Pain Can Be A Good Thing by Lorane Gordon

Many of us don't want to relive parts of our past that may be painful, because we feel that the pain would be far too much to bear. We do the same for others in our life, not wanting to hurt them by bringing up memories or truths, just in case they may have forgotten them. We mistakenly feel that if we don't have the conscious memory, we won’t feel the pain.

Unrecognized truths or painful memories swept under the carpet, so we don't have to look at them and feel the pain, can be like a deadly iceberg. We never know how it will change our course or perhaps cause us to crash and drown. Think of a river flowing smoothly on the surface taking twists and turns and ending up emptying into a far away ocean. Underneath this apparent smooth surface are unseen boulders, trash and jagged glass thrown from the shore, and boats that float down the river. The unseen detours and pollution are there, whether we see them or not. The river is being directed by hidden obstacles, but cannot do anything about them if it isn't aware of where these harbingers of contaminants are.

If we have an infection just under our skin, we are constantly referring to it. We find ourselves touching the painful spot constantly--the way our tongue will go to a piece of food logged between our teeth. There is no relief until the infection is purged. Yes, the lancing and draining of the infection can be painful. Yes, the idea of being cut into is scary, because we believe that we won’t be able to bare the pain. But in order to rid ourselves of this constant annoyance, this little pain that continues to drain our energy and our attention must be cleaned out once and for all.

Eckhart Tolle refers to this as the "Pain Body." The Pain Body is different for different people. Some people have more than others, but if we are walking this earth we can be sure that we do have a pain body.

The Pain Body is composed of every hurt, every slight, every thing in our lives, and perhaps things even before this lifetime, that we perceive of as negative. The Pain Body is there, whether we acknowledge it or not.

Ever find yourself overreacting to a situation that seems benign on the surface and yet it causes you to reel out of control? You’re even shocked at your own reaction. Ever been with a friend that you felt you knew to be kind and even tempered and then watched them turn into a totally different person because of something that you thought of as a slight annoyance? These are examples of the Pain Body. The fact is that the Pain Body is there even if you don’t talk about it, don’t think about it, don’t refer to it, and even if you’ve never heard of it.

Which is better? Feeling a little bit of pain every day--unacknowledged pain that drains our energy, fogs up our thought processes, and keeps us from being all that we can be--or freeing ourselves of it once and for all?

The process of dissolving the pain is relatively simple. The key is that we must make the intention to do so and thereby increase our awareness. Then we start to watch ourselves and notice our thoughts and feelings. Anytime we are angry, bored, restless, unhappy, tearful, depressed, irritable, etc., it is an indication that we are reacting from our Pain Body.

The difference between reacting from our Pain Body and being completely taken over by it is like going from a stubbed toe to an amputated limb. One feels like an annoyance and the other can be life changing. We must notice the stubbed toe in order to keep ourselves from further damage.

You see, the idea is to notice the Pain Body when we feel the "stubbed toe" and to simply say to ourselves, "this is my Pain Body and not me." In doing this we begin to watch the feelings we are having, rather than allowing these feelings to take us over and then reacting from them.

This doesn’t mean that we try and discover why we are feeling pain. As a matter of fact just the opposite is true. We don’t have to know what caused the feelings. We don’t have to lie on a psychiatrist’s couch to remember every little thing that ever happened to us in order to be free of the pain. We don’t have to know the reason why. We just have to acknowledge the fact that we are reacting from our Pain Body and understand that it isn’t really us, but the pain we are carrying around that is causing the discomfort and our reactions.

Strangely enough, when we are in the process of watching and dissolving the Pain Body, we often have those "light bulb" moments where we realize what may have caused a particular feeling, phobia, or general depression. It’s not that we are using the mind to think about it, but just because we are in less resistance, and therefore more relaxed, the information has the "space" to enter. It is when we are present and open that we become aware of the information that has eluded us up to this point.

When we are angry, hurt or irritable, we have a tendency to react from that emotional place. In doing so, we often say or do something that can have negative repercussions. We may strike out in a way that could ruin a relationship, or cause unspeakable emotional damage to someone we truly love. Even a stranger could be the target of our intense projection of negative emotion. Who deserves this kind of treatment? Do we? When we react in this way we are doing double damage. We are intensifying the energy of the existing pain and adding to it as well.

Have you ever made an important decision when you were coming from a place of intense hurt, rage or jealousy? In looking back can you see how those decisions added to the energy of the Pain Body and changed the course of your life?

The beauty of noticing when the Pain Body is acting up is that the process does two things. First, just by recognizing that the feeling is triggered by the energy of the pain we are carrying, we can begin to dissolve that old energy. Second, because we are not reacting from a place of that pain, we can stop creating further damage.

By noticing that we are reacting from our Pain Body, we free ourselves of the vicious circle that we find ourselves in. We have the opportunity to stop hurting others and ourselves. Our awareness increases and we become available to the knowledge and information from the highest part of who we really are. When we are coming from that place there is no pain. In that place we don’t hurt others or ourselves. This is the place of spontaneous right action. This is the place where we feel our vitality, the place where we are free.

© Copyright 2002 Lorane Gordon.  All Rights Reserved.

Lorane Gordon is a wife, a mother, a teacher…and a seeker. Since the age of thirteen, Lorane has traveled the world studying and meditating with enlightened masters. She made the transition from "seeker" to "finder" when she realized that all spiritual paths lead to the present moment: NOW.

An extraordinary communicator, Lorane has a genuine love for people and a heartfelt desire to help others. In a matter of hours, this charming inspirationalist will safely guide you to a place of true presence, where you will render your fears, phobias and pains powerless!

"Allow me to give you the key to the Present Moment. There is a profound transformation taking place in the collective consciousness NOW! Be part of it! Begin living your happiness NOW, without struggle, without the guilt of the past, without the illusion of the future." --Lorane Gordon

Lorane Gordon is an author, lecturer and creator of the A Journey Into NOW seminars, classes & workshops. For more information visit www.ajourneyintonow.com, email: lorane@ajourneyintonow.com or call 1-888-787-4465.

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