Eckhart Tolle, author of “The Power of Now”and “A New Earth,” says the pain-body wants to survive and it can only survive if it gets you to unconsciously identify with it. When unchecked and working unconsciously it can then rise up, take you over, ‘become you’ and live through you. It needs to get its ‘food’ through you. It will feed on any experience that resonates with its own kind of energy, anything that creates further pain in whatever form: anger, destructiveness, hatred, grief, emotional drama and violence. There are contractions in consciousness, when you are identified with the upset, you will not see what has happened to you.
So the pain-body, when it has taken you over, will create a situation in your life that reflects back its own energy frequency for it to feed on. All emotional pains suffered during your life fall within the pain-body. Apprehension, self-hate, remorse, rage, envy, and other negative emotions are a representation of the pain-body….
“Become an active observer of your emotional state.”
Tolle talks about how we all have our own painbody and indeed when I work with teams and organisations I notice everyone, (including me), is bringing their own personal unique painbody with them. We can only change our own behaviour and as we recognise that it is our pain-body that is present in our field of consciousness and not our own self, the pain-body will fall away and presence itself can arise….
“Pain can only feed on pain. Pain cannot feed on joy. It finds it quite indigestible.”
Eckhart Tolle
The real work of breaking free of the pain-body is to acknowledge that you are identified with it. Hence, the challenge is not the pain-body itself, but our identification with it. And once an identification is seen and named, it will lose its power over you. Because identification with your pain-body robs you of presence, which is the real source of happiness and enjoyment.
And when we were closely in groups or teams it is everybody’s job here — in the now, to recognise the painbody when it shifts from dormant to active, when something triggers a very strong emotional reaction. At that moment, when it does take over your mind, the internal dialogue, which is dysfunctional at the best of times, now becomes the voice of the painbody talking to you internally. Everything it says is deeply coloured by the old, painful emotion of the painbody. Every interpretation, everything it says, every judgment about your life, about other people, about a situation you are in, will be totally distorted by the old emotional pain….
As often as you can check in with yourself?
What are you feeling?
How expansive is your consciousness?
How present are you?”
This means you need to learn how to recognise the pain-body as it arises. It can arise when you are triggered by a negative encounter with someone or when something happens that reminds you of a past experience that was painful. The smallest event can trigger a big reaction, but even though the reaction is big doesn’t mean you see it for what it is.
How often have you been in a good mood at the beginning of your day and by the evening you are depressed or angry? Did you notice when that shift occurred?”
But all is not lost ….What can we do?
Becoming an expert in noticing these shifts in consciousness is possible for everyone. There are contractions in consciousness, and whether they are subtle or explosive, if you are identified with the upset, you will not see what has happened to you.
Give yourself this practice: become an active observer of your emotional state.
As often as you can (which means as often as you remember), check in with yourself. What are you feeling? How expansive is your consciousness? How present are you?
The real question to ask is how long does it take to become free of your identification with the pain-body? And the answer to this question is: as long as it takes to see your identification.”
This kind of observation in itself can free you of the pain-body without having to know what its exact content is. It isn’t necessary to analyse your pain-body. All that is required to become free of it is to know that it is present.As you recognise that it is your pain-body that is present in your field of consciousness and not your own Self, the pain-body will fall away and presence itself can arise.
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