Hello Everyone,
This week we read up to pg 173 The Dharmas of Pain so we'll begin there next week. We talked about working with pain in our meditation and the "process" of pain and trying to develop some equanimity around pain by realizing that it's all relative and separating it from "pain " to "sensation" so that we could work with it with less fear.
On pg 172-3, Kevin says, "A sensation is always a sensation, but whether it's pain or not can vary. Sensations are largely what I make of them. They are a problem if I make them a problem."
Can you relate to this? Can you see how it is helpful to call it a sensation rather than pain? I shared in the meeting about my frozen shoulder/arthritis story but I've also experienced (and do regularly experience) quite a lot of "sensation" in my lower back and in an ongoing dental issue.
I am going to make a concerted effort to refer to it as sensation and be aware of the power of leaning into it and not tensing up around it. I'll let you know how it works.
what about you?
Thank you Lori. Thankfully I rarely feel pain. I do feel sensations today, and never considered pain or other feelings to be sensations. It's a different perspective. I embrace the changes that my body undergoes as I transition into the person I choose to be. Sometimes it's painful and I know that sensation is part of growth. I try to look at it as a positive. There was a time I wasn't able to share how sensations were feeling, I had no clue. Grateful to feel sensations today no matter how the feel.