Looking back on it now, it really shouldn’t be surprising that the issue of pain came up after our first extended (30 minute) sitting (an Awareness of the Breath meditation). Any number of cramping calves, tingling tushes and sleeping feet were noted in the crowd, and then one student noted that she had some pain and was considering shifting to relieve it when she thought about what it might be like to have chronic pain, where just shifting would not lead to relief. And then we were off and running . . .
There was an opportunity to touch on acceptance, the difference between sensation and distress (pain and suffering), acute versus chronic pain, and even a little brain science crept in. I shared one of my favorite analogies about acceptance as it relates to gravity. How come we can’t treat pain, or illness, or anxiety or grief like we treat gravity? Gravity has a negative effect on us on a regular basis (when we drop a glass or when we note that a particular body part has slipped a little farther south than it had the last time we noted its location), and yet we rarely wake up in the morning exclaiming “Damn! I’m still stuck to the earth!” That always gets a little chuckle, and it did this time, but it also got a thoughtful challenge: “That’s a really good analogy except that gravity doesn’t have negative effects all the time like chronic pain.” Nice one. We went on, and focused on how being present to our actual experience helps us see what is actually present and what is story, or elaboration, or interpretation, and how getting to the heart of the matter might bring some relief whether pain is present or not.
We didn’t get to mindfulness in communication (our original agenda item), but clearly pain was what was foremost on their minds. Perhaps it had something to do with the looming Anatomy exam that many of them have coming up!
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I’ve been thinking about something that was mentioned earlier in the course, and that is the essence of suffering. I find that the more I consider the topic the more I find truth in the fact that suffering comes from having something and not wanting it, wanting something and not having it, and denial. I don’t know what this means for me but it is comforting to see a pattern and to be able to understand what is making me and others around me upset. Lately I’ve been hearing a lot of regret for the past and although it is hard to just accept what has happened and move on, I think I’m finding that to be the best option. Like I said, I’m not sure exactly how this might play out in my life but as a control freak it’s nice to be aware of what is happening, as that somehow feels empowering.
On a side note, I heard on the radio a story of inmates in high security prison taking meditation classes and it seems to have had a substantial effect on their attitudes. Something to ponder.
Just a few thoughts from last session:
It was interesting what peoples’ thoughts were concerning pain and to to deal with chronic pain. We explored different thoughts on how pain affects people, what kinds of attitudes people have and how your perspective changes when you’re old, young, newly injured, chronically injured. For the most part, I took away from this session a feeling of understanding. One of our classmates shared her story of having neuralgic pain for a few years how she dealt with it. I guess we should never assume we understand what other people are going through. Even though people might have the exact same injury, they feel and deal with pain differently. That is something that I will look at more carefully in the future. Other than that, I’m finding myself more inclined to do the full body scan because it helps keep me more focused. I feel like I still need constant instruction to keep me from being distracted. Cheers to meditation!
I can’t quite find the right blog post to leave this comment on, but this one seems the most appropriate. Throughout this mindfulness class I have noticed some emphasis on which words we choose to describe something, and how the specific words chosen can relay different meanings. The most prominent example is the difference between “accept” and “allow.” The distinction between these two words was brought up in the very first class as many students described mindfulness as accepting what is in the present. However, at that point and in subsequent classes, Dr. Hickman has been fairly adamant about avoiding the use of the word “accept” and instead uses “allow.” From what I understand, his preference for “allow” comes from the belief that accepting something seems to be almost like giving in to it. However, I have been struggling with this distinction for the past 8 weeks, ever since that first class. I actually see these words opposite. In my mind, “allow” seems as if you are stepping aside or out of the way of something. Yet, “accept” to me conveys a much more active understanding of a situation, a process that requires one to look more deeply into a situation and actually make a decision about whether to be ok with the way something is. I picture it as an embracement of a situation after much deliberation or thought. Ultimately, I realize that it really doesn’t have anything to do with the actual word at all – they are all just words, and what really matters is the process each individual takes to come to terms with what is present in their lives. But I do find it fascinating how everyone can have a different emotion connected to what at its core just a word.