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| Photo by Fernando @cferdo on Unsplash |
To release emotional pain such as depression, heartbreak, or despair, mindfulness meditation has proven to be extremely helpful. It can even work to alleviate physical pain. You can try it right now with this free guided meditation, or you can learn more about it in this blog.
Releasing physical or emotional pain
It is inevitable that at some point in our lives we will have to face painful or uncomfortable situations, either physically, mentally, or emotionally.
Our immediate response is usually to run away from the pain, to suppress it, or to control it in any way. We don't want to experience this pain at any cost.
But there is something very powerful about pain, something very profound that can teach us to appreciate it and even welcome it.
Physical or emotional pain is not experienced in the past or in the future. Pain is only experienced in the present moment.
Therefore, the more we try to move away from our depression, heartbreak, or even from our physical pain, the less present we become. The less present we become the more we suffer.
That's because happiness is not experienced by being in the past or the future but rather by being fully aware of the present moment.
So we can actually use whatever painful situation we might be going through, to become fully present. And we can do this by practicing acceptance and surrender in a mindfulness-based meditation session.
To practice acceptance doesn't mean that you want to experience pain. It simply means that you acknowledge its presence, that you recognize that the pain is there, right at this very moment.
Instead of reacting to the pain, or resisting it, you simply accept its existence.
It might still be difficult for us to be ready to accept our pain though. That's why we also practice surrender.
Knowing that right at this very moment we might not be able to change our situation, knowing that we might have to go through this experience for longer than we might want to, instead of resisting it or fight it we simply surrender to it.
Remember, it is impossible to live in the present moment as long as we try to avoid our emotional or physical pain. To be present we need to accept the present as it is.
Acceptance and surrender are actually the best we can do in these situations.
Whenever we resist any painful or uncomfortable situation, whenever we try to run away from pain, we consume our physical and mental energy.
However, acceptance and surrender don't require any effort. Instead, they give us the space and clarity that we might need to realize what we can do about our situation if needed.
Most importantly, by offering no resistance to our pain but rather observing it with this attitude of acceptance and surrender, we might discover that the pain dissolves by itself.
In other words, by welcoming our pain instead of running away from it, it's possible to release, let go or heal our emotional or physical pain. Or at the very least we can reduce the discomfort.
But make sure you don't expect this to happen, otherwise, it wouldn't be a mindfulness meditation anymore. Remember, we want to learn to accept the present as it is. Have zero expectations.
This is not just theoretical. I can assure you it works, I have tried this myself. But there is plenty of research being done on this subject.
According to this article published in Medical News Today, researchers have found that with only 30 minutes of mindfulness, people with no previous meditation experience, reported less physical pain and negative emotions.
So if you are willing to try this approach to help you release physical or emotional pain then please feel free to listen to this guided mindfulness meditation.
If someone you care about is dealing with a painful situation, they might also find it useful so feel free to share it with them as well.
I sincerely hope that this guided meditation will help alleviate any pain that you or your loved ones might be going through. You can listen to it as many times as you like.
Another approach for dealing with emotional pain, such as severe depression, is to transmute it into compassion. I talk about it in my previous blog Transforming Depression into Compassion (Guided Meditation).
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