Pain vs Suffering a workout

By being aware of physical pain and mental suffering we can transcend suffering.

If we think of the human body as a robot with a mechanical body and a computer for a central communication system it might help us better understand its function. All the mechanical parts are necessary but it only produces movement by the computers command. The major mechanics would be the cardiovascular system, muscular system, and skeletal system. The computer would be the nervous system. The nervous system is broken down into two parts, the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), and the peripheral nervous system (nerves that branch out from the brain and spinal cord) to the entire body. The peripheral nervous system is loaded with sensory receptors that gather information about our internal and external environments, this information gets transferred to the central nervous system for processing, then back out to the peripheral nervous system for the body's neuromuscular response. For example when you touch something hot the sensory receptors in your hand sense the change in temperature, this information gets sent to you brain where it gets interpreted as danger, then this information gets sent back out to the peripheral nervous system and your hand automatically retracts from the hot object. This seems to happen independent of mind activity such as thought, contemplation or rational discrimination.

When it comes to improving the body's physical fitness the body must be stressed according to the intended goal. For example when we are looking to improve the body's stability we must place it in an unstable environment. Keep in mind that when I use the word stress here it has no negative connotations. It simply means to take the body safely beyond its current level of fitness. This means constantly exploring new physical capabilities. Eventually the body adapts and comes to a plateau. If further improvement is desired the body needs to be put under new stresses. You could call this exploring the unknown with the body. The more we look into the actual function of the body we see that its constantly changing and adapting to its internal and external environments which are constantly changing. Now lets take a look at how the mind relates to the exploration of the unknown.

As I pointed out in the last paragraph the body functions as a living organism capable of interpreting its internal and external environments and responding with or without the mind. Yes this comment may seem bold and will definitely ruffle some feathers to those of you who place the highest level of importance on your own rational minds. Now I am not at all saying the mind, rational and irrational as it is has no importance. What I am saying is that the mind is no more important than any other function that makes up a human being. Just like the sensory receptors of the peripheral nervous system, the mind plays an equal role in the survival of a human being.

The mind has an amazing capability to cross reference past experience with present conditions which assist survival. For instance the central and peripheral nervous systems play a role in retracting the hand from the frying pan on the hot stove so it dose not get burned. It seems almost simultaneously the mind records this experience as memory. This memory is what we call knowledge, you now know that when you touch the frying pan on the hot stove you will get burned. If it wasn't for the mind the body would be constantly learning some pretty tough lessons. Just imagine having to touch the hot pan every time you cooked instead of remembering that the hot pan burns. You would be walking around with some pretty charred up hands. So this is the nature of the mind to constantly interpret by cross referencing the present moment with a past memory.

The mind can only dwell in the known or the memory of the known. This is why we are so uncomfortable with not knowing, big changes, and being confused. If we depend on the mind in a fresh new unknown (to the mind) moment we will suffer. In a sense you could say the mind can only judge a book by its cover, and if we remember how the saying goes this will most often lead to misinterpretation. To misinterpret is to not see things clearly and to not see things clearly doesn't give much potential for an appropriate response. If we watch the mind objectively as we are pushing the body beyond its current level of fitness (the unknown) we can see the minds efforts which most often result in aversion due to a past memory or the fact that pain in any form is uncomfortable. So dose the minds aversion to pain mean that pain is bad. I think we all know the answer to that, no, pain is a part of the human body's existence, it is what it is, like it or not.There is a difference between discomfort and pain that signals potential injury to the body. A fitness professional can help you distinguish between the two. The fact is that the body experiences pain from birth to death, but who suffers?

This brings us to an interesting question. Who suffers? If we are aware of the body sensing pain and we are aware of the mind in aversion to it, who is aware of the body and mind. Don't answer too quickly, investigate. Go work out, get healthy and be aware of your body, mind, and the relation between them. Be aware of the sensation of your muscles while they are burning, be aware of your mind resisting or doing what ever its doing. Both are impermanent, be aware as they come and go, be objective, silent, awareness.You will soon discover that suffering is not necessary.

The same is true of your whole life, Enjoy!