Reducing physical pain.
The purpose of this exercise is to reduce and perhaps eliminate physical pain through the power of acceptance.
To begin with get comfortable,
Lie down.
If you're feeling sleepy then sit up.
Take some slow deep breaths.
When you next breathe in tense both legs and as you breathe out release the tension in the legs.
With the next breath tense the buttocks and then release the tension as you breathe out.
With the next breath tense the stomach area and then release.
And now as you breathe in tense the arms,
Make fists of the hands and then release.
Breathe in and squeeze the shoulder blades together and release.
Check that your neck is relaxed and rotate your head if necessary.
Lastly breathe in,
Make a face,
Grip your teeth together and relax.
Lastly count backwards from 20 to 1.
Think of yourself becoming more relaxed as you count.
Bring your awareness to an area of the body that is in pain.
Try not to fight this area.
Acceptance is the key note in this exercise.
Become very interested in that area.
What is actually happening there?
Don't try and change the pain.
Have the attitude of a scientist who wants simply to observe what's there without trying to alter it in any way.
How large is this area of pain?
Map it out.
What are its boundaries?
Where does it stop?
Where does it start?
What's the shape of this pain?
Is it circular like a coin?
Square?
Trace the outlines?
How deep does this pain go into the body?
Is it mainly on the surface or does it penetrate and how far?
What colour is it?
Let colour come to you.
And is it the same all over or is the colour more intense or different in different areas?
How hard or soft is this area of pain?
What sort of texture is it?
Is the texture uniform or is it harder or softer in certain areas?
Lastly,
Does the area of pain feel hotter or colder than the rest of the body or the same temperature?
Are parts of it of different temperature than other parts of it?
What we'll do now is look again at the area of pain,
Asking the same questions.
But be prepared to find some changes.
Sometimes the pain may even increase for a short while.
So let's begin again.
How large is the area of pain?
Is it the same as before?
Has it become smaller or has it perhaps diffused out,
Covering a larger area but less intense?
Whatever has happened or not happened since you last looked at it,
Again just accept it.
How about the shape?
Is that still the same or are there any changes?
How about the colour?
If you got a colour before,
Is it still the same or has there been changes there?
How deep does the pain go into the body?
Is it the same as before or is it different?
How about the texture?
Is it softer,
The same?
And lastly,
What about the temperature?
Is that the same as before or any changes there that you can observe?
And now we do this one last time.
Check once again on the size of the pain,
How large it is.
And what of the shape?
Has that changed or is it still the same?
Has anything happened to the colour of it?
And what about the depth of the pain?
Is that still the same?
And the texture of the pain,
Has that changed?
Is it harder or softer?
And lastly the temperature.
Are there any changes there in that area of the pain?
Compare the area of the pain to the start of the exercise,
How it felt then.
Is there any changes?
Has the pain perhaps diffused over a larger area and become less intense?
What we've done in this exercise is used a simple technique in that you cannot describe a pain and resist it at the same time.
Anything you can accept can start to heal.
The pain also has a message,
It has a voice.
Ask now,
How does this pain feel?
What are its emotions and feelings?
What message does it have for you?
Give this pain or the memory of the pain a voice to speak to you.
Ask this pain,
What do you need to change in your life for you to be healed?
What is it that you need to let go and forgive?
What is it that you need to let go and forgive?
What is it that you need to let go and forgive?
If there is any residual pain left over,
Imagine,
Visualize a tube,
One end of which connects to that pain and the other end of the tube or the pipe goes to the top of your heart.
Breathe in naturally,
Breathe up some of this pain to the top of the heart.
As you breathe out,
Let this pain be released,
Transmuted into light.
Gently breathe up the pain and breathe it out through the top of the heart.
If it helps you,
You can imagine the hands of spirit,
Of some loving being ready to take it,
Happy to receive and transmute the pain that you are offering.
When you feel ready,
Bring your awareness back into the room and open your eyes.
