Alleviating Pain Through Meditation

Pain is something that everyone has to deal with at some time or another, and there aren't always painkillers in the form of pills or syrup available. However, this does not mean that that you must suffer through the pain without any relief whatsoever. The mind is a painkiller and s just as effective as any medication you could purchase.

The kind of relief the mind can provide from pain is virtually absolute; the only limit to the type and level of pain one can control is his/her mind power, the limits of their imagination and the intensity of the pain, meaning that if the pain is to much you may not be able to slip off into the dream state that is crucial to process.

I found out about this method one rather unpleasant morning when I had a serious bellyache. You see, I have had pains in the night and as a result of my slight sleep, the pain is personified in a game like dream. These games tend to take the form of anything you personally hate, find annoying or something that you may specifically associate with pain. Normally the 'game' is such that I can't win therefore I suffer through the ordeal. But on this particular morning I was more awake; still in a dream like meditative state but with conscious control of the dream. The offensive sensation took the form of a long yellow line with numerous zigzag like folds in it with sharp purple spikes wedged into these folds.

In my dreamlike state I took the spikes out one by one and with each removal the zigzag section would straighten out and I'd feel a noticeable decrease in that nagging ache. Within 20 minutes, the pain was quite negligible and I could return to a deeper state of sleep. I use this method now to relieve the pain of headaches, cramps and the like.

To reap the benefits of pain relief through meditation, one must have a strong mind and imagination to produce and maintain a trance like state and to conjure the appropriate images of your pain to eradicate it.

When you first come to the conclusion that your discomfort can no longer be ignored, retire to a dark quiet place or if that isn't possible try to shut out all outside distraction.

Then try and quiet your mind as if to fall asleep yet still concentrate on your pain. Concentrate as in acknowledging its presence and begin to give it substance. For example, once I have concentrated on the exact throb of my head ache it appears to take on the form of a trapped rhythmic wave of red fluid periodically slamming against the wall of my skull. Once you understand the form that your pain has taken you will immediately understand how to alleviate it. In this case a door appears which I open and the fluid is released, traveling to the rest of the brain and dissipating in strength until it is nothing more than the slightly annoying sensation of a headache passed.

This will work with any pain you can imagine as long as it is not so intense that you cannot slip into the required trance. Once you have mastered the technique, you'll find yourself doing it almost subconsciously. I actually find it easier sometimes and definitely faster to just do that rather than travel to the medicine cabinet to retrieve the ibuprofen or Tylenol and then to the kitchen to get a glass of water to swallow it with. Besides then I have to wait for it to work so why not just deal with it naturally. Once you try it you'll be wondering the same thing.