Dealing with Chronic Pain and Illness - Adyashanti

"1. Notice when the fight-or-flight response is happening.

The symptoms that it has triggered are fear, anger, anxiety,
resentment, defeatism, victimhood, and rampant negative
thinking, to name a few.
2. Once you have noticed the fight-or-flight response is
taking place, stop and take several conscious deep breaths.
You are beginning to go against the tide of the fight-or-
flight response, so you may experience some inner
resistance to doing even this first step. Nonetheless, take the
time to take a few conscious breaths. This will begin to
biologically counter the fight-or-flight response in the brain.
It will help the brain to reset its response to physical and
emotional challenge.
3. Notice the negative thoughts that the mind is generating.
Also notice that it is the negative thoughts that are
generating the emotional turmoil. Pain and exhaustion are
direct experiences, while emotional turmoil is a secondary
reaction. Its an add-on that has the power to elicit many
reactive emotions. So take the time to notice that this
secondary reaction is being generated by negative thinking.
4. Acknowledge that, while the pain or illness may be
unavoidable, the resistance to it is optional and happens in
your mind. Ask yourself, Is it absolutely necessary for me
to resist what is happening right now? What would it feel
like to let go of these resisting thoughts?
5. Take the time to let your body feel the shift from
negative thinking to a more neutral mindset. Negative
thoughts may still try to intrude into the moment, but just
ask yourself once again, What would it feel like to let go
of these resisting thoughts right now? Dont resist the
resisting thoughts, however; that will only keep you bound
by them. Be patient and dont try to rush it. Being patient
counters the fight-or-flight response as well.
6. Be sure to let your mind and your body feel the space
between and underneath the negative thoughts, which this
practice makes available. I cannot emphasize the
importance of this enough. This practice makes available
the experience of neutral space in the mind and the body.
When applied constantly over time, it resets the emotional
triggering caused by the mind to a more peaceful and free
state.
7. Illness and pain can also generate future thinking like
Will this ever end, or What will my life look like in the
future? Or, even more painful, What did I do to deserve
this, and why is God doing this to me? These are also
thoughts that are resisting experiencing this moment. They
are generated by fear and resistance and in turn create more
fear and resistance. You may also feel some fear in letting
them go, as if somehow they were going to protect you in
the future. You are not being punished; life is just like this
sometimes.
8. Repeat the above exercise as often as needed, probably
many times every day. It can take time, though it doesnt
necessarily have to, to reset the minds fight-or-flight
responses. The more consistent you are, the faster these old
conditioned responses can be turned around. But it does
take consistent practice.
9. Also, take some time to meditate every day. You can
work with the thoughts that come up in meditation in
exactly the same way that I have outlined here. Meditation
done correctly can help tremendously in freeing yourself
from the fight-or-flight response, as long as you dont
restrict the practice only to times of meditation. And
remember, this practice is not only for your mind, it is also
for your body. So take the time to let both the mind and the
body experience those gaps of neutrality and peace that this
practice makes available to you. It can be life changing." -
Excerpted from an answer to a letter in "The Philosophy of
Enlightenment"