Pain and fear have so many similarities function and in relationship to energy and consciousness, that I have come to view them as essentially the same thing — pain arising as an intensification of fear/energy localized somewhere within the body. Thus, we normally move through life in a state of balance. Inevitably, we encounter and perceive challenges to our balanced well-being. In the moment that we perceive a challenge, energies of adaptation automatically move to meet the challenge. Mental, physical, and emotional health correlates to whether an energetic response is appropriate to a specific challenge.
In some cases, the body energizes fearfully toward fight, flight, and/or growth. In other cases, the body energizes painfully toward the work of mending a specific injury. In many cases we'll find no clear lines of distinction. Some fears cause real pain and organic damage; some pains cause a great deal of fear and anxiety. The body energizes in response to challenging circumstances and we feel some measure of fear and pain.
What to me was most fascinating about the firewalks is not the fact that most individuals come through it without burns or blisters but that some of them don't. What accounts for the difference? —Norman Cousins
Life always changes. When we do not perfectly flow with a change, we hurt. Every pain provides a valuable potential lesson, guiding us through a balanced life, transforming us, teaching us to live this life more fully, and opening our hearts to greater love.
Ultimately, all of the ways of "boiling energy" — of best resolving fear — also work for resolving pain. Love and breath, singing and dancing, connecting with others, making love, laughing, praying, maintaining a positive attitude, practicing forgiveness, serving others, expressing oneself creatively, touching and being touched with tenderness — these are our most potent healers and the best ways for dealing with any and all of our illnesses and pains.
Just as we begin to resolve fear by saying yes to it, so the positive resolution of pain begins with the understanding that it has its place in a happy and healthy life.
