Meditation

People may tell you that meditation will help with chronic pain. That's true. It will. However, to reach the skill of a meditation master may take many years. And while your ability to alleviate pain through meditation will increase each time, what about right now? There is a meditation that anyone can do. It is hands down the best meditation I have ever done for pain. At times when I was in such pain that sleep seemed impossible, this meditation worked. My pain went away long enough for me to fall asleep - what a gift!

Be in as comfortable position as is possible. Think first about the fact that pain does not exist in and of itself. It is not something tangible that can be held. Rather it is lightening fast messages traveling from neuron to neuron. As the message passes from neuron to neuron, your brain says, "Pain." But, in reality, there is no "thing" that is pain, it is just a message.

Next focus on the part of you that hurts. Let's say, your elbow. Now try to find the pain. Is it the skin around your elbow, the muscle, the bone? If the bone, is it the bone itself or the marrow inside? If the marrow, which cells in the marrow? If certain cells, what part of the cells? If the energy in the cells, what part of energy? As you seek to find the pain, you may find that you cannot. In looking for it, it has disappeared.

This meditation is my gift to you this Holiday Season. May it be your lifelong friend and bring you much joy. I remain forever grateful to Sam May who taught me this meditation.