Pain can be the source of so much wisdom if we know how to live with it.
To cope with it in our life we must learn to relate to it in a meaningful and healthy way.
When we live with pain sometimes we just need to find the courage to really be with whatever pain is moving through us and the courage to stay with it.
If we can develop confidence in being able to just be present with whatever is happening within us,
Giving it space and allowing it to move through,
We can gradually untangle ourselves from it so that it doesn't overpower us.
To help us let go of this clinging and entanglement we can continuously become aware of the instinctive holding or contraction that we have within us around our pain.
If we can continuously allow this holding or contraction to let go,
Giving everything space to move,
It gradually helps us to be present in our body and begins to untangle us from our suffering,
From our pain.
Developing a good relationship to our pain is important because a lot of the time whether we like it or not it is there with us and it can really take away our joy in life.
But I think the positive thing is that there is a more nourishing and enlightening way to live with your pain.
So in this meditation we'll spend a little time grounding,
Connecting to our body and then connecting to our subtle body and the different feelings and nuances within it.
We'll use the meditation to practice allowing ourselves to be really present with everything that is happening within ourselves with a sense of groundedness and calm.
So before we begin find yourself somewhere comfortable to sit.
It could be on a meditation cushion or a chair.
It doesn't really matter as long as you're comfortable and your body can relax.
It's good to sit with your back tall but don't be too rigid.
Allow a sense of movement and softness in your body.
When you're comfortable bring your awareness in to notice your breath.
Notice the feelings and sensations of your breath within your body.
Your lungs,
Ribs and abdomen rising and falling with each in-breath and each out-breath.
If you become distracted at any point there's no need to stop the thoughts.
There's no need to create stories around them and there's no need to judge yourself.
When you notice you're distracted see if you can gently let the thought go and then gently bring your awareness back to your breath and back into feelings and sensations within your body.
Now make a subtle shift by becoming aware of your out-breath.
Really follow each out-breath down and allow yourself to relax into your body deeper and deeper with each out-breath.
Move your awareness slightly to become aware of your ground of your being.
Notice the feelings and sensations of the ground or the chair pushing up from below you.
The feeling of it really supporting you as you relax.
You could notice the feelings of the weight of your legs.
See if you can really allow yourself to trust your sense of ground and allow your whole body to let go and deeply relax down into it.
As you rest into your ground move your awareness slightly to become aware of feelings and sensations within your trunk.
Notice what you feel there.
And whatever you notice,
Allow it to be there.
Allow it to be as it is as you relax and breathe.
Now feel your awareness expand to the rest of your body,
Out to your arms,
Up to your neck,
Your head and back down into your legs until you become aware of your whole body from the inside out.
When you notice that you're distracted,
Notice what is happening in your body.
Can you feel a sense of holding or contraction within your body?
If you do,
Gently allow that holding or contraction to soften and relax again.
And then gently bring your awareness back to your breath,
Relax back down into your ground and open your awareness to feelings and sensations within your whole body again as you breathe.
Allow your awareness to open to a more spacious sense of awareness.
This happens naturally by continuously,
Gently letting go,
Relaxing and letting your awareness open to a sense of spaciousness You may get a sense of the aliveness within your body,
Your life vitality,
The vibrancy within and you may get a sense that this vibrancy has different tones,
Feelings and nuances to it.
Until now we've had an awareness of something,
An awareness of the breath,
An awareness of your body and now we're starting to open to a sense of really being spacious within ourselves,
Allowing everything to be as it is and hold it with a sense of love.
Quiet,
Present,
Open awareness.
If you notice yourself trying too hard,
Again you'll probably notice a sense of holding or contraction within your body.
So again,
Gently let go,
Bring your awareness back to your breath,
Allow yourself to relax into your body and allow your awareness to open to a sense of spaciousness again.
Do the feelings and sensations of your inner vitality.
If you notice any feelings or emotions within your body,
See if you can let go of the story connected to them and just notice the sensation of it.
Give it space to move where it needs to move and notice what you feel.
If you feel pain in your body,
Try not to judge it,
Hold it with a sense of compassion.
See if you can just feel the sensations for what they are.
Soften around it,
Give it space to move and notice what you feel.
See if you can allow yourself to feel grounded and present with whatever is happening within your body and mind.
Hold everything with a sense of compassion and love.
Quiet,
Present,
Open awareness.
If you feel yourself being pulled out at any point,
Just notice it,
Let go of the story like you're letting go of a balloon and feel yourself rest back down into your ground again and then open your awareness to be present with all that is happening within your body and mind.
As we bring this meditation to a close,
See if you can bring a feeling of gratification and fulfillment to your heart.
For the meditation that you've just done and allow that feeling to expand and fill your whole body with feelings of joy and fulfillment.
I hope that this meditation and talk helped you to connect to that sense of letting go within.
Living with pain can be really hard and sometimes we can't do anything about the pain itself but we can do something about our reaction to it.
You could try whenever you have a spike of pain during the day.
See if you can take just a moment to see the sensation as it is and notice what is happening in your body.
Notice if you feel any holding or contraction and then see if you can allow that tension to soften and let go and then again notice what you feel.
Developing this type of meditation and feeling of letting go allows the strength to gradually grow into your normal daily life and it can become a real resource for you as it has for me.
If you resonated with this meditation you can take a look at my course Finding Peace While Living in Pain where I take you through the journey step by step of developing your awareness and gaining confidence and comfort in letting go of the suffering from your pain.
