On pain without suffering…
There is a difference.
Short Example of How to Meditate on Pain
I would like to give you a tangible sense of the experience of mindfulness. Close your eyes and let your whole body relax and settle in. Pick one area where pain is significant. Get a clear sense of the size and shape of the painful region. Is it long, round, triangular or some other shape? Is it flat like a pancake or does it have a three-dimensional volume? Is it uniform or does it have areas of greater or lesser intensity within it? Are its borders sharp or diffuse? Does it spread any influence through the body or is it completely isolated? --- You now have a much clearer and more precise sense of the painful sensation.
Now observe even more carefully, as though the pain were a living being in its own right, as though it were, for example, a lizard on a wall. How and when will this creature move? Will its borders change? Will it get stronger or weaker? Will its center shift? Watch very carefully for a while and notice that every few seconds the pain may change, if only in a tiny way. Every time the pain changes in any little way, relax your whole mind and body into it and just observe it without judgment. You may have to try this exercise many times but eventually the pain will reveal its wave nature. When it does, surf the waves! This is a first step in developing the skill of mindfulness of pain. It is true that sometimes the pain may seem to get worse as you focus on it. This, however, is a temporary phenomenon.
It is sometimes necessary to feel pain, but it is never necessary to suffer….See .pdf doc in G Chi folder.
-
In order to reduce the pain you suffer, it’s important to accept the position you’re in, however bad it may be. Notice the struggle and name it. When you feel yourself fighting the pain, say “this is me struggling”. That small act of awareness can shift how you respond.
When pain arises, we often respond by turning on a mental “struggle switch” – resisting, fighting or trying to push the pain away. This response tends to make things worse by layering frustration, fear and tension on top of the pain. When we learn to notice this instinct and gently turn the switch off, the pain might still be present, but we’re no longer adding emotional suffering to it. This shift makes space for calm, choice and greater self-compassion.
Practice mindfulness as just five minutes of deep breathing, practiced three times a day, can be enough to relieve pain.
Think about pain as quicksand: the more we struggle against it, the more stuck we feel. But when we stop fighting, we can find ways to float.
Imagine the ocean and the surfer: pain is like the waves – we can’t stop them, but we can learn to surf.
See pain as a heavy backpack: pain is a burden, but carrying it while still walking toward what matters is possible.
Things may well change for the better in the future, but in the moment, it’s important to accept how you feel and not try to change it or run away from it. This only makes the pain worse.
-
Your thought that you cannot overcome your pain is a self-imposed limitation.
You can just notice the pain. It's only a bodily sensation. Focus on it, let the pain radiate through your body. Contemplate the intensity of it, and let it massage your body.
Keep up with your practice of focusing on the now.
Keep your faith, trust the process.