Whenever we are in pain, the only thing we want is for it to disappear - the sooner the better. The worse the pain is, the more effort and attention we place on removing it from our lives. We can experience physical, emotional and mental pain, and all three types of pain hurt us…or do they?

Ever since childhood, we have been conditioned to believe pain is bad and should be eliminated as soon as possible. We are bombarded with advertising encouraging us to take pills that instantly remove pain, so we can get back to daily living. This seems so logical and is such a comforting concept that we never have any need to question it.

And for those who are less inclined to take drugs for their pain, a visit to an alternative health practitioner is perceived to be the healthier solution. In reality, there isn’t much difference. Although most practitioners say they are holistic, their intention is still the same – to ‘help’ you with your pain. And by help, they mean remove it for you.

But what if pain is there for a reason? What if pain isn’t the problem? Imagine if pain was nothing more than a ‘messenger’, a warning sign, letting us know something is wrong, or out of balance. What if pain is our body’s way of communicating with us, telling us exactly what we need to know to be safe - to be free from danger? And what do you suppose would happen then, if you were to remove that pain, without understanding the message?

Imagine this if you will. A fire alarm is sounding in your house. The siren is so loud and irritating that you can no longer concentrate or continue about your usual activities. You get so frustrated with the noise that instead of investigating the cause of the alarm, you simply remove the battery from the unit. Sure, the house is now quiet and you can carry on with what you were doing before, but what do you suppose will happen next?

It seems like a silly example but sadly, people do this in varying forms every day, all over the world. They seek experts, healers, doctors and counsellors, giving other people the power to take their pain away - and they are often successful. The sad truth is, the flame still burns in the background, causing further problems - all because nobody took the time (or had the skill set), to discover what was really going on. And because nobody ever addressed the real cause, the symptom returned, or manifested in a new way.

The next time you are in pain, you will naturally want to remove it ASAP. But before you reach for that paracetamol, I want you to take a moment. Think about how liberating life would be if you could travel down a different path and listen, truly listen, to what the symptom is telling you. If you can learn to hear it, your symptoms will become gifts that improve your life.

Why people don’t get out of their pain

Have you ever noticed that people tend to experience one type of symptom? For example; the friend who gets the headaches, the friend with anxiety who always has panic attacks, and then there’s the friend who repeatedly puts their back out.

Our symptoms seem to reappear time and time again and eventually most people come to believe two very sad thoughts. One is that it’s just the way it is, and two, that they will just have to learn to live with it. They have reasons and justifications for why it is this way. It could be scar tissue, genetics, degeneration, or simply the belief that ‘it’s just the way I am’. I can’t tell you how many people I have worked with who have been told by their medical doctor or some alternative healer that they will always have pain because of a, b or c. And as long as they believe this to be true (as most of us do when we are told by an expert or trusted adviser) their symptoms will reoccur.

They experience pain, they believe they are meant to have the pain, and so the cycle continues.

I heard a story recently of a man who had his finger cut off completely in an accident. When he went to the hospital and medical staff tried to reattach it, he told them not to, as he was going to regrow it himself. The surgeons and family members all thought he was insane but as the story goes, apparently he did  grow back his finger.

Now even though this could be true, my personal belief system dictates that it’s impossible, therefore my brain wants to disregard this information. You see we sort, delete and manipulate incoming information based on our belief systems, and this is why it’s often so hard to change, or yield a different result.

If you believe that you will have pain and you believe it’s genetic, then you will be stuck in this cycle until you identify the limiting story and create a more empowering one.
That last line was so important. Please re-read it.

So our pain will often come back time and time again, until we discover what is really happening. Remember, the pain is our body’s way of notifying us that we are lacking congruence in some way. It’s a sign that we are out of alignment with what we are doing in life and what we want to be doing, or that our feelings, thoughts and dreams are not aligned with our vision. Whenever there is incongruence there is an element of stress. While we all have a capacity to deal with stress, we also have a limit which, when reached (often through multiple stresses adding up), creates a symptom.

So as you can see, you have a lot more control over how you are feeling than you think. What this also means, however, is that as long as you continue to do what you’ve always done, you will continue to experience the same symptoms, or pain. We all know the definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. So whether you are relying on medications or going to see your local healer, if your symptoms are constantly repeating themselves, you now know why. By removing your pain and choosing to ignore your body’s attempt to communicate with you, you are simply sweeping the issues under the rug and can expect nothing but the same, until you decide you want something different.

When the time is right for you and you want to resolve the underlying causes of your pain, you can start living on a whole new level. By taking responsibility and beginning your inquiry, the self-discovery will be both empowering and enlightening and the results will blow you away. One of the main intentions of this book is to empower you by showing you how to do this.

As Einstein so nicely put it, “You cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness that created the problem”. If your symptom keeps coming back, you have not figured out what is going on yet!

Do something about your pain today so tomorrow you won't have to live with it.