Welcome back, my dearest friends who are battling some sort of mental imbalance, but charging through bravely just the same! You’ve got this!! Today’s topic is the dreaded emotional pain body!
I first learned about the pain body through reading Eckhart Tolle’s book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose. Many of you are probably already familiar with Eckhart Tolle’s teachings. He is the author of numerous books, and is also known as sort of a New Age spiritual guru.
I was first introduced to Mr. Tolle way back when on the Oprah Winfrey Show. I find Eckhart Tolle’s teachings very sound. He has also been instrumental in helping me deal with my intrusive thoughts. He has spoken extensively on that topic, as well. But more on that in another post.
The pain body is an accumalation of decades of emotional pain one has endured and encountered in their life. This pain can be anything from disappointments to emotional abuse to neglect and even physical violence. The feelings and pain from all of the above, if not dealt with, can result in one becoming very angry or miserable or even depressed.
And as Oprah describes in the above clip, it is like a tiny, seemingly insignificant thing can trigger this pain body, resulting in a total overreaction of what was done or said.
All of this emotional pain can be caused by family members, friends, coworkers, bosses, even lovers and partners. So, in other words just about anybody can inflict emotional pain upon us, obviously, and cause us to develop this pain body, without us even realizing it. And just about anybody can trigger it, even without realizing that that is what they are doing.
According to Eckhart Tolle, the pain body can manifest as turbulence, depression, fear, heaviness, or anger. It is past pain that is very much alive. Eckhart goes on to say that you carry it around with you; however, you are not always aware of it.
Also, guess where a lot of this pain starts: Childhood. Big surprise there.
Another example of the pain body taken from another Eckhart Tolle book entitled The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightment.
As long as you are unable to access the power of the Now, every emotional pain that you experience leaves behind a residue of pain that lives on in you. It merges with the pain from the past, which was already there, and becomes lodged in your mind and body. This, of course, includes the pain you suffered as a child, caused by the unconsciousness of the world into which you were born.
This accumulated pain is a negative energy field that occupies your body and mind. If you look on it as an invisible entity in its own right, you are getting quite close to the truth. It’s the emotional pain-body. It has two modes of being: dormant and active.
A pain-body may be dormant 90 percent of the time; in a deeply unhappy person, though, it may be active up to 100 percent of the time. Some people live almost entirely through their pain-body, while others may experience it only in certain situations, such as intimate relationships, or situations linked with past loss or abandonment, physical or emotional hurt, and so on. Anything can trigger it, particularly if it resonates with a pain pattern from your past. When it is ready to awaken from its dormant stage, even a thought or an innocent remark made by someone close to you can activate it.
My Own Pain Body
The above passage describes me to a T! I overreacted in relationships with my family and most definitely in intimate relationships, and sadly even with friends. Most recently back in October of 2021 with friends.
I can testify to the power of the pain body, because it is hardwired to any emotional triggers I associate with people hurting me from the past.
For example, someone picks on me or needles me, albeit innocently. However, sometimes I will get very, very angry and unleash a torrent of venom and hatred. That is the pain body, my pain body.
Another example is if I feel that someone is talking down to me, that can also bring out my pain body. During my childhood, I felt that a lot of people, particularly my own family, were condescending towards me, as well as other adults, especially certain teachers.
One of the things that Eckhart Tolle teaches about the pain body is being aware of it. And of course, being aware of the triggers that can bring the pain body to the surface. I did not know for years that this was what I was doing, allowing my pain body to resurface because of the thoughtlessness of others or simple innocent remarks. Now, that I think about it, I believe the alters were/are my pain body. There is so much anger and resentment that I have built up over the years, that I used my “other selves” (my pain body) to take over and wreak havoc upon myself and most definitely upon others.
Responding to the Pain Body in Others
So, now that you know about the pain body and what it is, what if you recognize it in others? How in the name of all that is holy do you deal with someone with a very pronounced and distinct pain body?
Well, Eckhart Tolle advises that when dealing with someone with an extremely strong and ever-present pain body is just to simply do and say nothing. He goes on to suggest in trying to engage with a person in the possession of their pain body may make things worse. I know this to be true, because when I have been in the middle of my pain body, someone trying to argue back with me does no good. It just simply adds “fools to the fire,” as I like to say.
Eckhart states that if necessary, walk away from the situation. Keep in mind, that any of this can still make things heated. Unless the person who is observing the pain body in action knows how to label it and say “this is your pain body speaking.” If only someone had said that to me, I think things would have been much different.
Check out the clip below:
But How Do You Get Rid of or Deal With/Lessen Your Pain Body???
According to Eckhart Tolle, the first thing, again, is to be aware of your pain body and to catch it when it arises before it goes into your mind and when it is an emotion. Again, a relatively minor thing triggers a blow up. Or as Oprah says, a small thing happens and you blow up. LOL You feel a negative emotion as it arises and you realize this is what is transpiring. But also recognizing what your triggers are. He says that the knowledge of the pain body is the awareness of it. The pain body cannot control your thinking. So, therefore, it cannot control your actions. In other words, be present and aware.
I hate to keep tossing videos at you, but if you wish to really get an in-depth knowledge of how to heal your pain body, check out this video. It is a little lengthy, but worth it.
In summation, as Maya Angelou once said – on The Oprah Winfrey Show tee hee – people can be like pecking ducks. Perhaps this pecking is through jokes or sarcasm directed towards you or offhanded comments, cutting remarks, or out and out criticism and anger towards you. I look at it as they peck at you and peck at you until there is nothing left, except a torrent of negative feelings and emotions coming from you. That’s right, your pain body. And it is a wonder that people explode in response to this sort of behaviour. But it is up to us to call it out and control and be aware of our own pain body.
You can rest assured that we will be discussing more of the pain body in later blog posts. 😉
As I always say, if you find what you are going through too tough or you identify with this article, please talk to someone. If you believe you need a professional, try online therapy. Online therapy allows you the opportunity to speak with a professional in the privacy of your own home. No need to drive to an office. So, click on the link below and check it out.
That is it for today. If you identify with this post, please shoot me a comment down below. And until the next time, and in the meantime, please be safe and mentally well!!!
DEREK’S DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical professional, neither am I giving any medical or legal advice. If you are seeking help from a doctor or an attorney, please consult said professionals. These are my personal thoughts and feelings on the subjects discussed, and my blog is my own personal experiences and journey with mental imbalance. Thanking you in advance!
Also, I do not own the copyrights to any videos or books appearing in this post.
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