Visualizing your pain: Working with your pain
For this practice, you may wish to have a paper and coloured pencils on hand.
You will be practising visualizing your pain, whether the pain is physical, emotional or
related to your thoughts. This can be helpful when experiencing a moment of suffering
you're just not sure how to deal with.
You might be feeling an unpleasant symptom in your body, a feeling of
discomfort or unpleasant emotions, like anger or jealousy or maybe sadness, anxiety.
Please take a moment to find a comfortable position.
If you are sitting, keep your back tall but relaxed. Gently close your eyes.
Take a couple of deep breaths and settle into the natural rhythm of your breathing.
Without trying to control or change anything, notice how you are feeling in this moment.
Notice any thoughts, feelings or sensations that are coming in and out of your awareness.
Notice any reactions you have in response to these thoughts or feelings or sensations.
There is no right or wrong way to be in this moment. Simply become aware of how you are feeling right now.
Now, direct your focus to your breath. Noticing each inhale and exhale.
Ride the natural waves of your breath.
Breathing in and breathing out.
At any point during this practice, you may return to your breath.
If your mind wanders or your experience becomes too intense, redirect your focus to your breath.
Then, when you are ready, come back to my voice.
Do a quick scan of your current experience, and take note of any uncomfortable
or painful thoughts, feelings or physical sensations. Choose one painful experience,
for example, a physical pain or perhaps a painful emotion you are holding onto.
This need not be the biggest or most challenging pain, but one that you feel open to exploring.
Resist the urge to turn away or avoid this pain.
Try instead to turn towards it and see where it is located in your body.
Take a moment now to find where the pain is in your body.
What size is this pain? If you are able, draw an invisible line around the perimeter that marks this area of pain.
As you begin to direct your awareness towards this pain, do any images appear?
If no images appear, that is OK. Simply sit with your experience.
Simply sit with your experience however it presents itself, with openness and curiosity.
If an image does appear, what does this pain look like?
What size is this pain? Is it big, medium or small?
Is the image of your pain in black and white, shades of grey? Or perhaps it's colourful.
Take a moment now to notice the colours. Next, notice the texture of this image.
Is your pain smooth, rigid, pointy, bumpy? Or perhaps the image is fuzzy and hazy with no real edges.
Gently explore the image that arises as you direct your attention and your focus to your pain.
If at any point this feels too intense, it is OK to move away from the pain
and instead to focus on the edges or, if needed, to refocus on your breath,
but try to return to approaching and being with your pain when you are ready.
As you continue to explore the image of your pain, notice if it changes in any way over time.
Is the pain stable? Or is it moving or pulsing?
Is the pain staying in the same place within your body or is it moving around?
How old is this pain? Is it new? Or perhaps it feels like it's been there for a long time.
It may even feel ancient.
Simply be open to being with this pain for a moment.
Continue to explore your pain with openness and curiosity. Once you have a vivid image in your mind,
you may now begin to work with this image. How might you be able to change the image
in order to soften to it or make it easier to sit with? You may soften the edges of the pain, dulling the edges
or smoothing out any bumps. If you see dark colours, you may dilute them or lighten them.
If your pain moves, you may want to slow down its movements.
If you find it difficult to change your pain, that is OK. Simply continue to sit with it with openness.
You may also wish to ask your pain a question. Or perhaps whether
there is something to be learned from this experience.
Take a few moments to simply be with and work with this pain, with openness and curiosity.
Allow it some space and resist the urge to turn away from it.
I ask that you now return your awareness to your breath. Noticing each inhale and exhale.
Ride the natural waves of your breath. Breathing in and breathing out.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Thank yourself for the time and courage you took for this practice today.
Congratulations for sitting with a moment of suffering with openness and curiosity.
If you wish, you can take some time to draw any images that appeared
and reflect on any lessons or strategies that made this practice easier.
Know that you can always return to this practice at any time.