Part 4: Pain Messaging
Somewhere, during our cycle of life, early on and now, we are given strong messaging to stuff our pain down. To mute it. Some people stuff it so completely they create an entirely new sensitivity to what it all means. They can change the shape and definition.
Some people turn their pain into anger.
Some people show their pain by inflicting it on others.
Some people hold their pain so deeply within, when it begins to bubble they are surprised.
All the these instances are people being given the message that pain is bad. The other implied messaging is: “You should be happy.” Pain is bad and happiness is the goal.
If a person is in pain, to be happy is a far reach. And you can even argue, that pain and happiness are not on the opposite side of the same scale.
The opposite of pain, is likely, no pain.
The opposite of happiness, may be no happiness. Lack of happiness doesn’t mean despair, it could be contentment. Also, happiness can turn into pain.
Renunciant practioners would pray and meditate to merge back with Brahman and get off the cycle of reincarnation. The practice was an attempt to shed all the labels and burdens of society. They didn’t acquire things to leave a mark on the world, they ate a healthy diet to keep their systems clean more connected to the earth. Everything they did was an attempt to not leave a residue.
Their merging back with Brahman was to merge back into everything. Think of it in a similar way as, ‘ashes to ashes, dust to dust.’ In the practice of yoga, peace isn’t actually the goal, nor is happiness, it’s the unburdening of story, the ego mind. A process of removing labels, identity, and to see the difference between them and the essence of you, the soul.
Be well,
~Carmen