One of the issues in health I see is when we strive to feel no pain. Yes, I know, it is not fun to feel the pain. If you’re already in a heightened pain state, what I’m about to say might sound unusual and radical.
Pain is the way our bodies get our attention. It is a messenger letting us know that something is not right. Something is going on internally that needs our attention.
You Can Bet We Feel Pain
When situations show up in life, you can bet we will feel pain. Now, we might have gone for some time not dealing with issues and ignoring the messages showing up. Yes, we are more numb and disconnected from the body than we may want to believe.
Everyone wants to think that they are in total connection with what goes on in our day. If you become aware of what happens, though, you’ll discover that so much of what happens is unconscious. We have a million things happening that we don’t give much attention to in the mind body connection.
This approach is not just a “mind” based one. It is about feeling the mind body connection from the felt sense.
Mind Body Felt Sense
It is only when we go into the felt sense of the mind body connection that we can understand more the source of the pain. It may not be evident at first and it might not seem like there is a connection, but with continual work, we will become more aware.
When I see people talk about taking us out of pain and feeling no pain, I cringe. It would be the same as if we stopped all communication between humans. No messages would get through, and no one would understand what is going on between one person to the next.
The same applies to the body. When we feel no pain, we’re shortchanging the messenger system of the mind body connection. We’re only functioning on one half of our potential.
Overwhelming Pain
Yes, I understand that if you are in overwhelming pain right now, then you most likely have either clicked away from here or you think I’m completely crazy. We have an entire medical system that has as its goal, the removal of all pain.
In fact, we’re into a point now where there aren’t enough pain pills to take care of the pain people are experiencing. Our system is breaking down because we’re fighting the wrong battle.
If you are in overwhelming pain, the dials have been turned way up. You’re long past the point of something internally getting your attention. It becomes too much to bear and there’s nothing but doctor visits and one procedure after another to give you some hope.
Go Into The Pain
In these cases (and I’ve been there many times) we have to do an about face. Instead of trying to remove the pain, we need to go into the felt sense of the body and feel the pain. You may have to find a way to dial down the pain initially, but then going into the pain becomes the next step.
You’re probably thinking, this guy is nuts because when you feel pain, it is no fun. Yes, I know. I realize it is no fun and not easy. With the right person, you can go in and move past the pain. When you do, there are so many more positive results that come out of that experience that you did not understand to this point.
For years, I had all kinds of conditions from migraine headaches, neck pain, back pain, stomach issues, allergy issues, and the creepy crawlies on my body.
I struggled hard with anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. In fact, if you read my book, Overcoming A Mysterious Condition, you’ll see that I went through much more than I’ve listed here. I speak from experience, not some pie-in-the-sky concept.
The Body In The Mind Body Connection
Fortunately, though there is a way out through the pain if we’re willing to travel down that road. Unfortunately, many will say they want to do this, but few will take this road. It is an effective road, but not necessarily an easy one. To do this, it requires that we shed what we think we know as we travel into those difficult moments of our lives. It requires us to feel pain, not avoid and numb and disconnect.
Now, it doesn’t mean that we must go into horror and nightmares to do this. There is a way using Unified Therapy (created by Dr. Paul Canali, a pioneer in trauma treatment) to ease into these things. One of the most important things that this therapy does is it takes us to the edge of our comfort zone, but not into the overwhelming part. If we push our bodies too far, the mind body connection will revolt and shut down further.
A Process Of Building
This healing work is like a practice that an athlete would take to train for an event. We do a little at a time on the table as we build up strength and endurance. We are then able to go further into what we never realized was possible. It is a building process. Even though healing will most likely not happen all at once, it does not take long to see the changes in the body.
When we want only to get rid of the pain, we’re missing the point of the mind body connection. It is the opposite of what we need to do. Instead, the more we can feel pain so we can go in and discover what lies beneath it, the more freedom we give the mind and body.
It may sound backward to what is considered to be normal healing practices, but I’ve come so far using these concepts that Dr. Paul Canali has taught to me. It has given me my life back, and I do not struggle with as many physical issues as I used to.
When we can make the connection between how we feel pain or physical issues showing up in our body and what lies beneath them, we’re truly becoming more of a human living in a human body. For more on this concept, check out Dr. John Sarno and the documentary about his work, “All The Rage“.
Yes, pain is difficult to deal with, and even though I’ve gone through much of mine, it is not easy. I still get moments where it takes me to my knees.
Tools To Feel Pain
I now I have tools that I can work with, and supportive individuals I use to work through the pain. To me it isn’t about getting rid of the pain, but going deeper into the mind body connection so I can reclaim more of who I am. It takes me to the point of discovering so much more about myself than I know at this moment.
Feel Pain – Resources
If you really want to understand more about what it means to feel pain in a positive way, I’d suggest three resources which I’ve touched on in this blog post.
- My Book – Overcoming A Mysterious Condition
- Unified Therapy by Dr. Paul Canali
- All The Rage documentary
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