Pain - my Random thoughts

[Prince Romeo]

Pain is something that I have played around with for time to time. My thoughts on it follow.

I think that pain is such a powerful feeling inside of you because it causes you to connect with your purest inner being. There's is no room for anything else both from a physical and mental plane. Your total focus becomes internal, versus external. It is a pure flow of energy. No judgement, no distraction, no focus on anything other than that moment. It is akin to what one would call enlightenment in a Budhist sense.

 

[WriterDom]

Do you think any kind of pain works, or does it have to be specific kind. There is a dull ache of toothache, and the stubbing of the toe in the dark, the flogging slowly increasing in intensity, the piecing of a nipple.

 

[Prince Romeo]

That's a good question. At first I was thinking that the dull ache of the tooth pain was different, but it isn't really. Think about it. It feels different and it may not be pleasurable, but what is its affect on your state of mind. You'd probably be going about your daily business, when it would invade your thoughts. You'd think of it as a distraction but in fact it would cause you to shift your focus inward, away from the external things you are dealing with at the time.

When you stub your toe, can you focus on anything else at that moment? Probably not. While the sensations of the tooth and toe pain are not "pleasurable", they still are as pure as the pain you'd get from nipple clamps or a piercing. There is a missing ingredient, however, with the toe and tooth, that is there with the BDSM element.

 

[A Desert Rose]

And then there is emotional pain, which does not always put us in contact with our real inner most feelings.

 

[lark sparrow]

sensation

sen·sa·tion Pronunciation Key (sn-sshn)
n.

A perception associated with stimulation of a sense organ or with a specific body condition: the sensation of heat; a visual sensation.
The faculty to feel or perceive; physical sensibility: The patient has very little sensation left in the right leg.
An indefinite generalized body feeling: a sensation of lightness.
A state of heightened interest or emotion: “The anticipation produced in me a sensation somewhat between bliss and fear” (James Weldon Johnson).

A state of intense public interest and excitement: “The purser made a sensation as sailors like to do, by predicting a storm” (Evelyn Waugh).
A cause of such interest and excitement. See Synonyms at wonder.


Interesting thoughts. I tend to think of pain and/or sensation in these terms. Rose, brought up emotional pain. Which also plays into it - perception.

If my tooth hurts, that pain creates worry - I need to see dentist.

If I stub my toe, that pain causes annoyance - that was unnecessary and painful.

If someone comes up and slaps me for no apparent reason, that pain causes shock, fear, confusion - that hurt, I don't understand, I'm getting out of here.

When my Domme causes me pain during play, it can create a whole world of paradox and intense emotion - the underlying perception being, I am safe to explore this and it's for mutual pleasure and benefit.

If it crosses a line of trust, or a hard limit or I am unsure of the person's knowledge of safety in the activity, or care for my well-being, then all of that changes back into negative perception.

It made me wonder about the pain of childbirth. (Which I haven't experienced.) But, I think the pain can be so bad that at times the woman is just thinking "Get this thing out me - I don't care how you do it!" or "No, I'm not pushing anymore - I hate my husband for making me pregnant - I don't want this baby - I can't stand this pain!". The miracle of birth and the love of her child may not be paramount during the very worst pain - it could make her forget everything temporarily, because it is too excruciatingly painful. I have had women tell me that at the time they thought they would never, ever have another child, but they often do once the memory of that pain fades and their perception changes.

Truth of pain at the moment, may not be the highest truth of the person.

Just some thoughts/reactions.

 

[Prince Romeo]

lark you are very insightful. Your thoughts are appreciated. One thing though, I didn't say that truth of pain was the highest truth of the person. What I said is that at that moment one was in pain, that they were in tune with their inner self. It is such a pure feeling that comes deep within. How else can you describe it. I'm not saying this is the person's inner truth but a connection to a pure feeling that lives deep within them.

 

[lark sparrow]

Agreed!

I really enjoyed your thoughts, and would love to hear more. They simply lead to these for me. But, I don't think they are necessarily opposites, or negate one another. Thank you.

 

[Prince Romeo]

I agree lark and thanks for clearing that up for me. Wow, people on this board actually have manners. I'm not used to that coming from the GB.

Ok, I'm really going to reach for this one. Did you know that in some beliefs meditation includes sitting in excruitiating positions for hours while trying to clear one's mind. It is believed by some, that the pain associated with such a position, actually helps to focus one's mind and bring one closer to the inner self, the purest self. The mind and body are forced to stop looking outward and totally focus inward. No distractions. I think pain is more than just a euphoria. It frees the mind and soul in that sense. I think it happens in BDSM moments as well and that is a powerful aphrodisiac.

 

[lark sparrow]

Great point... spirituality and pain.

The above example, and then all sorts of other practices in many forms of religion and spirituality. For me, I really think there is a level of this in S/M practice.

Do you think this can occur with random pain?

There would also be the tie of inner pain and emotional growth.

 

[Prince Romeo]

You're right on now Lark with what I meant. I would say there is probably some ammount of "growth" that occurs from continuos rituals of pain, I'm just not sure how you define it though. From the spiritual side of things, you usuallly have some goal in mind - peace, connection to the inner self. In a BDSM pain scene, the motivation is pleasure although there may be overtones of relaase from one's self involved - bliss.

 

[Cirrus]

I agree, Prince Romeo, but with a qualifier. What you say about pain, for me, only applies to erotic pain.

I had oral surgery a year ago, and it exacerbated my TMJ like I didn't even think was possible. I was in THE WORST pain of my life. If someone had asked me, would you rather be dead than live another minute in this pain, I would have said yes. I was not in touch with anything. I couldn't think, couldn't focus, couldn't do anything. I was quite literally suicidally miserable.

But erotic pain, OTOH, does what you say for me. When I am experiencing erotic pain, I'm in that netherland called subspace. I don't know where I go, but I'm not of this world. Sometimes, at first I want to push the pain out, as in "ouch, this hurts". But then I get into the context, and can focus on it and really FEEL it, from the body part the pain is being inflicted on outward, and it helps me get in touch with my body, the moment, and my partner. Though at the same time, sometimes I am "outside" myself, analyzing the sensations and the moment. It is indeed very spiritual.

But comparing that to the pain I experienced in my jaw...well, it isn't even a comparison.

 

[Prince Romeo]

I understand what you're saying Cirrus. And I stand corrected on my last post. I did a little more research and what I found out is that spiritual meditation isn't really about achieving harmony or bliss with one's self. It's about focusing inward, on the moment, letting everything else go. This does sound so much like what Cirrus said:

"I'm in that netherland called subspace. I don't know where I go, but I'm not of this world. Sometimes, at first I want to push the pain out, as in "ouch, this hurts". But then I get into the context, and can focus on it and really FEEL it, from the body part the pain is being inflicted on outward, and it helps me get in touch with my body, the moment, and my partner. Though at the same time, sometimes I am "outside" myself, analyzing the sensations and the moment. It is indeed very spiritual."

But I don't think you've really left this world, you've just discovered soemthing that's been hiding underneath all the garbage and crap that the world has heaped on top of you. In that moment.....you are free....you are experiencing your true self.

 

[Bijoux]

Well, I'm not sure if this is on topic, but in Reiki meditation and attunement the practitioner to told to bring themselves centered and then work their way (mentally) through their bodies looking for pain. This is not necessarily, and no usually, emotional pain, but more like the everyday aches and pains of life.

Once the pain is located...focus on it, try and sense how deep it goes, what kind of ache (muscle, surface tension, etc) and how it feels. Very often the pain will tend to shift...moving up and down a leg for example. These are pains our body is forcing on us - subtle cues and signals we have taught ourselves. Say for example you work a tedious desk job all day long and you develop pains in you legs and hips (very common). Why? Why can you sit at your computer at home all day and not get those same pains? Your mind is bored, nervous, stressed, what have you and is telling you (through body cues) that you need to be doing something else.

The body uses pain as an indicator. The reverse is true - we can use pain as an indiator to the body, programming it to take and like the things we give it..making it the perfect machine......... one that tilts and whirls the way we want it to.

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and if you liked that you'll enjoy all of our philosophical thoughts from the Bijoux reading library. Sorry for the rambling.

~
B

 

[Prince Romeo]

Hi Bijoux. I take it Reiki is related to some form of spiritual cleansing. The pain you talk about is a different form than what I was referrring to. The pain that is a manfestation of suppresed tensions or pressures from the outside is a good example of just that - outside forces trying to control one's body and spirit. The BDSM pain/experience that I'm referring to is not connected to this "outsideness" in any way. The feelings it releases are deep within a person body and being. There's no room for anything else at that height of the experience. It is completely pure. It's inside coming out not outside coming in.