Thinking Out Loud

Why would anyone want to practice staying with pain? This was a question raised by another student in my mindfulness teacher certification program. He was specifically referring to the pain that comes from sitting on a meditation cushion for an extended amount of time. "Why not just move? Isn't it stupid to sit in pain when you can so easily obtain relief?" Sounded reasonable to me. Jack Kornfield wisely responded, "We practice sitting in pain because there may come a time when we cannot move." There is value in painful practice. That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do.  This lesson beautifully coincided with a lecture I listened to later in the day by Seth Godin. He spoke about the importance of training. For a person who has not trained, running a marathon is a painful endeavor. For those who practice and train, a marathon becomes less painful. In fact, those who practice and train find them rewarding enough to do multiple ma...

How has mindfulness helped you deal with pain? Mindfulness has taught me to recognize my feelings and name my pain. It has always been easier for me to recognize and deal with physical pain vs. mental/emotional pain. I am an athlete. Pushing through pain, ignoring it, or increasing tolerance for pain has been part of my daily life. No pain no gain, right? Over the years, I have developed a high physical pain tolerance. I can breathe through intense pain and even relax into it. I have learned that physical pain will pass--or at least its intensity will ebb. Mindfulness has helped me transfer my physical pain skills to my emotional/mental pain skills. I am getting better at sitting with and through mental pain. I can send myself love and compassion when the feelings are intense. For me, self-compassion is to mental pain as breathing is to physical pain. I'm still learning how to best apply these skills when it comes to the pain of others. How can I best support others bett...

Today was a fun day in Hawaii and while I’d love to chronicle all our adventures, one is more important to note than all others. It occurred at Waikiki Beach. Page lost her goggles when a large wave pummeled her. She and her sisters search around the surf to no avail. They were gone. She came up on the beach, where I was enjoying a good book, and vented her frustrations. I told her I was sorry that happened and assured her that it wasn’t a big deal and we could rent some other ones or buy her some new ones. She, however, could not be consoled as she was positive her day, and in fact her entire trip, were now ruined. I exercised my Buddha wisdom and reminded her of pain and suffering. I told her there wasn’t anything she could now do to bring her goggles back as the Sea Gods had claimed them and only they could give them back if they wanted and it would be in their own due time if they felt so inclined. Rather than be upset that her siblings were no longer interested in searching for th...