Pain as...

I had a little thought on the way to work about the nature of pain and the purpose of it.

I've been in pain for the last 4 days - crippling pain thanks to my monthly cycle. But it's not without reason. The pain and cramping comes is a by-product of a natural body function. Pain as reminder of fertility.

Pain is good sometimes. Like this morning, when the water glass broke while my hand was in it, pain let me know that I needed to get my hand out and tend to my wound. Pain as protector.

You stub your toe. Pain, intense pain but only for a minute or so. This pain is there to remind you not to stub your toe. Pain as deterrent. Highly effective.

But physical pain is easy, easy to set aside.

Then there's the pain of heartbreak - that heart/gut wrenching pain that comes with loss of loved ones or the end of a relationship. This pain leaves you writhing on the floor with no end in sight. Pain as ...?

This pain is a little harder to understand, because it serves no actual purpose. Or does it?

I believe that we're all connected - but that through our relationships with people those ties become stronger. We absorb their energies into our own and they become an extension of our energetic bodies.

But the mind can't distinguish between the physical and energetic body. Severing an emotional/spiritual bond with a close one is as painful as severing an arm, because in a way, they have become a part of you.

By feeling the pain of loss, you're feeling through your second body, your energetic body. It reminds you that you are not a self-contained, vacuum-sealed packet of energy - your spiritual body extends in all directions, across time and space, connected still to every person who has ever touched your life and every person whose life you have affected.

Pain as reminder of our true nature.

Live and Let Go...

I probably couldn't count how many times I had to ask myself to 'let go' yesterday. Letting go is such a powerful tool for so many situations, I find. It's simply the act of allowing yourself to be. I've heard some speakers refer to it as trusting god - or the universe - and trusting that everything will happen exactly as it should. You know, just letting go of expectations, letting go of worries about outcomes, just letting go of everything that keeps you from your peace.

In my case, yesterday, it was my need to stay in the moment. During yoga, I found my mind wandering to a million places - no surprise since I leave for our Vegas holiday tomorrow... But it was interfering with my practice. I had to let go of all of the worries, the distractions, the lists my mind was making.

Us control freaks have a hard time sometimes, letting go and letting things happen - but I think it can be a truly liberating experience for us when we finally do start 'letting go'.

Why the need to control everything? Out of fear, I would guess. I read somewhere that there are really only two emotions: love and fear. Every negative feeling, every worry, every anxiety is fear-based and every positive feeling is love-based. Looking at it this way, to let go is to let go of the fear.

We fear many things, on a basic human level, I think. We fear death, pain, loneliness, poverty, separation, failure, rejection, humiliation, persecution, judgment - some even fear the opposite: success, power, wealth (I know I do to a certain extent). These fears are the root for so many neuroses. And they cripple us daily.

To become more actualized in our spiritual lives, we have to start dealing with our fear. We have to start letting go of it - realizing that it's an artificial barrier, it exists only in the mind, and the mind has the power to overcome it and live a fuller life. Because we are so much bigger than our fears.

So just for fun, let's all let go of one negative thought today. I plan to let go of the constant whining happening in my head about how little sleep I got last night. Goodbye groaner!