The Power to Assign
December 31, 2008
“Pain is not to be taken lightly”
My wife spoke these words as we were exploring a pain in her body. Her guidance suggested that this was not a problem that could be treated by conventional means – but it was an opportunity for us to understand the nature of what causes pain.
So we paused to consider the situation. Often there is a tendency to link pain to an illness or ailment, as if the pain needs a remedy and that no further enquiry is required. Yet it is clear that we need to investigate the source of every instance of pain, knowing that it is an experience that has been created.
Once we understand the reason(s) for creating the experience then we know the right actions to take.
Extending this line of thinking, I could see that every experience is created for a reason. There is always power in what we assign to the experience. If we believe that our body needs pain in order for us to grow then we come to expect pain as a normal occurrence. And if we determine that our relationship to pain is beneficial then it can become something that we may relish. It depends on the purpose that we assign to pain.
Here is my personal relationship with pain – it is an indicator that I am incongruent with the normal level of energetic activity for my body at any given time. When I prepare myself for greater energetic activity then I can exceed that threshold with no discomfort. Therefore my relationship with pain is that it reminds me to be in total congruency with the reality that I choose to live.
That leads to an interesting question – what reality are you living right now? Is it your creation? Are you enjoying its power?
Here are some ways to ensure that you do:
- never take things at face value – be willing to explore and find meanings other than the obvious
- be aware that we assign power to everything in our life – and we can be conscious of doing that
- all our decisions contribute to our reality, so no decision can be taken lightly
- everything is created for a reason – discover what that is and you have its power right with you.
Comments
One Response to “The Power to Assign”
Nothing has meaning except the meaning I give it. I communicate with animals and nature for a living, for over 18 years. While animals experience pain, they do so much differently than we do. Their FOCUS is always on what brings them joy or happiness and not on what might be uncomfortable or creating a dis-ease in their body. They have been teaching me a great deal about just what you shared. How we define pain is how it will show up in our lives and we can make it worse or remove it with our thoughts.
A couple years ago, I was attempting to collapse a special ladder that gets smaller so you can put it away and I got a finger caught and almost severed it. I fell to the ground, bleeding profusely and screaming at the top of my lungs. My partner came out and tried to get me up. I am a heavy woman. Finally he was able to convince me to stand and assisted me inside into a chair while he went for bandages and ice.
While I was screaming, I kept hearing this little voice ask me to look at my big toe on my right foot, which was bare as I hate shoes. I wondered if I had somehow hurt it also? The voice was incessant and so I finally started to put ALL my attention on my toe and began looking and wiggling it and trying to see where it might be in injured as well. About two minutes into sitting there and bending forward examining my toe, I suddenly realized I was no longer screaming!! In fact, my hand was not hurting!!! The minute I changed my focus all the pain returned again!!
It did take Practice to focus FULLY on my toe again, however, eventually I succeeded. Then I would fall asleep a little (I rested there for a few hours) and when I would wake up, I would have to begin working on changing my focus!
Later the animals reminded me how in Iowa, a couple decades earlier, I worked all day in my HUGE garden barefoot. It was the biggest garden I ever had and I was in heaven!! I did not come in until dark and took a shower. When I got to washing my feet, there was a huge gash on a toe and there was dried blood all over my foot! I wondered to myself, how on earth I could have such a huge cut and not feel anything!! “It should hurt!”, I told myself and of course it began to hurt!! (Today I can understand why of course!)
The animals explained … I was so much “in my bliss gardening” pain was an illusion and I simply was not even aware of cutting my foot!
So YES I have learned a lot and today I can often transmute pain in a matter of moments, by changing my focus. YES pain does bring things to our awareness and can certainly serve a purpose. However, WE define that purpose and how it comes and how long it remains, etc.. We are Not “victims” of our pain.
We CREATE it all. And Pain, like everything else, is just an aspect of the Divine and how we Engage it, it totally up to us! We are the artists of our own lives!
Much Gratitude and Grace for what you both teach and share, Morgine Jurdan