How a Spiritual Path Can Alleviate Chronic Pain

Are you in pain? Back pain? Arthritis? Migraine? Cancer? You're not alone. The statistics are staggering and it's getting worse as the population ages. One in ten people or 100 million Americans and 1.5 billion people world-wide suffer from chronic pain which is defined as pain lasting every day for  three months or more. Chronic pain affects more Americans than cancer, diabetes and heart disease combined. 

According to author and back pain sufferer, Vidyamala Burch of the United Kingdom, there are two types of pain: primary suffering and secondary suffering. Primary suffering is the actual pain itself: the cancer, the arthritis, the migraine. Secondary suffering are the negative thoughts, feelings, emotions and memories we entertain that make the pain worse. These might include anxiety, worry, stress, depression, and feelings of hopelessness and exhaustion.

Our bodies and our minds are intricately connected. If we treat the body and not the mind we will still suffer intensely as we will not have addressed the full  spectrum of the pain. As I have often said and truly believe, we are body, mind, and spirit and all three parts need to be cared for.

This is where a spiritual path can help. It is these thoughts that destroy our peace, steal our joy, and cause us to fall into the depths of despair. When we have a spiritual practice, we learn not only to take control of our thoughts using techniques such as mindfulness and meditation, we also learn to replace these negative thoughts with positive ones through the use of passage meditation and prayer. Our mind is where the battle takes place and pain is another opportunity to train or, in most cases, retrain our minds, to focus on what is positive, healthy, and uplifting. When the doctors have done all they can, we have no other recourse except to work on our minds, our thinking, and our faith, because ultimately, God is the source of all healing.

As a long-time sufferer, disciple of Christ, and student of spirituality in its many forms, I can testify that a spiritual path, in particular, Christianity, is the solution to many, if not all, of the physical, spiritual, emotional and relational problems we each face in this life. Christianity teaches us to focus on the power of Faith in Christ who brings healing, peace, joy and new life. No other religion or belief system can provide the miraculous healing power than Christ who conquered death, raised the dead, and healed the sick. Read about some of my personal healing miracles in my book, "The Power of Faith: a journey to healing, wholeness, and harmony".

Do you have a spiritual practice? If you are interested in starting one, enter your email address in the box provided and I'll send you out my free eguide, "7 Steps to Finding Your Spiritual Path".  You'll also receive my bi-weekly posts to encourage, inspire, and uplift you.

I hope this post has encouraged you. Stay tuned for more positive and practical wisdom.

Until next time, keep looking up!

Ariel Paz

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