WHY PAIN? Notes on Pain, Awareness & Denial,
Aspects in Developing a Practical Approach with Compassion
© Chris Pringer 1993, 1995, 2000, 2010, 2011
Links to Essay Sections:
Intro & Notes on Pain, Pain Reduction, Pain Elimination, Pain Desensitization [Rev'd Aug 2011]
A List Of Factors In The Perception Of Pain
More On Referral Of Pain
Delayed Healing
Why Deep Massage/Bodywork?
"Should A Massage Be Painful?" & "Touch-Sensivity of Muscles ..." [latter added Aug 2011]
Stress & Energy Related Pains [added Aug 2011]
Notes On Pain From Gestalt Perspective
Internal Separation And Healing
Heart's Desire, Ideals, & Accomplishment (and Healing the Pain) [added Aug 2011]
A Metaphysician's Perspective On Pain, Emotion, & Change
Final Note
Reference Section
Author/Copyright/Disclosure Info

Intro & Notes on Pain Reduction, Pain Elimination, Pain Desensitization
Pain is the primary mechanism in our bodies that tells us that something is wrong and/or that something needs be corrected or changed in some way. If you are seeking pain-desensitization methodology:
"Reading the signs" - Speaking of those that are there to warn us, BEFORE the pain, certainly before considerable or lasting pain. With sufficient body-mind awareness based instruction, one can facilitate re-establishing resource supply to the cells, to the organs and systems, which full re-establishment will alleviate most of the pain most of the time.
This writing -this particular page- is not *so much* about how to make pain go away. However, a) pain reduction, pain elimination (if related to most kinds of connective tissue injuries), is one great benefit of Energy-Bodywork (including massage therapy), and/or guided imagery or focus, hynotherapy, and/or a great delayed effect of certain kinds of yoga (particularly mind-body integrative Tensing Yoga) including as offered by myself; and b) I do instruct or coach in mind-body integrative methods of variable regulation of pain -- via self-massage, yoga, or other techniques, autohypnosis or self-induced light trance. And/or I may provide references or assistance in finding same to those who request hynotherapy specializing in pain elimination more advanced than I can offer.
Neither is this writing for the purpose of encouraging over-sensitization. While a good number of pages at this site are for increasing body-mind awareness for preventive health maintenance and overall well-being, I do not consider healthy awareness to include being "sensitive" to the point of not being able to function in the society one must live in. On the other hand, I am thankful for the clarity and insights of those who chose to be hyper-aware of their mind and body while living away from the noise of "civilization." Even more so of those who know both worlds.
Attitude generally has great deal to do with self-healing and/or pain management, and while I may refer to spiritual aspects of things, a healing attitude and a "Gestalt Positivity" (and using "Gestalt Affirmations") does not necessarily require what many people would define as a spiritual approach.
About Pain Reduction Techniques: Ok, it's already there, and it's intense, and you need to do something about it. There is a great report on teaching marshall arts techniques to children for eliminating the pain, and/or the existance itself of chronic, potentially terminal disease (ie: cancer). "A rabbi whose daughter died of cancer teaches martial arts to young patients, helping them find inner strength." See the Reference section on "The Power of Belief".
Considerations About Pain Addressed Here To One Degree Or Another Include:
*) Pain Desensitization Control: advantages and disadvantages
*) Pain Variable Regulation Control: how, when, why, how much, mechanisms
*) Physical Pain, Emotional Pain; Societal Pain, Spiritual Pain
*) Ramifications of overuse of pain avoidance - individually and societally
*) Ramifications of overuse of physical or emotional sensitivity - individually and societally
*) "Psychophysiology" - the field most commonly known as "Bio-Feedback" - and pain regulation.
I begin with basic, more physical-level concepts, and extend into other dimensions from there. My purpose here is to try to explain a complex - but common experience in an understandable fashion. A few sections here can be somewhat technical in nature, although I try to make the terms and concepts understandable to the average self-help oriented/ experienced person. I very much appreciate feedback from experts and laypersons alike.
NOTE: Many of the terms in "A LIST of FACTORS in the PERCEPTION of PAIN" (just below) are my own. There may be more proper medical terms for most of the dynamics I describe below. However, I suspect that if there were, not all of them would be found in the same reference, or with the same context as I present them here.
Later in this collection of notes, I strongly suggest -- based on my belief that such factors, to the degree they are valid -- that pain is rarely a uni-dimensional experience (as in only physical or emotional or mental, etc). Also... that Pain is one internal, subjective "reality." What one perceives as pain, as well as what one perceives to be the cause of it -- consciously or unconsciously -- is generally relative to that individual. That is not to invalidate feelings of pain, but to explain why perception can be altered so as to decrease the feeling of pain (physical or otherwise), and why that may vary from individual to individual, depending on what method of pain reduction is tried.
First to follow are some factors that effect how, whether, and why we perceive pain on various levels and presents this to conscious self and/or to others.
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A LIST of FACTORS in the PERCEPTION of PAIN
- Stimulus response
- how many stimuli is required before pain is felt, or defined by self as "pain".
- Stimulus Awareness
- Accuracy" as to physical level cause/effect dynamics.
- Other Sensory Accessory
- other kinds of sensory perceptions accompanying experience of pain, which kinds and degree of variety, how often.
- "Wall" Depth
- regarding amount of pressure received (in massage therapy, for instance) relative to pain perception. The wall is that line, which when "crossed" by applying an excess of pressure, causes excess pain to be felt and/or causes the muscles to contract and "protect," either of which can interfere with personal safety and comfort, let alone with the capacity to relax.
- "Wall" Depth Shift Capacity
- capacity to increase the "wall" depth with increased experience of physiotherapy [or life experience], including textural changes in musculature.
- "Wall" Area Difference - degree of relative difference in different areas of body [or of life experience], maximum and average (in the above "Wall" factors).
- Referred Pain (R.P.)
-- the locational displacement of pain; distance is not so much a factor as is the degree of pain existing in one area and the fact that another area is communicating that pain. Sub-factors include:
- R.P. Degree
- regard how much pain can be referred for how long before the origin of the pain begins to be subjectively realized - before the person feels the pain at its origin.
- R.P. Comparative Association
- which area(s) are chosen to communicate the pain relative to how the person associates the referred to/from areas of his/her body.
- R.P. Comparative Awareness
- comparative degree of sensate awareness in the referred to/from areas of the body and in the body in general.
- Body-Mind Awareness
- amount of "accuracy/acceptance" regarding relationship of physical situation to mental/emotional and/or other cause/effect dynamics. This includes knowledge of ones beliefs, "issues", motivations, response patterns, etc.
- Emotional/Mental/other level correlates to the "Wall" and massage related factors above
. [EG: put into a general situation context, noting references to "life experience," etc. The same can be applied as necessary to any aspect covered in this essay, actually.]
- Social Expression Guilt
- degree of discomfort around admitting to feeling pain and/or denying pain.
- Social Expression Shift
- difference in perception and expression between times when alone versus when (all or specific) others present.
- Bargain Threshold
- how much pain is required in order to feel "worthy" of receiving something otherwise *felt not worthy of.
- Desire/Abhorrence/Need for pain
- from the masochistic self-infliction (with or without 'assistance' of others) of pain to the opposite side of this scale, that of having negative self-judgment for experiencing even the least amount of pain. Note that both of these could happen in an individual for the same event, consciously or unconsciously, simultaneously or otherwise.
- Factor Shift Range
- how much one shifts (in amount or degree) in any one factor over a period of time or from one kind of experience relative to another. (e.g.: from low stimulus response to high, depending on...)
- Situational Factors
- what kinds of situations turn on/off or vary degree of factor range/ applicability /shifting.
- Conscious/Unconscious Schism
- difference/contradiction between conscious & unconscious beliefs/needs in regard to "pain factors". Unconscious = *Lack of Awareness of* but does not necessarily equate to *denial of*. Things that are *known* may vary in their accessibility, and only one factor has to do with how much protection is in place to keep one from consciously accessing that information, under what circumstance, etc. IE: Memory, related to trauma or long term but painful conditions, can be locked away to some degree due to the apprehension of resumed pain, upon its retrieval (usually emotional, but not always). This (denial of pain) can relate directly to tension that is referred to and stored in the musculature as a means of coping with the emotional pain. Tension can be so intense as to cause physical pain, but that is usually a more socially acceptable pain, and so it is very common. More on those dynamics in the Body-Mind Integration essay (via Reference Section). Memory of something can also be contextual - related by degree to situations or conditions, feelings, other associations).
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More on REFERRAL of PAIN:
As a massage therapist, I have a good idea that there is some degree of pain referral going on when 1) I see/feel contracted muscle but pain isn't there, and then I find nearby healthfully textured muscle and pain is there, or 2) when I find the pain-complaining area not in the most contracted areas of a muscle but in a fairly textured area of that same muscle. In general people tend to be much more body-aware in the upper and frontal areas of their body vs the lower and rear areas. The upper back and neck can be quite "awake" relative to the lower back, and especially the buttocks. Referred pain is affected by one's "awareness predisposition."
A few of the considerations in regard to this aspect are noted in the section on "Pain Factors in Perception." Is the pain felt only where we are used to looking and feeling? This "looking and feeling" refers also to what kind of awareness we regard an area with (e.g.: with varying degrees of acceptance or liking), relative to other areas of the body. How does one relate to the areas referring pain compared to how one relates to the areas to where pain is referred? If one tends to look and hear in certain directions, then the most effective way to communicate with him/her is to present information in the places s/he looks and hears. Likewise, the area in pain needs to get attention, and if it can't get it directly, it uses another area to communicate for it.
This is especially so when the 1st area has been trained (associated with strong positive or negative incentive) not to complain, and when the 2nd area is generally given permission to do so. The body-mind will do its best to get important messages across (e.g.: "we need your attention here in order to maintain equilibrium/homeostasis"), and it is up to the person to listen. The fact that we can sometimes observe and feel signs and textures in another's body better than in our own, speaks to me of the lack of objectivity in and the interdependence of people. At our best, we keep each other awake to reality or at least to the most pertinent reality for the moment at hand.
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DELAYED HEALING
It is not uncommon that with traumatic pain certain nervous and/or proprioreceptor systems in areas of the body specific to the event in question become "switched off" by the brain. This may happen when one decides -- usually unconsciously -- that one doesn't want to be aware of what's happening in a specific muscle area or in any number and size of body areas. The muscle(s) then go into a "holding pattern." [from the essay, "Body-Mind Integration in the Personal Growth Process" by the author].
As muscles or muscle groups heal, they and their component systems recover
awareness and then assume new positions, functions, and working relationships
with other parts/systems of the body. The person may eventually drop the physical
and other related habit patterns. Notice any analogy(s) between the concept
of muscles "waking up" and "re-organizing" and the concepts
pointed out in the essay, "Seven Phases
of Personal Growth," and
"The Body Pattern Assessment/Reading and Understanding the Pattern Triad" -About Mind-Body Relationships, (from) coping mechanisms, (to) skills, (to) gifts through challenges on one's Life Path.
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"WHY DEEP MASSAGE/BODYWORK?"
The following reasons may explain why Deep Tissue Work is often desired:
- for change and the evolving capacity to translate/transmute the otherwise painful experience into release of energy, physical and or emotional habit patterns. Ways of either holding or moving body parts can become a habit pattern.
- due to the lack of sensitivity to anything but relatively painful or intensely exciting experiences.
- due to the (conscious or unconscious) need to feel and be felt deeply and/or intimately.
- due to other reasons for which massage is generally desired/indicated, but felt more intensely.
Any of the above may or may not be known by the person consciously. The third reason can be due to masochistic tendencies or to proving one's ability to take pain. It can also result from abandonment -- or lack of early childhood bonding or its healthy completion -- and the desire to feel understood at intimate levels, along with ignorance about any other way to go about getting that need met safely.
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"SHOULD A MASSAGE BE PAINFUL?"
Excerpts from "BODY, MIND, ATTITUDES, AND HEALTH," an article published in
Sports & Adventure Magazine Dec'92-Jan'93 by the author:
No, except to the degree that you feel you need to feel it in order to release tension. What : ? Really—many people seem to actually need to feel pain to some degree for effective release. "Feel-good-pain" is what a lot of people call it when they feel tension releasing from the body with massage. There is, however, the "old school" of practitioners, especially in Shiatsu, Reflexology, and Rolfing - who will claim that time is wasting unless you (as client) are practically clamping the sides of the table and biting wood!"
I've found that many (other) therapists look for a certain zone in the outer layers enveloping the body, wherein is located (what I call) "The Wall." The Wall is located by feel and pressure. (You might have guessed.) It is differently located for each individual with respect to depth into the tissues, and the depth may even vary somewhat among muscles/groups within the same person. EG: the calves are often very sensitive to the same pressure that feels great to the mid-back. In any case the "wall" is relatively easy to recognise since going beyond it causes the client's muscles to contract and protect, and this negates the purpose of the massage. An experienced massage therapist will usually kinesthetically and/or intuitively sense this reaction is close to happening before the client will feel threatened enough to begin the actual muscle contraction-protection."
And yet the pain gradient is not directly tied to where the wall is. (Uh oh! I thought you said ...) Some patients actually demand a certain amount of pain in order to feel anything is happening. Others are totally the opposite."
The common denominator has to do with what the individual does and needs for Balance with respect to where s/he is (in life) and where s/he feels and/or thinks s/he is going. "The only constant in the Universe is change," it is said, and pain is what we experience when we feel forced in ways or directions we don't feel are appropriate at that time (or ever). . This is true for any boundary we have. The subjective aspect of the experience of the recipient is paramount in these considerations, whether or not any stated rule or guideline has been abridged.
So, should a massage be painful? Only to the degree it feels (to the recipient) appropriate at the time, such that it is part of the healing process and no more (and perhaps no less). It is important that to the degree that you are unfamiliar with this variable within yourself, you communicate with the practitioner what feels good and what doesn't. It's not a difficult thing to learn so long as there is communication to facilitate respect of needs and boundaries. If the client is "into Sadism & Masochism," then there may be different considerations, but about those I don't feel capable to answer at this writing. And if the client came to receive relief from pain, then we're pretty much back to the original considerations anyway. And if, for various reasons the client tends to attract/create victimizing experiences, then we can at least hope that this is communicated (or somehow "picked-up on" by the therapist) before the client opens inappropriately to pressures that are not healthful.
NOTE: That was one of many statements here that might be applied to psycho-emotional level (or even spiritual) interaction as well as to physical level interaction."
Touch-Sensivity of Muscles - and Cell Congestion
I want to add something now (Aug 2011) that I took for granted in my early days of writing. I guess I figured it was either already known by most folks that I hung out with, or else considered "too much info" for most non-health oriented folks. Athletes are learning more about this just from the experts in their own circles. But I include this for people who are picking up an increased interest in why and how their muscles behave as they do over time, perhaps becoming curious about getting massage, especially those in their 30's & 40's. So... I'm talking about the muscle pain that you notice, ONLY (or primarily) when your muscles are massaged or just touched - with more than the slightest amount of pressure, and the amount of pain can really be surprising. It's a bruise kind of pain, not a traveling pain. That pain is due to "plain old" cellular storage of waste material. I know, that phrase sounds terrible, but given a little patience, knowing it will feel better soon, after a little of the right pressure of massage, which might hurt a little at first... often, within 5 minutes or less, it will be far less sensitive.
But why the pain when you didn't injure it and it works just fine? Cells are like households or factories, they take in resources, they work, they create waste products which need to be taken out. Which means taken out into the intercellular spaces (between the cells), and eventually out of there via blood and lymph vessels to the organs/systems that will process them and/or eliminate them from the body. If the circulation is sluggish around a given set of cells (including fibers of muscles and tendons), then they can become congested over time. It is the job of the nervous system to complain, to motivate us to remedy this. After a period of time, depending on various factors, the body's priority or focus may shift so that these complaints aren't "heard" by the brain. And for many people, this "sore muscle complaint system" (to put it in lay person's terms) has become virtually ignored, marginalized relative to other systems and conditions in the body far more critical to basic health.
This is common, actually, especially for those who don't exercise or receive massage therapy. But, surprisingly, it's also common for many who do exercise, and even for many who do receive massage therapy. And for different and specific reasons.
For those who do exercise, the congestion has to do with a limited degree of tension range. That is, given the maximum optimal range of tension between fully relaxed and fully contracted, there can be a habitually limited range between that degree one can actually relax and that degree one can contract a given muscle, the muscle might not be able to fully relax, and might even be limited to a range much closer to maximum contraction. That might appear to the average person as highly toned, but in truth, it is lacking texture, and therefore lacks optimal circulation, and is much more prone to injury as a result. This relates to what I refer to as the *Work/Rest Ratio*, to resulting *energy efficiency*, which is different from simply over-working the muscles. Common areas for this are the hamstrings, quadriceps, upper calves, and upper wrists. More on this at the "Tensing Yoga" page (in Reference Section).
For those who do receive massage therapy, the congestion may be due to the therapy not being focused on these particular areas since the cells became congested. It may be due to the client's desire for a very light touch, or the therapist's style, approach, or techniques that work geared toward other purposes, or the therapist is just not sensitive to varying textures of muscle tissue. Also to consider: the health of the blood vessels, especially the capillaries, especially in the case of certain systemic conditions; ie: blood vessels in the legs in the case of diabetes.
Old injuries can also be, often are, the dynamic focus of habitually contracted muscles and movement patterns, thence the adhesions (from adhearing fascia, the connective tissue around muscles, tendons, ligaments), the scar tissue and often times chronic pain. These can also be areas where congested muscles and tenden cells are found. Much much more about muscles and tension can be found via "Body-Mind Integration... The Basic How's And Why's Of Storage of Tension and Memory in the bodily tissues" ("normal" and otherwise): When, how and why it is stored and released; communication between body and mind, benefits; proprioreceptors, personal growth, massage/bodywork, therapist's approach, etc. Published in Massage Magazine, July-Aug 1992. The page includes "Muscle Q & A" - a Kind of overview of the core topics, Reviews for two articles "on Massage, Alternative Therapies, & Pain, with "Study: Massages really can make pain go away"; & Sept 2011 Consumer Report; quotes, commentary & charts, and a number of other short addendum essays for making these topics more easily understandable for *common sense* preventative maintenance application (much of which many therapists will enjoy teaching you how to apply, if you like), as well as further completing the context and clarifying the dynamics and processes involved.
Also, the "Core Body-Mind Integration Concepts in Context Chart" is now (10/10/11) at the Organization Chart page. It compacts the key points into a relatively small visual space, and provides a summary of them and their implications relative to body-mind preventative maintenance, pain management, other aspects, as well as links to their respective essays or sections.
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Stress and Energy Related Pains
If pain is a message demanding one to "do something different", then excess tension is the initial polite request. It's this that keeps us from flowing with circumstances, rolling with the punches - like old stiff branches on a tree - they break off when they're not flexing with the wind.
The following may be considered basic to "troubleshooting" by those who facilitate health care on a regular basis, or even those who repair various kinds of devices, and may initiate a slight learning curve for others:
Excess tension is the physical source (Manifested in the physical anatomy), the beginning point, of many kinds of pain, probably most, possibly all - aside from those of genetic origins. Learning to become aware of the specific excess tension, in & of itself, before or soon after it leads to pain, is the 1st step, which in modern life can require some effort. Next one can learn if the tension is a) truly relatively new in one's life, or b) is long-held chronic tension. Knowing which can usually make a difference in how one goes about most effectively (permanently) reducing or eliminating pain. In any case, from there it is a matter of determining the source(s) of the tension, and responding to it appropriately. Which may include separating oneself from it's source, if not eliminating the source. With the later accomplished, reducing or eliminating the tension is generally easy, if not already taken care of by dealing with the source.
| To restate a point from the above "A List Of Factors In The Perception Of Pain": Memory, related to trauma or long term but painful conditions, can be locked away to some degree due to the apprehension of resumed pain, upon its retrieval (usually emotional, but not always). This (denial of pain) can relate directly to tension that is referred to and stored in the musculature as a means of coping with the emotional pain. Tension can be so intense as to cause physical pain, but that is usually a more socially acceptable pain, and so it is very common. More on those dynamics in the Body-Mind Integration essay (via Reference Section).
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Beliefs, Tension, and Chronic Pain: What I am going to say next will be easier to digest and implement the related approach if is a muscle injury and not something like fibromyalgia or chronic pain syndrome, and may sound simplistic or bombastic if you have certain kinds of chronic pain: *How we originally responded to a source of tension, often has relationship to certain beliefs about relations, communications, and what or whom we are responsible for or to and in what way(s).*
ie: "If I'm not hurting, then I don't care about..." And there are many variations of that as related to *caring*, and how the *caring* word is actually, and in some ways covertly, defined in one's conscious and unconscious mind. Yes, "Co-dependence" enters in here, as does the martyr syndrome - the THREE rotating roles of which being 1) victim, 2) persecutor, and 3) rescuer.
Energy Related Keywords & References (for now or after reading further below):
* "Burnout" (Elaboration via Compassion, Healing, and the Practice -- and Detouring 'Burn-out', Published July'88)
* "Cording" & "Warding", "Power of Spoken Word" (Elaboration via WARDING[CordRemoval]-2.Txt (Text file)
* Also on clearing/Cutting/Attenuating Cords: Acknowledging (and affirming) you are responsible *only* for those people and situations you consciously want to be. A special section on that has been added to the "Q's for Boundaries" web page.
* "Energy Redistribution", "Qigong" (Basic Exercises for now) also included in WARDING[CordRemoval]-2.Txt (Text file)
With pain related to muscle or the connective tissues, the approach and basis for it is laid out via the "Body-Mind Integration..." and "Understanding the Pattern Triad" pages.
I have mainly put aside for now the discussion of the fascia around internal organs in what I have written about these dynamics at my site. Many of the same kinds of relationships and considerations apply, but require a more complex approach.
If your pain is spread throughout your body, knowing this, or applying this idea requires a much more complex approach to implement any effective remedy, which would be an involved process, to say the least. You may be interested in a theory about fibromyalgia and similar kinds of chronic pain at the Fascia Memory Theory page.
There is a great deal to contemplate or unpack in the above, unless you're already a student of psychology. Please notice the emphesis on conscious vs unconscious beliefs. BELIEFS relate to emotions, including DESIRE, to EXPECTATION, and to SUFFERING. If this sounds very Buddhist, then you're hearing is fine, AND there are quite logical dot-connection paths explaining why and how those relationships exist in the essay page, "Attainment And Achievement -- The Alignment Of Beliefs, Desires, And Needs"
Considering that many things work for many people, yet everyone requires and individual approach and different things work for different people...
If you feel a more eclectic approach to self-healing might work for you (especially if well-backed by scientific research), you might enjoy the page, "Notes on Beliefs, Healing, and Prayer". (Page description reference section.) For pain you might try a creative combo of things mentioned there, particularly Dr. Emoto's "water charging" with the "celldren" attitudinal communicative approach. Along with more conventional treatments, of course. Be well! -cp
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NOTES ON PAIN FROM GESTALT PERSPECTIVE
Put in personal growth terms, a person may feel dis-connected and without a role separated from love and acceptance. It's easy sometimes to feel that some parts of us certain recurring thoughts or feelings just don't belong in us. In that case it's not uncommon to want to separate such parts of ourselves dis-own them. Just having this experience creates pain, and we may believe that cutting out the thought or feeling will heal the condition. Pain is one (part of an) experience that we may not want to believe has a place in the gestalt puzzle. Pain results from feeling separated from (whom one feels is) one's source of love and acceptance. The core of the pain may have originated in his/her infancy, when the child felt cut-off in certain situations from his/her parents' needed attention. Feeling separate results from feeling judged as unwanted, undeserving, not enough, etc. From this particular gestalt perspective, physical pain (whether from a fall, a blow, or a disease) is a result of not paying attention some need to do something physically different, and/or to some pain, inconsistency, and/or disconnectedness that exists on the mental or emotional level. But then one usually doesn't just start out in life with the abilities ready at hand to do that unless one is quite unusually evolved.
The belief that "everything has its place in the world" is probably the basis for Gestalt Psychology. Among other things, that says that a newborn baby seeks only to love and be loved. That is its total underlying intention and motivation for coming into and staying in the world. I do not believe in the (puritanical) idea that underneath all the stuff of a person is a sinful being that needs to be forced into submission by a "vengeful God" and his "fearful servants". I do believe that all we have ever experienced has a purpose in our lives, regardless of how little we would want some of it repeated by anyone. [from essay,
"A Gestalt Perspective," , by the author ]
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INTERNAL SEPARATION AND HEALING
Beliefs about pain can unconsciously mislead us. Many of us are taught unintentionally to believe that pain is bad because it is "a punishment from God" (or via the Law of Karma) for wrong deeds or wrong thoughts. This may lead us to perceive parts of ourselves that are in pain as separate from our "acceptable" self. It's difficult for me to imagine one doing that without imagining one also developing a belief (perhaps unconsciously) that one is less acceptable, less lovable, even shameful. I believe that this makes the hurting part of the body the bad guy as well as the victim. Hence one part is separate, and another part (by believing it) of is making it so. It's like there is both victim & victimizer components residing internally. In acute phase (during and relatively soon after injury) the body attends to itself as best it can under the physical conditions and according to one's beliefs about pain, separation, and healing.
To the degree one believes in the above noted kind of separation, the injured area may be left unhealed without the body-mind attending to it, de-prioritized or on "semi-permanent" hold. This then becomes a "chronic" condition. The area will wait for the mind to "re-member" it, acknowledge it as worthy, and resume the attending/healing process. I want to clarify also that I do not believe that all pain or injury, or the lack of proper healing, is a result of the kinds of "un-whole" beliefs exampled here. But I do believe that a great many people are effected to some degree, depending on many factors, by beliefs similar to them.
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