05/29/2018
Releasing our Attachment to Pain
By Crystal Kaplan
Many of us are witnessing a re-surfacing of pain in our bodies, both physically and emotionally; we’ve seen the same on a broader scale in our national politics as well as in society at large (e.g., ). Pain is arising for many of us during this time of energetic shifts in the earth and effects of solar flares on the planet. I’m seeing it with many clients, who are experiencing a wide variety of sudden illnesses, such as Lyme’s disease, Epstein Barr virus, fatigue, and simply an increase in emotional anxiety and physical pain. From an external perspective, this process appears chaotic and may feel unwanted. However, from an inner perspective, there is great healing potential and the possibility for accelerated transformation.
The pain is arising within us and around us because we are ready to heal and to live in our natural state of joyfulness, connection and peace. To get there, that which is hidden must come up into the light to be seen and released. We can make a choice to regard what arises as an opportunity to let go of that which no longer supports us on our life's path. The more conscious we are to our experience in each moment, staying very present to the emotion or pain or repetitive thought that arises in our minds, the easier it becomes to let it go. In cognitive behavioral theory, our thoughts create our emotions, our emotions create our behavior and our behavior then becomes our reality. Therefore, awakening to our own mind, observing our thoughts, and recognizing the emotion that arises becomes a miraculous tool for inner transformation.
On the other hand, if we retract in fear and allow the subconscious mind to suppress what is arising, we end up feeling increased anxiety and pain. Now is the time to see clearly, to stay present in the now moment, and to observe ourselves with loving compassion and acceptance, allowing the anger, frustration, or pain to be what it is without needing to change it. We simply breathe and give it space, and give it more space and welcome the feelings of fear in our system, knowing that it moves through us to be healed and that our fears do not have to make us what we are or how we behave.
Where Does our Pain and Fear Come From, When Did It Begin?
Pain, anger, and frustration are dense vibrations that have resonated with the density of our biological form in unanticipated ways. Eons ago, at the time of our choosing to condense our energy bodies to “fit” into a physical form, we did so as an experiment. We did not foresee all the ways in which that condensation would impact all levels of the self. The central nervous system was designed to receive signals of pain and pleasure as part of its survival, or self-preservation, mechanism so that we didn’t transition back (death) into energy form too quickly, so we had more time to explore the possibilities of physicality. But with the condensation in form, came also the inclination for attachments and aversions, which are truly the same energy or vibration, just in different expressions. The inclination for attachments was another unanticipated effect of condensing our energy into physical form. Physical form is magnetized—we have positive and negative attractive forces constantly at work on a systemic level, including every organ and every cell in our body. The magnetization that is created by the confluence of our etheric and physical bodies creates the effect of attachment and aversion.
And so we began to feel an aversion to pain, and then tried to deny or push the pain away, thereby trapping it in our selves. All levels of our being began to incorporate the aversion to pain over time. We began to lose awareness of the essential nature of ourselves as beings of vibration and energy. The more we suppressed our pain, the deeper it became buried until we no longer recognized it as pain, but simply as a way of being. We no longer held conscious awareness of our natural state of joy, playfulness, love, creativity and passion.
Millenia of suppressed pain resulted in structures of oppression, such as slavery, women as property, and other inequalities, all because we began to define our existence from our pain and our fear of pain. Now is the time to let this go. The earth’s vibration no longer supports the structure of fear and consequent pain. We can now allow pain to rest in its place and we can willingly release it. Mother earth is so ready to receive and transmute our pain in her new 5th dimensional aspect. And as we release our pain, allowing it to dissolve from our physical and emotional bodies, we facilitate that release for all of humanity.
How do we surrender and release the pain? The good news is that even as the earth’s energies are bringing the pain to the surface, it is becoming easier and easier to let it go. All that is required is your willingness combined with conscious awareness of the activity in your mental, emotional and physical bodies, e.g. how your thoughts are creating emotions and how those emotions feel in your body. Holding this awareness begins the process of integration – integration of our four “bodies” – the physical, emotional, mental as well as the etheric body of pure light and energy, also described in ancient texts as kundalini (chakra system) or chi. We do this through practicing mindfulness and meditation.
Mindfulness is being awake to yourself — it is not mysterious or unknown. It is the opposite of that. It is about noticing what is going on for you in each moment and accepting yourself as you are now, not some idea of yourself that you have created but will never achieve, always holding yourself separate from an ideal and therefore somehow unworthy. As we can remain conscious of our thoughts and feelings and see them clearly and with self-honesty tempered with compassion and self-love, healing happens.
For more resources, I suggest watching teachings and talks by Spiritual Teacher Matt Kahn (YouTube Channel True Divine Nature) and Psychologist and Author Dr. Shefali Tsabary.
