Meditation and Pain

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cindy-bird/buddhist-meditation-chronic-pain_b_2008696.html

Interesting article. It recalls a method of pain reduction I used years ago when my lower lumbar osteoarthritis was dominating my daily life. It was bad enough that I was forced to wear a brace all day. It ran from just below my hips to under my armpits.

In spite of this, the pain was often severe and disabling. I developed a meditation technique which gave me much relief. I carefully pictured a pleasant, sunny beach. I placed myself near the waves, standing next to an outcrop of sharp, volcanic rock.

I conceived of the rock as the pain. The more severe the pain, the larger and sharper the outcropping. Then I imagined a fog slowly flowing in. As the fog thickened, the outcropping was obscured, bit by bit, and the air temperature dropped. When the outcropping was hidden, and I could tell the ocean was near only by the sound of the waves, the pain was much reduced.

I tried hurrying the process, to make the pain end sooner, but that failed. When I made the fog come in quickly, there was no benefit. I had to reset my image to the sunny, warm and sharp beginning, and slowly let the fog do its work.