(Your pain is not you.)
The next time you bang your shin, or stub your toe, try to apply mindfulness. See if you can observe the sensations and the desire to cry out or scream. It all takes 1-2 seconds. If you are quick enough, and can apply mindfulness to the sensations you are feeling, you may notice that you will stop swearing, yelling or groaning and your movements will diminish.
As you isolate the sensations, notice how they shift—how sensations of stinging, throbbing, burning, cutting, shooting, aching will begin to blend into each other. Keep following these sensations as you hold the area, or put ice on it, or whatever else you do. Observe the “flavours”–the texture, shape, depth and mobility of the pain. Observe the body as a whole. If your concentration is sufficiently strong, you will notice a centre of calmness within yourself from which you can observe the entire episode unfold. It can also feel that you are removed from the pain, it is not “your” pain, it’s just pain.
If you experience pain during the Body Scan, these same principles can be applied. By creating a different relationship with your pain, you will find that there is a big difference in the amount of pain that you feel and how much you suffer. We begin to see ourselves and our bodies differently as we move away from feeling out of control and helpless—towards a sense of the possiblity; a sense of acceptance and inner peace. This profound transformation of view is what healing is all about.
Through a change of perspective, we can experience a sense of wholeness—we can begin to act with greater balance and security when encountering stress or pain. Healing does not necessarily mean curing . Healing always involves a change of attitude and of emotion, and often it is accompanied by a reduction of physical symptoms.
It is important to remember that meditation is really a laboratory that can allow us to learn to deal with different mind/body states, and to cultivate greater awareness, flexibility and inner balance in response to them. Do your best to be curious as you investigate your experiences in each passing moment.