0433 558 085
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • B1G1
  • Contact Us

Creating Powerful Results

Executive Coach Brisbane Australia

  • Facebook
  • Connect With Us On LinkedIn
  • Follow Us On Twitter
  • Add Us On Google+
  • Read Us On RSS
  • Home
  • About
  • Coaching
  • Speaking
  • Resources
    • Checkout
  • Blog
  • Success Stories
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Meditation / Daily Routine and Excruciating Pain

Daily Routine and Excruciating Pain

By Mags Bell 13th October 2017

By day six, I was well into the routine of our 10hr meditation day, observing excruciating pain and other sensations, rest periods and dining. I made a point of getting up as soon as the 4am deep sounding bell went…feeling very grateful to the old student who got up earlier to go

The Bell

The Bell

around ringing that bell (old Student is someone who has already completed a 10 day course)…having a shower, dressing and heading to the meditation hall for the 4:30am two hour meditation. You could meditate in your room, but I knew if I stayed there I would be tempted to sleep longer and not put the work in I had promised myself. I actually loved being in the hall at this time because it was dark and there were only ever a few of us there doing our bit for ourselves.

What’s The Pain: What’s a Sankhara?

It was in one of the morning sessions after breakfast that I was sitting observing what S.N. Geonka called Sankharas (formations). Sankharas are; the mental formation, the mental conditioning, the mental reactions that we create, in most cases unwittingly and in ignorance. Our past reactions become our reference, by which we interpret new situations. We judge and categorise our past Sankharas, then unsuspectingly slot these new sankharas into whatever category we deem fit.

So I was observing what I’d put into my body through old impurities that had lay dormant and were now arising for me, from my non-conscious to the surface and manifesting themselves into a physical sensation. Most people think that consciousness and non-consciousness are only in our heads, only because when talked about most speak of them as part of the head brain. Our consciousness and non-consciousness are everywhere: in our bodies and around our bodies. So I was observing what my non-consciousness had been holding onto.

When we observe these Sankahras (these physical sensations) from a place of equanimity (balance), no aversion for them to go and no craving for them to stay, just being in awareness and observing the changes, we do not create new Sankharas and allow the old ones to eradicate. We are now equanimous (neutral/balanced) unlike when we were producing these Sankharas.

We are meant to work up and down the body looking for sensations and not missing any area. Only stopping for short periods on more intense areas. Some sensations were solid and others were light.

Distracted By The Pain

As I sat there working away on my body sensations, I was being pulled more to the extreme solid pain sensations, which were attracting my attention more than the more subtle sensations.

For everyone in the room, we all had different areas that our aversions and cravings are stored in our body, pains and pressure as well as tingle and itching etc. So for me my back and shoulders were painful and my butt/bottom/bum/arse, whatever you want to call it, was in severe pain. However for all of us, I have no doubt that we were all feeling immense pain in our posterior as we were all seated upright.

Pain In The Butt!

Pain In The Butt!

No-one was allowed to lay down, there were special floor seats for those with back issues and some could use the back wall as a support but everyone was on their bum.

My theory on why they have you in this seated position, although I have not checked with them, is that we carry most of our pain from past life and childhood up to the age of 7, in our base chakra and as we are sitting on the base then there is plenty aversion and craving sankharas stored there, to come out.

I watched people using three to four cushions to try and alleviate the pain but no matter how many pillows you put under that butt, it feels like you’re sitting for hours on a very hard piece of wood or concrete.

I worked away on observing my butt sankharas, while sweeping my shoulders and back sankharas…you can sweep sankharas that are similar in feel and symmetrical. Sweeping is about sweeping your attention/observation/awareness over an area of your body. When you observe you become so aware of just how much the body is changing. The sankharas come and go, rise and pass, in constant change. This is what is so amazing to perceive.

As I observed my very painful butt sankharas, I noticed, some were very sharp and very deep, some were very quick to come up to the surface, others seem to take forever and of course those were always the most painful.

I wondered what events or moments had created these sankharas, that I had thought or acted very badly towards others or myself in thought or deed. On observing some of these physical manifestations of my impure thoughts and deeds, I realised that some of the really dense, heavy, long and particularly painful sankharas were not just one long pain as I had first observed.

I became aware by studying these sankhara that they were very intense, fairly small sankhara that would intensify in pain then as they are about to pass a new dense really painful sankhara arose right behind it to create what felt like a continuous pain. It was like a train shunting into a new carriage to make one long continuous carriage.

The Lesson Through Laughter

There was a new noise in the meditation hall this day, again from the men’s section…not sure if was the same guy who was heavily breathing that I mentioned in my last blog?

Lesson Through Laughter

Lesson Through Laughter

This time as we sat in silence and stillness, all of a sudden there was what sounded like a snoring noise. I thought I had been mistaken when the same noise happened again and this time you knew it was a snore. This happened four times and I broke into an enormous smile. It’s one coping mechanism for the ego to go into protection mode and stop the body pain. Then came the noise that we all knew and made me laugh inside. That noise when you have drifted off and unbeknown to you you’re snoring, followed by the snort that awakens you with a startle…it was loud and clear, he had woken himself and that stopped his snoring for now. 😁

This was my lesson to stay equanimous through awareness and observation and not allow my ego to run away with me.

What Happens to the Pain When You Just Observe?

There was one Sankhara that I was observing; it was about 10cm in diameter and felt like a red hot poker being driven down into my body…the weird thing was how it felt like it was being pushed into my core which is up, but this was a feeling of downward motion. So I’m not sure where it was driving down to!

I was obsessively observing this red hot poker; how long it was, it’s thickness, the heat intensity, the type of pain it was causing, the length of the pain.

At no time did I link my emotion or mind to it. It wasn’t ‘MY pain’ or the ‘pain I was in’ or even the ‘pain that they had put ME in,’ because this is allowing the mind to control the emotions to become involved. You then become a victim when you own it. No, I stayed in equanimity/balance, neither craving the end of the pain nor trying to move away from the pain.

As I was concentrating so fiercely, the pain became so intense and seemed to be lasting forever. At that point I got a thought that maybe I was being too obsessive and that I may even be harming myself, so I pulled myself away from the deep close observation to an umbrella viewing and puff…it came up to meet me and just disintegrated into nothing!!!

Cushion to Enjoy

Cushion to Enjoy

Wowwwwww!!!! Now that was an experience. I went back to observing other Sankharas when all of a sudden I could feel various areas in my butt popping. It was like the sankharas were popcorn kernels all hard, but then would pop into soft and fluffy. It was a very weird and wonderful sensation and they were doing it of their own accord. I was trying to view them as they popped.

Then just at that moment it was as if I was sitting on a lovely fluffy cloud, so soft and comfortable.

At this moment I was still observing and as I realised how nice this was to be free from pain I felt a small painful sankhara rise, then another, then another. At this point I reacted and went into battle.

Do you remember those games you used to get at funfairs? They were either moles or gophers (the mole ones were called whack-a-mole) where you would wait for the mole to pop it’s head out of the hole and you would hit it with a mallet. Well that’s what I started to do with the these new painful sankharas. I would follow them all over my arse saying sankhara, sankhara, sankhara as I pretended to hit them on the head. I got carried away and before I knew it they were multiplying at a much faster rate than I could keep up with.

Again I pulled myself away from reacting and stopped to think what was happening. Yes you guessed it! I had moved from equanimity into craving for the new lovely, fluffy sensation and then tried to avoid the pain by trying to ‘kill’ it off. Allowing my mind to take control I had started reacting to my emotions…I was so out of balance.

Worst point was I had multiplied these new painful sankhara so much that my arse was back to burning up and many, many painful sankharas now rising and falling, arising and falling. I had to laugh at myself for following old patterns of aversion and craving ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha!

 

I am truly grateful for the tools I have; ‘The 4R’s Release Model®,‘  ‘The 3 Keys to Eliminate Your Shite™’ and ‘Decision Making Made Easy™’. Over the years these tools have helped many of my clients, audiences, family and friends to live happier and lighter lives. I also use my own tools and to be honest, I dread to think what my Vipassana experience would have been like without eliminating so much of my own shite before I went into this 10 day experience! 🙏🏼

 

Mind Control, Pain, & Misery 

Mind Control and Misery

Mind Control and Misery

I was truly stunned at how easy it was for me to fall into old patterns. The patterns of avoidance and clinging. Our mind controls us and holds us in ignorance every day and we don’t even realise it. Our mind keeps us in misery and suffering. We think we are in control but it is just an illusion.

We spend our days reacting, reacting, reacting, based on old experiences. Our days are spent building up new sankharas, new painful sensations that settle in our body.

Now, I have a way, a method to allow these sankharas to surface and eradicate without replacing them or multiplying them…the meditation called Vipassana. I now have a way to liberation…what we all seek!

As I left that meditation session I was in awe of the learning, growth and teaching of my experience, which I pondered over lunch. Wow…what an experience I’ve just been through!

Next Blog: See what truly amazing experiences lie in wait, after lunch! 😲

Note:

Vipassana (insight – seeing things as they really are) is a different experience for every individual, as we are all so unique and interpret the world around us and within us so differently. We have also had our own experiences in life that are unique to us. So this article is all about Mags Bell’s experience and self discovery through Vipassana.

Category: Meditation Tagged With: meditation, misery, observe, pain, sankhara, sankharas, suffering, Vipassana

Comments

  1. Joo says

    23rd October 2019 at 12:51 pm

    This was a really great description that closely mirrored my own experience. Isn’t it amazing how this technique works? Thanks for sharing! Metta.

    Reply
    • Mags Bell says

      23rd October 2019 at 4:20 pm

      Joo, I’m sure others had a similar experience to us and many others did not. I’m glad your experience was similar to mine, as it was such a wonderful thing to experience. Thanks for your comment and it was my pleasure to share. In Metta 🙏🏼

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

What The Bleep Is Coaching

What The Bleep Is Coaching Book by Mags Bell

Price: $29.95 

(Looking to buy 5 books or more – Contact Us to discuss)

Quantity:  

Lifting the lid on the mysteries of coaching and how it can help improve your life, business and relationships.

Read the truths about people who, through the coaching process, have accelerated forward, and find out how their lives have turned around as a result.

In this book you will:

  • Discover how coaching can accelerate your performance in work and life;
  • Experience coaching through the case studies from a variety of clients’ perspectives;
  • Gain extraordinary insights into the benefit of coaching as a manager of people, no matter what your level of management;
  • Learn how to find a great coach for you – along with tools and resources to assist you.

Learn what coaching can do for you by reading the results of the nine case studies featuring people who have taken huge steps forward in their professional and personal lives thanks to the coaching they have experienced.

If you are unsure of how coaching works, or whether it is worth your resources, this book will leave you in no doubt. Through the stories and experiences of real people who have had amazing life shifts, to Mags Bell’s logical explanations of the processes used in great coaching, you will gain great insight. This can change how you see your life.

– Catherine Palin Brinkworth, M. AppSci (Social Ecology)
CSP Speaker, Author, Consultant, Mentor – Enlightening Business.

Mags – your important healing work is vital to our evolution.

– Bruce Lipton Ph.D author of Biology Of Belief

FREE DOWNLOAD

5 Powerful Keys to Good Decision Making

5 Powerful Keys to Good Decision Making ebook

 

I’d like my copy…thanks

6 Critical Steps You Need to Take BEFORE You Hire A Coach

6 Critical Steps You Need To Take BEFORE You Hire A Coach ebook

Yes Please…I need this!

services_07

What The Bleep Is Coaching

Lifting the lid on the mysteries of coaching and how it can help improve your life, business and relationships. Read the truths about people who, through the coaching process, have accelerated forward, and find out how their lives have turned around …

Love a copy now please

Articles

  • The Last Full Day of Vipassana Course…The Last Morning of Silence!
  • Snake Encounter Of The Penultimate Kind
  • The Marvels of Impermanence and Balance
  • Daily Routine and Excruciating Pain
  • The Teaching of Vipassana – Awareness, Observation and Equanimity

Read More About

  • Belief
  • Career
  • Coaching
  • Communication
  • Culture
  • Featured
  • Managing People
  • Meditation
  • Motivation
  • Quotes
  • Testimonials
  • Uncategorized

Quote

“This is not remedial action. Coaching is transformational work for people who want to create better results in all areas of their life and work”

– Mags Bell

Links

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • B1G1
  • Contact Us

Resources

  • Home
  • About
  • Coaching
  • Speaking
  • Resources
    • Checkout
  • Blog
  • Success Stories
  • Contact Us

About Mags Bell

Mags Bell is the founder and director of Creating Powerful Results speaking and coaching practice and has been coaching for over 20 years. She’s seen by many as an expert in her field. Her clients have included Chief Executives and Directors of private and public organisations. Her book gives insights into coaching and the benefits that you can achieve through being coached or using coaching as a leadership tool. Read More…

© Copyright 2021 · Website by Positive Business Online

  • Home
  • Terms Of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Copyright
  • Sitemap

Log in