Pain & Practice

        As I approach the second month of recovery from my knee injury, I think about pain & the practices that go along with easing it. In Western medicine, we usually turn to pills: painkillers & the like. In Eastern medicine, they practice herbal medicine, acupuncture, yoga & meditation. And now that I am technically considered a "Certified Sound Healing Practitioner," I still think about the nature of "practice." When we want to strengthen a skill, like in music, we must practice. When we want discipline, we must practice. And in many cases, when we want to heal old wounds, we must find a practice to cope with them. 

        But does the pain ever go away? Are we diligent to these practices to just keep the pain at bay? When does a practice cure the pain for good? To be honest, I have been lucky enough to not have to deal with chronic pain on the daily. But this injury has given me a different perspective. When we say chronic pain, we are accepting that the pain is here to stay. I don't accept that. I know there are some deep-seeded beliefs that say somehow our baseline of existence is pain & suffering. I beg to differ. I believe that our baseline of existence is peace, love, & joy. But the human evolution of existence has pulled us away from that baseline. So... far... away. Our baseline is with the frequency of nature, and we have become so isolated from the Mother Earth connection, we have forgotten who we really are. Alive. 

        Yesterday I was feeling very depressed and lost. I felt restless & hopeless in my existence. But I knew once I removed myself from society & immersed myself in nature, I would feel better. And I did. I remembered who I was again. At peace, with love, and simply alive. It was that simple. I suppose that would be my most consistent "practice," the practice of "naturing." 

        So, when I think of pain, I think of roots; not the topical remedies or salves we apply to temporarily ease the pain, but the fundamental source of existence which removes it at the baseline. Now, I am not saying that life exists with no pain-- it is just another feeling like any other that comes and goes, if we let it. But, in no circumstance do I believe that the baseline of existence is pain. I think somehow we have become conditioned to believe this is so. Is religion the cause, perhaps? I was never accustomed to religion. I think we have come to identify ourselves with pain, and without it, who are we? Well, this is one belief, but there are others. There are ways, in fact, to "nip it in the bud." We just have to find the right practice which provides the proper root healing, rather than just temporary relief; so that pain becomes just a visitor to our existence, and not who we are.