In Pursuit of Pain

I believe nothing in this world is bad, I believe in no devils. That is probably one reason why I find no need for god. Good and bad are biased perception of human intelligence, like god and devil. It exists only in human mind. That is also the place where pain resides. Pain is something unpleasant, yet, it is through endurance of pain that greatness is achieved. Ever heard of the Okipa ceremony of the Mandan Indians? If you haven’t check this out>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandan#Religion! It is a ceremony about creation of earth where warriors prove their courage by going through pain. The warriors are starved, skin slit, hanged and then rewarded by cutting off their left pinkie finger. Finally they run their last run. Those who get out alive get respect and fame. It sounds horrible and painful, but many of these warriors have done it twice (I don’t know which finger they cut off the second time)! Pain is not something that cannot be controlled if the reward is great. Sometimes getting rid of pain is in itself a great reward.

Pain is essential for survival. It is the fear of pain that keeps us alive. It is your body’s way of telling you that it requires attention, just like the cries of a baby. But sometimes pain can continue long after the wound has healed. It is called pain memory. It proves that pain exists in the brain. Just like pain can continue even after healing, you can train your mind to erase it as well. In fact, evolution has created a substance called opioids in the body that attach itself to the receptors of the brain which blocks pain. This calming and anti-depressing effect is called the “opioid effect”. Our body uses it in times of emergency [http://www.naabt.org/faq_answers.cfm?ID=6].

Pain is subjective with every person having a different tolerance level depending on genes, emotions, environments, etc. While there are drugs like the opium poppy that can heal pain like natural opioids, they all have side effects. Pain is psychological and hence a psychological treatment is probably better than medicine. You can heal yourself.

There are also many magic healing that has been practices since time immemorial. Most of the ancient cultures considered pain as evil and to hence to heal pain one had to get rid of that evil. Many ancient customs have various rituals to heal pain with includes dancing, singing, yoga, tantra, standing or sitting in various postures and even magic spells [http://www.khakani.com/freemagicspells/freemagichealingspells2.htm]. In the month of October over forty thousand people visit El Sorte Mountain in Venezuela, the spiritual center of the cult of Maria Lionza. They perform healing rituals that drives the bad spirits away. It is the bad spirits that they consider as the cause of pain, once they are gone you are happy once again [http://www.reportagebygettyimages.com/features/the-cult-of-maria-lionza/].

Now we also have magical wands sold online for pain relief [http://reikiranch.blogspot.com/2010/03/zero-point-magical-wand-from-singapore.html]. Harry Porter lovers might like it. All you have to do is wave it round and round the areas where you are having pain and the pain will vanish. It is called the zero point which apparently re-connects your cells with the universal energy. Then there are lasers that can heal your pain [http://www.formulaformiracles.net/magic-laser.html]. Pass the laser through the point where you are having pain and your pain is erased. There are also magic ancient oils which can cure pain [http://www.ancientmagic.net/]. The good news is that they all are effective in fooling your mind and creating the placebo effect. It is all in the mind, choose the one those suites you the best.

If the pain is in your heart then I wonder if any of these techniques are going to work. You better go and listen to ‘Why this Kolaveri Di’! Else you can try to find the place in that same heart where the happiest moment of your life is hidden. Use that, as that probably is your best medicine.  

Cheers!

SUB

P.S. Post inspired by an article in March 2011 edition of GEO.


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