“In order to disentangle, you have to first see where you are entangled”
- Trungpa Rinpoche
“The remnants of pain left behind by every strong negative emotion that is not fully faced, accepted, and then let go of join together to form an energy field that lives in the very cells of your body. This energy field of old but still very-much-alive emotion that lives in almost every human being is the pain-body.”
- Eckhart Tolle, “A New Earth”
As far as I am aware, the term “pain-body” is unique to the teachings of Eckhart Tolle. Emotional pain is, of course, a widely researched and analyzed concept, yet few theories describe it as a living entity or energy field, as Eckhart does. Millions of readers have had life changing experiences after learning how to become aware of how this energy field operates. I personally believe that Eckhart Tolle’s teachings on the pain-body are his most significant contribution.
EMOTIONS
Could there be a more nuanced, or misunderstood word in our English language than the word “emotion”? Fear, Sadness, Anger, Jealousy, Happiness, Love, Joy - we all know how these emotions feel, yet very few of us have a clear sense of what emotions mean from an energetic perspective.
The Latin derivative for the word emotion, 'emotere', literally means energy in motion. In itself, emotional energy is neutral. It is the feeling sensation and physiological reaction that makes a specific emotion positive or negative.
Emotions are the body’s reaction to the voice in your head…
“The physical organism, your body, has its own intelligence, as does the organism of every other life-form. This intelligence gives rise to instinctive reactions of the organism to any threat or challenge. It produces responses in animals that appear to be akin to human emotions: anger, fear, pleasure.
The fundamental difference between an instinctive response and an emotion is this: An instinctive response is the body’s direct response to some external situation. An emotion, on the other hand, is the body’s response to a thought.
Although the body is very intelligent, it cannot tell the difference between an actual situation and a thought. It responds to every thought as though it were a reality. It doesn’t know it is just a thought. To the body, a worrisome, fearful thought means “I am in danger”, and it responds accordingly. There is a buildup of energy, but since the danger is only a mental fiction, the energy has no outlet. Part of it is fed back to the mind and generates even more anxious thought. The rest of the energy turns toxic and interferes with the harmonious functions of the body.”
- Eckhart Tolle, “A New Earth”
This understanding of emotions is supported by Qigong theory. In Qigong it is widely understood that we are emotionally balanced when all of our different energies are moving and flowing together with full integration and balance. It is also understood that the primary cause or disrupting force of this energetic flow is stressful or negative thinking.
“Emotion itself is not unhappiness.
Only emotion plus an unhappy story is unhappiness.”
-Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
THE PAIN BODY
We can now begin to understand how the energetic field that Eckhart calls the pain-body comes into existence.
"Because of the human tendency to perpetuate old emotion, almost everyone carries in his or her energy field an accumulation of old emotional pain.
The awakening of a pain body can take the form of irritation, impatience, a somber mood, a desire to hurt, anger, rage, depression, a need to have some drama in your relationship, and so on. It will feed on any experience that resonates with its own kind of energy.”
The pain-body is not just individual in nature. It also partakes of the pain suffered by countless of humans throughout the history of humanity. This pain still lives in the collective psyche of humanity and is being added to on a daily basis.”
-Eckhart Tolle, “A New Earth”
What Eckhart Tolle calls the Pain-Body may also be described as:
pain consciousness
suffering
blocked Qi
carrying of past pain
negative energy
a dark entity
a semi-autonomous energy-form
a dormant volcano
a heavy cloud
Shenpa*
Vasana*
Samskara*
Karma*
*Sanskrit terms (from Hinduism and Buddhism):
Vasana: past impression in the mind that influences our behavior
Samskara: the mental impressions left by all thoughts, actions and intents that an individual has ever experienced
Shenpa: a hooked feeling or a surge of emotion that often stems from past or present experiences that have a negative “feeling tone” associated with it and when not acknowledged pulls us back into our habitual patterns of anger, conflict and closing down.
Karma: the residual from past lives that we are born with
As an energy field, the pain-body is attracted to and feeds off of energy that vibrates at a similar frequency. Hence, it thrives on negative thinking and drama - it is addicted to unhappiness. Herein lies the key to breaking free of the vicious cycle of the pain body!
“These pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them.”
- Rumi
“…feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back. They teach us to perk up and lean in when we feel we’d rather collapse and back away. They’re like messengers that show us, with terrifying clarity, exactly where we’re stuck. This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it’s with us wherever we are.”
– Pema Chödrön
It is very important that you know that the pain-body is not YOU. Recognition of this is key to breaking the shame, blame and guilt cycle induced by cycles of pain-body flare ups. Because it is only our thoughts that keep them alive, we have the power to free ourselves from the remnants of emotional pain that lives inside us!
The pain-body cannot survive in the power of pure presence and unconditional friendship towards oneself. This realization is true forgiveness!
“There’s no end to the number of fresh starts you get. There’s no fixed “you” doomed to stay in the same rut forever. Nothing that happens in our lives is more fixed or solid than a passing memory.”
- Pema Chodron, “Welcoming the Unwelcome”
“We are a species who has lost its way. Everything natural, every flower or tree, and every animal have important lessons to teach us if we would only stop, look, and listen.
The duck’s lesson is this: FLAP YOUR WINGS - which translates as “let go of your story” - and return to the only place of power: the present moment.”
- Eckhart Tolle, “A New Earth”
On Grace…
“Grace can be seen as intervention of the universal intelligence, Being, that creates freedom from the trap of the ego’s complete unconsciousness. It is the gift of a glimpse of the Truth that is unexplainable, unearned, and cannot be attained by doing something.”
- Brendon Lumgair, “A New Earth in a Nutshell”
Our Closing Meditation:
Prayer of the Lotus Nectar
Beloved Kuan Yin, help me realize the connection to myself and to Life that I need to be able to live my highest vibrational life, where I am well, replenished, joyful and connected to the endless flow of divine energy and life force in our Universe. Please bring me clear guidance about how to best cultivate chi now, how to be open to receive the Nectar of the Lotus, the life force and love of the Divine Mother, for my highest good, so be it. Om Mani Padme Hum.
“Om Mani Padme Hum”
This is a powerful heart opening mantra.
It means ’the opening of the jewel in the lotus,’ or ‘may the heart awaken with divine compassion and may I know myself to be an awakened being of light’.