pain-body: this accumulated pain is a negative energy field that occupies your mind and body. If you look on it as an invisible entity in its own right, you are getting quite close to the truth. It's the emotional pain body. It has two modes of being: dormant and active....
Tonight, I have focused my energy back to Eckhart Tolle's book: A New Earth. It is taking me quite a while to get through this book, for a few reasons. It is deep. It requires a open mind and time to process each paragraph. I knew it was time to pick it back up after talking to a friend of mine about the pain-bodies that he is dealing with. I have also been reflecting on the moments of my life that my pain-body were apparent.
The past lives in you as memories, but memories in themselves are not a problem. In fact, it is through memory that we learn from the past and frompast mistakes. It is only when memories, that is to say, thoughts about the past, take you over completely that they turn in to a burden., turn problematic, and become part of your sense of self. Your personality, which is conditioned by the past, then becomes your prison. Your memories are invested with a sense of self, and your story becomes who you perceive yourself to be. This "little me" is an illusion that obscures your true identity as timeless and formless Presence.
For some reason, as I read about pain-body's again, (which are triggered by situations that arise that are similar to something you experienced (negatively) in the past), I recalled a heavy pain-body that I once experienced.
When I was young-er, I dated a guy for a very loooooong time. Early on in our relationship, I would get soooooooooo mad at him for drinking beer. It didn't matter what the situation, if he had a beer in hand, I was PISSED. My attitude would completely change, and I would get mean. I would allow his beer drinking to ruin my day, even if he was just having a beer to cool himself down after mowing the grass on a hot day.
Today, I realized why I got so upset when he would drink a beer. My dad was an alcoholic when I was young. And when this guy would open a beer, my pain-body would go in to full effect and I would be taken back to that dark place.
Why that particular situation sticks out in my mind so much after reading that particular chapter in A New Earth, I do not know... but I can say that I learned something new about myself this evening....not only through my own experiences, but from friends experiences as well. What an honor it is when a friend allows you to advise them on the next step they should take to continue moving forward with their lives. I thank them for that opportunity. Win/Win.
A friend told me that a friend told him about an experience she had at the Cincinnati airport. While approaching the moving walkway she read a sign above: "DON'T STOP. DON'T LOOK BACK. KEEP MOVING"
Cheers to a few moments of free time to step away from the rest of the world and lose myself in a book.
XOX
Quoted is Eckhart Tolle in A New Earth.
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4 comments:
We can never fully separate ourselves from our experiences. People who grow up with an alcoholic parent will often end up in one of two states themselves. Either they will be an alcoholic themselves, or they will be vehemently against alcohol. And whichever choice we make, the fact that Mom/Dad was that way most likely figures prominently into the equation.
The best we can do is be self-aware and try to make as many adjustments as possible to try and straighten out the curves that life throws at us.
I read a sample of Toole’s book and it looks like it might be an interesting read. I think that if a book has to be re-read in order to be understood, then it is probably a really good book or a really bad book. I guess I’ll have to read Toole’s book to find out.
I remember when I read an excerpt of Marshall McLuhan’s writings. At first, I thought the guy must have been high on crack when he was writing his books. But after I re-read it, I realized he was a freaking genius of some sort - especially considering the fact that he was writing this in the early 60’s.
Phil,
You CAN separate yourself from a terrible experience. The book is a must read, and I can't wait to hear from you after you have read it.
xox Bird
Crista,
I just want to clarify what I said before. I do not necessarily think that having a bad experience mandates that you will either follow that example or choose the opposite extreme.
In other words, the child of the alcoholic might become an alcoholic also, or might choose never to drink at all, but could also choose and be able to drink in moderation.
What I am saying is that as sentient beings, we can not just forget those experiences. If we have bad experiences, the best way to ensure that they don't cause us to adopt extreme behavior ourselves is to reflect on the experience and be honest about how it has/is affecting us.
I see a lot of people who don't seem to do this very well. Then again, I only know a fraction of the six billion inhabitants of this planet, so I am sure my view is slightly skewed.
Regardless, I have never read Eckhart Tolle's thoughts before and I expect that doing so will modify my own views. So I'll read the book, and I'll get back to you on this.
Phil
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