Pain, Sensation, and the Stories We Tell (Free MP3 Audio Download)
- The Dancing Buddha
- Jan 10
- 3 min read
Learning to Let the Body Adjust Without Narrative
Pain is often spoken about as if it is one solid thing — something happening to us that must be fixed, controlled, or eliminated.
But when we look more closely, pain is rarely just physical sensation.
For many people, the physical component of pain is actually quite small — localized, pulsing, shifting, and often manageable on its own. What tends to overwhelm us is everything that gets layered on top of it: fear, anticipation, dread, loss of control, and the story that something is wrong or unsafe.
This added narrative is what keeps pain alive long after the body has already begun to adjust.
The Body Already Knows How to Respond
At a purely physical level, the body is remarkably intelligent.
It leans away from what harms it.
It shifts posture when something becomes uncomfortable.
It withdraws from heat and moves toward warmth.
It adjusts breath, muscle tone, and movement constantly — without words.
None of this requires thought or interpretation.
It happens automatically.
In fact, this natural movement toward balance is happening all the time.
Where Discomfort Becomes Suffering
The difficulty begins when sensation is claimed by narrative.
Thought enters and says:
This shouldn’t be happening.
What if this gets worse?
I need to control this.
This means something is wrong with me.
At that point, the body is no longer simply adjusting — it is being monitored.
The nervous system stays on alert.
Attention narrows.
Rest becomes difficult.
Pain becomes less about sensation and more about identity, time, and fear.
This is often why pain feels worse at night, when there is nothing left to distract us from the story.
Sensation vs. Narrative
One helpful distinction is this:
Sensation adjusts.
Narrative holds.
When physical sensation is allowed to be felt without interpretation, it tends to rise and fall on its own — like a wave. It may move, change intensity, or soften. It does not need constant supervision.
Narrative, on the other hand, keeps the system braced.
It prevents completion.
This doesn’t mean ignoring pain or pretending it isn’t there.
It means allowing the body to do what it already knows how to do — without interference.
Pain as a Focused State of Consciousness
In quiet observation, many people notice that pain does not feel like an object “over there,” but more like a focused state of awareness — a protective mode that formed under certain conditions.
This kind of pain does not need to be corrected.
It needs to be listened to.
When attention becomes curious instead of controlling, something important happens: the nervous system receives a signal of safety. The body no longer needs to amplify sensation in order to be heard.
Often, the physical sensation remains — but the suffering drops away.
Rest Comes From Non-Interference
True rest does not come from forcing change.
It comes from allowing experience to complete.
When we stop trying to manage sensation, the body often settles on its own. Muscles soften. Breath deepens. Awareness widens. Sleep becomes possible again — not because pain vanished, but because the need to guard against it dissolved.
This is the same principle explored throughout Unbecoming: healing is not something we add, but something that emerges when resistance ends.
A Free Guided Process for Pain
To support this approach, I’ve created a free guided MP3 that gently leads you through:
separating physical sensation from narrative
listening to pain without trying to control it
allowing the body’s natural regulatory intelligence to respond
This process is suitable for:
chronic or persistent pain
pain that interferes with sleep
people who feel tense, vigilant, or exhausted from “managing” discomfort
There is nothing to believe and nothing to force.
It’s simply an invitation to listen differently.
You can listen seated, lying down, or in bed at night.
A Gentle Reminder
This work is not about getting rid of pain.
It’s about understanding how much of suffering comes from the story we carry — and what becomes possible when we let the body do what it already knows how to do.
If pain has been asking for attention, perhaps the most healing response is simply to listen.
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