Your observations about our habitual reactions to pain triggered a
memorable experience around this issue.
I quote the key section of your post, namely:
>....... Pain also has been a life event that we have really fought to
>eliminate at any cost, including learning and growth.
>.....An analogy I use is that of a headache. Most people run to the
>medicine cabinet when they have a headache and take a few Tylenol, without
>giving themselves time to learn more about themselves. They may learn to
>overcome some headaches by the use of their brain, for instance. Or they
>may be silencing very important signals of something more serious that
>might be happening to their bodies....
A while back, I woke one morning with full blown flu'. Raging fever,
sweating, etc. . . . all the usual symptoms. Instead of dealing with this
in my usual way, I chose to experiment with exactly the concept you
describe.
For four hours, I did nothing, but sat still in a chair and allowed myself
to fully experience what was going on. For the first hour, the discomfort
was intense and I felt miserable. Gradually, I was able to let go of the
mental labels. I reminded myself that my body was healing and that I would
be open to the experience. What amazed me was that, slowly, the
sensations changed and they became pleasurable. It was like I was able to
feel every cell in my body. Four hours later, the flu' was totally gone
and not a sniffle left to remind me!
The experience served to remind me once again, that events are neutral, and
it is how we choose to relate to events that makes the difference.
-- Bryan Walton Training People Oakville, Ontario How To Deliver e-mail: bwalton@inforamp.net Their Own Solutions 905) 338-1462