Presencing the Presence Within – Part III

On Pain and Primordial Desire

[Pain] is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.
Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquility:
For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen,
And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears.

     Kahlil Gibran, "On Pain," The Prophet (New York: Knopf, 1923). 
     This poem is in the public domain.

In last week’s Morning Note, I furthered our exploration, Presencing the Presence Within, by proposing that we inquire into the experience of pain as a doorway and teacher. I went so far as to suppose that the body’s refusals, rather than being against us, might be for us. And while I do not suppose that these are easily accepted propositions, my hope is that as we see this inquiry through, we may walk together toward a transformed understanding – if not experience – of pain and the body’s denial of ou…