the greatest pandemic in Northern America, Right? People are just not interested in experiencing something that is unpleasant. Not interested. As soon as it appears, We make it disappear with chemicals. And we dim ourselves. Comfortably numb. The problem is that that's not a successful life. A life of avoidance. How do you want to live your life? Ask yourself. Running away from pain? Hiding? Fighting it? Join the crowds. You can choose a different path. It's always open for you. Always. As long as there is a breath in your body. You can choose not to run away anymore. Chad's asking, Is your pain improving? What pain? Musculoskeletal? Emotional? Will you say your physical pain stems from emotions? My current pain has to do with the flu. Is it improving? It's changing. Like life. Sometimes it's worse. Sometimes it's better. But it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. This is not a criteria. Don't run away after the end result. Don't chase the end result. Because behind that chase, There is the belief that only when the pain goes away, Then I can be happy and fulfilled. And that's not the case. Your body needs to shut down. Not shut down, But just. . . How do you call it? Hibernate? Low power mode from time to time. Regenerate. Repair. I remember one time, The only time, I saw my teacher. He was sick. Very, Very sick. He was really feverish. Severe flu. He was so sweet. He was so sweet. Just wanted to cuddle with him. He was so sweet. So fragile. So lovingly embracing that experience. DJ says chronic pain distracts and makes the clear choices you describe not so clear. The internal wisdom that chooses also gets dulled, Unclear, Confused. I believe this is what makes it chronic. The internal confusion as the body-mind-soul experiences it. Yeah. Yeah, It's a good comment. It's very easy to stray far away from the path. It's very easy. The path remaining with an open heart. But life has all kinds of tricks to persuade us otherwise. To make us dive back into the drama, Into the story, Into the false identifications. To find ourselves again and again distracted, Right? With chronic pain or without chronic pain, It doesn't matter. The drama is waiting for us all the time. Life is so dramatic. You know, The story of who we are is going to end. That is a dramatic ending. Think about it. We tend to ignore the fact that our presence here on this planet is temporary. But it's there following us as a shadow. The dramatic end to the story. How many movies did you see where the hero just dies in the end? Not many, Right? Yeah, So the drama is constantly awaiting. If you are not fully aware and present, It's easy to find yourself sliding back into the drama. So what to do to make sure that this happens as little as possible? You maintain an attitude of service. Stop thinking about yourself. Start thinking about your partner, Your people around you. What can I do for you? Adopt that attitude. The more dedicated you are for service, The less the drama can grab you. And then surround yourself with like-minded people that can support your growth. Practice every day. Remind yourself what is most important to you. That ceremony is very important in the daily life of a sincere seeker. Practice, Meditate, Whatever helps you to remember. Physically practice, Not just think about it. Put yourself there. And have a teacher, A guru, Whatever, On your path that helps you, Reminds you again and again. What is most important to you, Who you really are, With no attachments. So keep those four pillars stable in your life. You will find yourself less, I forgot the word, Less available to slide off the path. So Kerry says, AJ, Yes, Perfect description. Summer says, For example, If you have stiffness in your knees that affects your flexibility, Ignoring the issue could lead to further injury of the problem, No? I didn't say ignore. Don't ignore. Listen. Pain is a way for your body to plead for attention. Give it attention. Do whatever you need to do to deal with that pain. Make sure you understand why it's there as much as you can. Give your body love, Affection. Don't resist the pain. Don't tag it as bad. It's just a way of your body to ask for some attention. So give it. Let the same breath let go of the idea that the pain is bad and you can only be happy when it goes away. That's an illusion. It's not true. Your body is an amazing machine that sometimes feels pain. Sometimes it feels pleasure. It's not that one is good and the other is bad. It's just two different experiences on the scale of your physical existence. Melanie says, I've been in physical pain for decades. I was an athlete in the no pain no gain years. I also practiced every day finger skating injured because I didn't want to be home. My parents' relationship was so toxic. As an adult, I pushed my needs to the back of the line. Between 2016 and 2019, I had my hips replaced, My spine rebuilt, My neck fused. I had to do my right hip twice in two weeks. My neck surgery failed. The revision surgery recovery was so painful and I was so physically and emotionally drained. At that point, I became suicidal. I was dependent on opioids for many years. I don't think I truly began to heal emotionally until I really started deep diving into my spirituality. Meditation and other like-minded souls on this platform helped more than anything else. I used to joke I must have been a torturer in another way. Thankfully, I'm a warrior in this one. Good for you. This is a great example, Melanie, Of how we sometimes use physical pain to avoid emotional pain. It's a way for us to control how we deal with pain. The physical pain I can control. I can control how many hours I go to the arena, How many hours I skate. I can control that. What I cannot control is the emotional pain I experience when I come back home. So what do I do? Make sure that I'm in control. Because what's happening at home seems to be too much. I can't handle it. I will be destroyed if I will experience it wholeheartedly. So I create a way around it. A diversion. A diversion. I create a diversion. What is the diversion? Practicing, Experiencing physical pain which I know I can control. This I can handle. Or at least there's a reason for it. It gives it a purpose. This I can handle. At least I have the illusion of me handling it. So I'm telling you the way to heal that is to acknowledge that whatever life has to offer, Painful or pleasurable, Physical pain, Emotional pain, Any experience, Whatever life has to offer, As pleasant or unpleasant it may be, We can handle. Not just handle. We can experience with a full heart and a willing soul. And once we are completely clear on that, We won't need to manipulate life anymore. We won't need to escape certain scenarios because they might inflict unbearable pain. Don't run away from life. You are bigger than life. You are always bigger than life. Any situation that happens, You are bigger than that. It's like saying that Theater Hall is unable to endure the terrible happenings on the stage. The plot that is happening on the stage. It could be a terrible tragedy, You know? But Theater Hall is not intimidated. Why should it? How can the play threaten in any way Theater Hall? You see? Any situation life has to offer, Your consciousness is much bigger than that. It can hold it. It's there in order to allow it to happen and experience it and fill it with meaning. And you can only do that when your heart is open. Even if it's painful, Yes? Sometimes life is very painful. So thank you for sharing. Now you know there is no reason to run away from life. How do you want to live your life? What? Carrie said, I agree. This platform has been amazing for me as well. After a complete spinal revision from S1 to S10. Do you typically attend or use general meditation or more specific to pain? She was asking that. I would recommend if you want to heal your relationship with your body, I would recommend there is a guided meditation called Me and My Body. Find it on Insight Timer. Me and My Breath. These two. Body and Breath. These two meditations can definitely help you establish a healthy relationship with your body-breath system. So yeah, Practice these. Michelle says, I was experiencing a lot of emotional pain, But ignored it for a long time. It erupted out of me by a trip to the ICU with sepsis. If I hold on to negative energy thoughts, Focus on negative historical events, If we don't open it up and acknowledge and address it, It will come out somehow through our body. Yeah. Stop hiding. Stop fighting against it. Stop rejecting it. You know, We take a painful event that we don't want to deal with and we hide it in our dungeon, Our internal dungeon. So we don't need to deal with it anymore. But of course, You cannot be the lord of the manor if there is a dungeon in your basement that you are not willing to enter. If you really are sincere on your path, You need to open all those doors and ventilate these roots. Open the window, Make sure there is nothing there hiding that is too much. Yeah. We were all, All of us were experiencing these difficult times, Painful times, Emotional pain, Physical pain. All of us were there. And the fact that it happened to you in the specific scenarios that you experienced is not a mistake. It's something broken that you need to fix. Okay, So Melanie says to Cary, I'm fused T10 to S1 and C5 to T1. I never thought I could meditate because the pain would distract me too much. I started with sleep meditations during the pandemic. There are so many live events on Insight Timer that helped me and led me to things like inner child healing. I've done specific meditations for chronic pain, Inner child, Etc. Spirit tends to point me in the direction I need. Just a minute. When you meditate, Meditation is all about being present with what is. If what is, Is pain, You be present with that. Don't persuade yourself that you cannot be in meditation because there is fear or pain. You observe those phenomena, But not identifying with it. That's it. Yes, There is pain. Yes, There is fear. Yes, There is discomfort. Yes, There is noise in my head, Thoughts, Emotions, Sensations, Etc. So what? You will not be free. You will never be free if you keep hanging your freedom on the changing circumstances. Be present. Observe this and realize this is not who you are. This is not who you are. I am the silence behind that noise. Recognize that. I am the silence behind the noise. At one point, You will have to shift your attention from the clouds to the sky. Okay, So Summer is saying, So others say the more attention you give something, The more you attract more of the same. That's why I hesitate to give my pain attention. Can you explain the difference between attention, Which attracts more, And attraction that heals? The attention that you give doesn't have any rejection in it. No judgment. You give it attention, But you don't reject it. You don't take it as bad. You don't fight against it. You give it attention because that's the way your body is asking for your attention. By creating pain. And if your body is asking, Your body is your best friend. If your best friend was calling and asking for some attention, Would you ignore it? This is how your body gives you a call. So, Give it attention. But don't judge it. Don't criticize it. Don't believe that only when the pain is gone, You'll be happy. That's not the truth. That's an illusion. So, Sometimes what you say just sounds too easy, Simplistic. But I know I'm speaking to a like-minded group of wonderful people here who believes in that ability for us to all experience that oneness. And because we've all heard of stories and we witness, Even the people in this chat telling us about their experience, That people are able to experience this the way that Yorana is explaining it. So, That for me is how I know that it's truth. Because it is happening. It is. So, That's really beautiful to me, To read everybody's vulnerability and sharing and their journeys and the way that they're able to be here all together is truly amazing. And that is what speaks to exactly the truth that he is saying. Don't believe me. Don't believe what I say. Don't believe anything I say. This is not a religion. Belief is not a prerequisite on this path. Take it as an invitation to investigate and experience. See if it works for you. See how your life changes when you choose an open heart over bickering and arguing with reality as it happens. If it doesn't create any difference and you feel exactly the same, Then it's completely bullshit. Don't bother about it anymore. But if it does point to a different type of experience, Then my recommendation is grab it with both hands and make it the most important thing for you. What is the most important thing more than anything else? Remain with an open heart and a willing soul. Embracing life as it happens, Pleasurable or painful. Jyoti's asking, Please can you explain open heart and mind, A willing soul, What does that mean? What does that look like? The only thing that prevents your heart to be open is your head trying to argue, Trying to force an opinion. Every time your head wins, You suffer. Your heart closes. You create new entanglements, New knots that will later need to be dealt with. This life, Next life, This is called karma. So, If you want to maintain an open heart, You keep on choosing again and again the present moment over your ideas about the present moment. No, No, No, This pain is not good. This pain is bad. It shouldn't be here. When will I be happy? When the pain goes away. Okay? You're back in the trap. Choosing an open heart means, Oh, There is pain now. That's interesting. Let's give it attention, See what's disharmonized. Why does my body need attention there now? Let's see if I can do something about it. Letting go of the idea that this pain is bad, It needs to go away before I can be happy. Your happiness is not a derivative of circumstances. Your happiness is not a derivative of circumstances. Your happiness is your birth gift. You receive the body to experience life. That means you're happy. That's it. Sometimes life is pleasant, Unpleasant, Joyful, Painful. All of it. Package deal. What do you say? More questions? More things, Yep. Melanie says, I did yoga until I had to hold my leg in the socket while practicing. I'm grateful to my spine surgeon for respecting my yoga practice and doing minimally invasive spinal fusion. I was back on my yoga mat in nine months. I had to learn everything over again. I believe finally unwinding my childhood trauma helped so much. I also refuse to let my body stop me from still enjoying things I love. Summer says, I don't doubt what you were saying. I'm struggling to grasp the wisdom you are sharing. I'm listening, But my ears might be bluffed with wax. At least, You know, Even if the first time you listen to it, It sounds a bit weird or unfamiliar and or challenging or maybe too simplistic and your intellect is trying to persuade you, No, No, No, It can't be that simple. You don't know what you're talking about. Yeah, Yeah. Like you're. . . Are you a therapist? Practicing on some people with some crazy theories. Yeah, No, No, Forget about it. Life is much more complicated than that. Even if you hear those thoughts and have these opinions, It doesn't mean that you have to believe them. Let them be there, Don't identify with them. And keep the option of living life with an open heart and a willing soul valid. Keep it valid. Keep it as an invitation. This is an alternative I would like to investigate. How would my life look like if my heart was just open, Regardless of the circumstance? Regardless of the circumstance. Keep it as an invitation. I tell you, Sooner than you think, We're all going to be six feet under. Nothing of that will be important anymore. Not the pain, Not the pleasure. Nothing of it will have any weight at all. The question is not if this or that happened to you, But are you embracing the opportunity you now receive to experience it? That is the question I would like to invite you to be with in the next week. It took us one hour and ten minutes. This is the question. Say it again. I don't remember. This recording will be available soon, In a few days. Listen to it again. How do I trust myself? Don't bother to trust yourself. Know yourself. Trust will be a byproduct of the knowing. Know who you are. Who is that self you're supposed to trust? Who is it? Is it you? Talents? Your opinions? Your story? What is that self? You're supposed to trust. Don't trust yourself. Don't bother finding the energy to do that. That will be artificial. Know thyself. The rest will follow. There is a song. Free your mind and the rest will follow. Thank you very much, Dear people, For sharing this hour with us. Thank you for your beautiful questions. Thank you for your donations. Let's meet again next week. Bring a friend. Ah, And if you want to join us on Tuesday, Dive deeper into the knowledge, You're welcome.

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Rich and immediately useful content … as usual. Ty and bless you for sharing 🙏🏻💗🙏🏻