Transforming Pain Into Purpose

Pain has a way of shrinking our lives - It steals energy & possibility - I’ve seen how pain can diminish hope, how it can create annoyance, how it can change identity & how it can cause constriction in our lives getting in the way of or preventing us from doing what we love.

So often pain sits at the heart of the various nightmares that we experience in our lives - & i’m not just talking about physical pain; i’m talking about the pain caused by destructive thinking, the pain we experience in relationship with others, the pain of loss & grief & the huge palette of different colours of pain we will inevitably feel as part of the experience of being a tender human being walking this earth.

Whether it’s the pain in our back, the grief in our heart, the anxiety in the mind or the burdens we carry, pain can slowly start to become the centre by which we organise ourselves in life, weaving into the story & belief systems that shape our lives.

Over the years i’ve had the great privilege of helping many people overcome a whole plethora of pain based problems through my work as a pain therapist. I’ve seen first hand many times how much of a limiter & energy suck pain can put on our lives, let alone being a huge barrier towards the creation of our dreams.

I’ve watched people reclaim lives they thought they’d lost through years of suffering with a huge part of their journey being rooted in changing their relationship with their pain…

Transforming Pain Into Purpose Register

Relating To The Pain Teacher

Our relationship with pain generally is rooted in avoidance - we’ve been taught to see pain as the enemy, something to suppress, escape or get rid of as quickly as possible.

The Buddha famously taught that suffering is woven into the fabric of human life…

I’ve always found this to be a positive idea even if it may not seem this way - If we accept that pain is inevitable as part of the deal of humaning this can be a great start with developing our relationship to it.

But what if the pain is inviting us into relationship instead? And what if through that relationship lies the seed of growth & transformation?

If pain is nothing more than something to eliminate then of course we will spend our time searching for the next quick fix, the next treatment, the next supplement magic bullet to get rid of it - anything that allows us to continue life exactly as it was before.

But what if the pain is the knock on the door to deliver a message?

What if the main function of pain within our lives is to teach us?

This is what I believe pain is - one of our greatest teachers as pain has a remarkable ability to wake us up - we touch the fire, get burned & think twice before touching it again.

Why does pain occur within our lives? Usually because something is out of balance in some way, something isn’t being attended to, something is disconnected or we are creating pain through acting out of unconsciousness behaviour.

Something is asking to be brought to light or learned in order to feel less pain.

If we can change our relationship to pain as something that is trying to help us to learn rather than something to be avoided we can start working with our pain as a constructive tool for our growth.

A Knock At The Door

As people we tend to be reactive rather than proactive…

Usually pain knocks politely first - the niggle in the lower back, the argument with the partner, the digestive grumbles when eating that thing or the problem at work that keeps surfacing.

If we don’t listen the knocks tend to get louder…

& louder…

Until it crashes through the door in the form of the disk herniation, relationship breakdown, dis-ease or the business collapse.

Wow, that escalated quickly!

Which is not the usual escalation of pain - it happens slowly & sometimes over years & before you know it you’ve changed yourself, your life & your identity to cope with it & accept restriction.

Which is the price paid for avoidance of pain.

A mentor of mine, Paul Chek says that “Pain only leaves the body once it’s done teaching us”

And I love this, it’s wrung incredibly true for me in my life.

I’ve had a hip problem for many years with certain muscles not firing - it stopped me cycling through Mexico due to a knee problem & has prevented me from moving into the full expression of my physicality that i’ve wanted to bring forward & at times it has been deeply frustrating, especially when i’ve seen clients overcome similar imbalances in just a few weeks.

My frustration changed a few years ago when I really started to adopt this philosophy of the pain teaching me & transformed my relationship with the hip seeing the journey of learning that it has taken me on - Physical exercise, learning about my stored emotional trauma, my relationship with masculine energy, perseverance, resilience & letting go of attachments being just a few of the many lessons that i’ve been learning through it. Many of which have directly helped me to help others.

It’s now getting there after recent works with reconciling & processing trauma but - it’s still not quite there - which is great as it still wants to show me things!

Maybe the back niggle is the bodies gift of pain telling you it wants more movement…

Maybe the argument is a potential opening towards deeper intimacy…

Maybe the digestive grumble is your body saying no to a food that is slowly poisoning you…

Maybe the work problem is pointing out the structural issues that need attention…

If we can work with pain in a proactive over reactive avoidant way we decrease the need for the body & life to create more pain in our lives, understanding that engaging with the lessons that the pain is bringing is another means of engaging with life more fully.

In this way if we can see the pain as bringing the gift of awareness that can lead to learning something about ourselves we can move with the pain much more constructively.

Pain As A Dreamseed

Maybe the pain is the exact slamming of the brakes, the exact course correct needed in our lives that is preventing us from further woes whilst containing the seed for something transformational if seen so & then watered & nurtured into a form of purpose in our live.

Through seeing our pain as a teacher & engaging with in constructive way we inevitably find creative solutions for it.

Which naturally can extend into solving problems for others, especially if it’s a pain we want to spare others from, knowing what it is like to go through it ourselves.

Many inspiring figures throughout history created great things for the world through their pain.

Many people have encountered a problem in their lives, found a creative solution & have gone on to help others through what they have learned through their vocations in life.

So many health practitioners & healers come from pain & walk the path of the wounded healer to cultivate their medicine from the pain they experience in their lives which has been my own journey & most, if not all of the practitioners that I know.

It’s not to say that pain directly equates to purpose - it can lead to bitterness, closing of self & living in a survival state - which is sometimes a key part of the learning.

Some of the time we cannot control the pain that we feel, other times we have more agency over it but in every circumstance pain always presents us with a choice;

We can spend our lives trying to outrun it or we can allow it to deepen us, teach us & sometimes point us towards the very work we were born to do.

It’s not that pain is good, it’s that pain, when consciously related to can become a catalyst for our growth & one of the places from which our dreams can emerge.

The good thing about the nightmare is that is shows you where you don’t want to be!

In this way our pain & our nightmare’s can actually serve as orientation points…

When you know where you don’t want to be it can be easier to discover where you do want to be & begin the path of moving towards it;

Someone’s pain may prevent them from playing with their grandkids. The person wants to play with their grandkids so can choose to relate with the pain constructively & learn what to do to create more freedom in the body & ease the pain. And eventually get back to playing with their grandkids & enjoy everything that beautiful experience has to offer.

So the seed of transformation lies within the pain - if we can see it in this way, engage with it as a teacher & nourish ourselves with the lessons we can work with it’s gifts towards flourishing within our lives.

Transforming Pain Into Purpose; The First Dreamweave Campfire

Sometimes some guidence on the way can be useful! Which is what the first Dreamweaver Campfire which is a free monthly Zoom gathering is all about;

We’ll be exploring some of the nuts & bolts philosophy around what creates physical pain in the body;

I’ll be taking you through a number of helpful models to understand pain, talk about the role of fascia & connective tissue in the body, how digestive health influences pain & connection with pain & stored emotional trauma.

We’ll round off with a number of simple principles & activities to move towards lasting change & healing of pain within the body starting with methods for transforming pain into purpose & give a lot of time for any questions you might have.

This is the very first Dreamweave Campfire which are free monthly gatherings where we explore what it truly means to find, create, embody & live our dreams in life.

I’m super excited about as a huge part of this movement is to walk together in community with this being the first interactive community event.

It’s on Wednesday July 29th with two Zoom fires, one in the UK & one in Costa Rica, both at 7pm local time.

To find out more & sign up you can click the link below;

Tranforming Pain Into Purpose

To leave you with some investigation questions based around pain;

1. What is your current relationship with pain like?

2. What is pain here to teach me?

3. Are there any recurring pain knocks that need attention?

Feel free to reach out with any questions obout this article or any pain you may currently be experiencing.

Big Love,

Jesse ❤️‍🔥

If this article spoke to you…

There are a number of ways in which we can continue this journey…

Pain Therapy

I work with a number of different manual therapy, exercise & coaching modalities to help my clients resolve physical pain challenges in the body.

The work is very deep & very effective, working with the deeply ingrained patterns of the body, often formed over years & can also assist with the expression of stored emotional trauma in the body.

I work in the Parrita area of Costa Rica. If you’re feeling the call then please do get in touch :)

Root Cause Health Coaching

Good health is the foundation from which our dreams are built upon…

I am a holistic health practitioner & pain therapist working with functional lab testing with people all over the world to get to the root of a wide range of health problems in the body including chronic illness, fatigue, digestive health issues & physical pain.

Once we have got to the bottom of the challenges I design comprehensive protocols & rehabilitative programs to support you in your health journey & get you back to living a life you love.

Dreamweaver Coaching

If you are looking to discover, create, embody or live your dream I offer a Dreamweaver 1:1 coaching container to support you in the creation of your life’s purpose.

We take a dynamic approach tailored to your unique dream & life situation designed to support you in moving towards your dream from wherever you are within your journey.

You can find out more by visiting www.faenix.co.uk or feel free to get in touch with me below;

Dreamweaver is a movement exploring the relationship between health, purpose, psychology, spirituality & meaningful living. Together we’ll explore what it means to cultivate health, live our dreams & become more deeply engaged with life.

New essays & podcast episodes exploring health, meaning & dream creation arrive here regularly.

You can get in touch or follow in a number of ways;

Fænix Website | Substack | Podcast | Coaching | Instagram | Facebook

Dreamweave Prayer;

See you soon :)

❤️‍🔥