Finding Safety Inside the Pain
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A student shares their experience of sitting with pain in meditation, discovering that what the mind labels as unbearable is often more spacious and workable than it first appears.
Finding Safety Inside the Pain
A student shares their experience of sitting with pain in meditation, discovering that what the mind labels as unbearable is often more spacious and workable than it first appears.
I wanted to share some of my experience. I've been doing quite a bit of pain meditation lately, just sitting with emotion and trying to be with it without changing it.
Something big shifted after a couple of times doing this throughout the week. Every time I come out of the meditation, I feel like the pain wasn't as big as my mind made it out to be. Most of what I title as "pain" is just sensations in my body that I've learned to reject, sensations I've learned to paint a negative picture around.
Opening to what is already there
I've found that if something heavy comes up, or if something triggers me, I'll try to sit with it. After twenty or thirty minutes of just being with it, something shifts. I can be with the experience, and it isn't as painful anymore. The pain is there, but a kind of clarity comes with it. There's a sort of emptiness together with the pain. I'm not pushing it away, and alongside it there is also space to feel more than just the pain.
Trust beyond the fear
I've found that even in regular day-to-day situations I would normally be terrified of, like being here and sharing, which brings up a lot of fear and anxiety, I know from my pain meditation that there is a kind of safety inside that fear. Even if I don't fully sense it, it's there enough that I can trust it. This world is not just painful; it is also spacious, welcoming, and loving. I wanted to share this with the group because it's a very intimate space for me to come here and speak openly. Thank you.
Everything you're describing sounds really beautiful and really good. Thank you for inviting such open-heartedness.
It's my pleasure.