Can you believe it’s Christmas this week? It really did sneak up on me. I am happy to be avoiding the malls, and between my husband and I we have done most of our shopping online. I did pop over to the mall last week and could not believe all of the anger floating around. People rushing and even swearing! It appears that people have lost sight about what the holiday is really about. Sure gift giving is an element, but enjoying the process is more important. Every morning I wake-up and have my coffee in front of the Christmas tree, before the sun or even the rest of the house wakes-up. It is a peaceful time, and the lights and smell of tree ignite a lot of positive feelings in me. I am happy to start my day with the peace and magic Christmas brings.
Unfortunately, as with everything else, there is always an opposite per the law of polarity. For a lot of people, reuniting with family and friends over the holiday season can be less than spectacular. It can be painful and invoke the ego in its finest form. Have you heard of the Pain-Body?
Read below to find out more and how to shift it this season and have a more enjoyable holiday 🙂
Article:
In Eckhart Tolle’s book, A New Earth, he describes the pain-body as, “…a semiautonomous energy-form that lives within most human beings, an entity made up of emotion. It has its own primitive intelligence, not unlike a cunning animal, and its intelligence is directed primarily at survival. Like all life-forms, it periodically needs to feed – to take in new energy – and the food it requires to replenish itself consists of energy that is compatible with its own, which is to say, energy that vibrates at a similar frequency. Any emotionally painful experience can be used as food by the pain-body.”
Pretty heavy stuff, I know. Essentially what he is saying is that even though we don’t want to believe it, there is a part in all of us that feeds off of negative thinking and that actually likes drama! This is called the ego. It’s the need to be right, it’s the inner child that needs to be loved and causes all kinds of drama to get the attention it desires, and that part of us that pushes other people’s buttons on purpose! Yes, we’ve all done it. It’s okay to come clean 🙂
Tolle goes on to explain that the Pain-Body is usually triggered by a situation that is affiliated with a certain kind of emotional pain suffered in the past. This is why most people’s Pain-Bodies come out at family events. We tend to hang on to a lot of past hurts and resentments when it comes to our families. Imagine all of this coming to the table in one seating! Ahhh!!!!
Tolle says the best way to lose identification with the Pain-Body is to recognize it when it comes out. Acknowledge the pain and negative emotion you are feeling. Just being aware of it is really all that you need. Tolle says, “The knowing prevents the old emotion from rising up into your head and taking over not only the internal dialogue, but also your actions as well as interactions with other people.”
I’ve also read another book of his, The Power of Now, which I particularly resonate with. In this book, he shares a lot on how to deal with the emotions and how to shift them. When you are filled with love underneath the pain, you will set yourself free. Notice the love underneath when heavy emotion arises. Take a few breaths and realize it’s there. This will help you return to a place of love, and to be able to respond versus react. It will help you to keep the calm and peace inside yourself regardless of how others are behaving. The great thing is the more you behave in this manner, it cannot not affect the people in your life.
I suggest grabbing a copy of either book (or both), and start reading it right away. This will help to enhance your holiday experience and relationships in general.
Have a wonderful holiday!