Posted on 5.26.09 by Sharon Lin, DO

We often see people in the midst of their pain body. Sometimes, we can even see our own pain bodies.  These pain bodies have negative repetitive thoughts that cause suffering and suffocation.  I have been learning a lot about how to best interact with pain bodies.  My teachers say we should be observers in suffering as well as of our own suffering.  Awareness of thoughts is the first step in changing the way thoughts affect our actions and words.  Being present and conscious is a difficult practice, but I have been told it gets easier when you keep working at it.  There is stillness within the rustling leaves.  There is grace within my slowest exhalations. I am catching repetitive thoughts.  Let there be a breeze of peace.

Practicing the art of medicine is a spiritual journey - storytelling cloaked in incidents and adventure.  I am carried through the lives of many people, some grateful, some lacking hope, and many quite endearing.  Taking the time to process these experiences with spiritual exploration is an important aspect of this art form.  We are all capable of having a spectrum of emotions because we are human and the energy we carry with us can be put to wonderful uses as well as detrimental ones.  I am taking this moment to acknowledge how it feels to be humbly alive.  I am forever learning.