The Language of Pain

Western medicine is an amazing thing, particularly for cases of acute trauma and life-saving procedures. People afford doctors a rank similar to that of gods, and really, it is quite astounding, the skill that many doctors attain. I once had the opportunity to witness open-heart surgery – a miracle, indeed, to stop someone’s heart, perform its actions external to the body, put another heart in the chest, and bring the person to life again after suspended animation.

However, there are times when doctors don’t know how to help their patients. Part of the predicament is that specialization within the medical field doesn’t take into account the holistic factor. The reality is, everything is connected, not only our body systems with each other (digestive, respiratory, immune, etc.), but also our bodies with our minds (or thoughts) and emotions.

Doctors tell patients there’s nothing to do about their pain and to get used to living with it for the rest of their lives. Most people are so bewildered by how their bodies work that they look to experts, hope for a magic bullet, and don’t know what else to do if the bullet doesn’t work. One place we can turn to is inside our own selves.

Our bodies communicate with us via sensations and emotions. When we ignore, deny, or simply don’t understand the subtler messages, the communication gets louder, less polite, more insistent, in its attempts to get our attention. Pain is a language unto itself, and it is up to us to decipher its messages.

In my work, I have found that our bodies are often quite willing to tell us what’s going on, if we ask sincerely. There are usually clear correlations between the “main complaint” and what we need to do to heal it.

“Sam” came to me for help with his knee pain. After many years on the job in cold weather and painful positions, his doctor was recommending knee replacement surgery. A month into our work, with little change, I asked Sam to close his eyes, take a few quieting breaths, and ask his knee what it wanted. (Suspend disbelief, and keep reading…) The immediate response? “I want you to rest” - not surprising, from a body that had worked hard for decades. Thing was, it was hard for Sam to “do nothing”; he eventually opted for the surgery in order to give himself permission to rest.

“Elaine” has an irregular heartbeat and palpitations. She also feels a sense of deep heart “ache”, and is beginning to connect the two: the issues with her physical heart mirror the emotional issues. Surgery helped regulate the heartbeat, but didn’t fix the ache, bringing it to the forefront of her awareness of what else in her life needs attention.

The basic message of discomfort and pain is that we have gotten off track with our lives, out of touch with our hearts, out of alignment structurally, emotionally, spiritually. Ask your body – it knows, and it’ll tell you if you’re receptive and listen closely… and then you have only to possess the courage to follow the prompting. The magic, the healing power, is inside you; it is you. It may need the prompting of someone helping you, to bring it out, but everything you need to heal is already present.

The poet Rumi said, “We are pain and what cures pain.” Come to your pain with compassion and non-judgment; let it teach you, let it guide you back to yourself. The pain may not entirely go away, but chances are good you’ll remember or find who you are underneath it, whole and exquisite.

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