I have a lot of patients these days with what I term as 'Excess Personality Disorder'. This afflicts strong willed individuals who range from the completely hedonistic and materialistic (those who identify, define and classify their world in terms of material things, money and social status) and those whom I describe as the Metropolitan Ascetics (the stoic with the 'I am more superior then thou' attitude. They type that embrace the life-style a sadhu would be proud of while holding down a successful corporate job).
The reason why both ends of the spectrum end up as my patients, apart form the fact that they can afford me, is the manner that they choose to define themselves which results in the loss of the remainder of their being. Identification and focus on one aspect of one's life simply results in the excess of the point of focus to the detriment of every other facet of one's being. The materially minded get totally lost within their material and physical selves neglecting all else and the spiritually focused tend to neglect their physical and material aspects. In both it can be noted that the emotional aspect is neglected causing an emotional void on certain facets of existence not intervening on their chosen personality path causing a massive imbalance.
Scientifically under the ambit of Western Psychology it has been experimented and proven that humans require certain experiences in life to grow into their personality. Maslow's theory clearly defines stages of human development which need to be transcended in order to proceed to the next stage of development. If every stage is not transcended in its proper order then there will always be something amiss within that individual a form of imbalance.
Philosophically the ancient Hindu's slotted in timelines for every human to go through life with certain goals to be achieved from education, through marriage, family and the fulfilment of social obligations till the time came that one needed to withdraw form society and work on their soul in mediation. Both the Western Psychologists and Ancient Indian Philosophers clearly stress that there is a time and a place for everything and everything needs to be taken care of as and when the physiological, emotional, psychological and spiritual need arises or the natural order is affected, which results in an imbalance.
Western physicians focus on 'homeostasis', which is perfect functioning within a human being's internal physiological functions. Energy therapists go beyond that as they factor the balance of not just the physical but also the emotional, psychological or spiritual quotient. In order to understand this in greater detail is is necessary to understand the basics of energy anatomy: every individual has auras(energy surrounding the body) and chakras (points within which energy bodies, nadis/meridians converge). Every chakra controls a particular physical organ and every chakra also has an emotional, psychological and spiritual phenomenon associated with it. If one does not satisfy every aspect of human desire and experience one tends to then have an imbalance, which immediately translates into physical pain, which is linked and causes emotional and mental trauma to highlight the imbalance.
Energetic diseases and pains are the bane of most Western physicians for they are unable to detect the cause of such pain with X-Rays and MRI's. I term this stage of pain as "Mystery Pain" as most patients I get come to me after being fobbed off by a "proper doctor" who is unable to diagnose anything. Proper doctors tend to treat such patients as hypochondriacs if rich (as its tolerable for patients who can pay to waste a doctor's time) and poor patients are treated with disdain and dismissed as lazy (as they need medical certificates and letters to be able to shirk work). Such patients come to me as a last resort as they have nowhere to turn with their pain. I do agree it’s a tough call as this pain is undetectable in the initial stages as it is concentrated in the energy body. However, if not dealt with holistically (physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually) it tends to suddenly manifest in the physical body and has the capability to metamorphisise into something disastrous overnight.
The body always gives us the blessing of pain first to take note of the imbalance and correct what needs to be before it evolves into a physical manifestation, which you cannot ignore. I consider pain as a signal from the soul to set right one's being and live life by satisfying every urge and feeling as long as there are no repercussions of pain and suffering to others. Believe it or not if you do cause pain and suffering to others you may be able to shut out your mental voice or your consciousness, but your soul will inflict upon you a reminder in pain which you will have to deal with in one way or another. In extreme cases when one is very disconnected from one's soul one feels nothing for years or one manifests an accident or incident which will force you to deal with the pain and uncover and re-visit what you have neglected.
So how can you avoid pain? How can you live a balanced life? How can you be happy and healthy? Embrace every aspect of your existence and satisfy it but do so without causing anyone else any grief or pain is great but still a bit unclear. We live in a material world and need a more practical answer, which resonates with our lives to be able to live a pain-free, balanced, healthy and happy life.
As human beings we have no choice but to live in the material world we do and we also have no choice that we are spiritual beings and connected to more then the physicality of our existence. So how do we the spiritual being in the material world gain balance? The answer lies in doing both. Living in the material world and enjoying material things to the fullest, by enjoying and bringing on happiness our emotional being is also satisfied. But at the same time we need to regularly connect to our spiritual nature, experience happiness and gratitude (again fulfilling the emotional being within us) so as to attain a material-spiritual balance.
I remember reading a passage from a book on the industrial revolution in England. I read it years ago but it stayed with me for years as I thought it was ridiculous as it said that the middle class enjoyed the best health and a happier existence. Today having actually meditated on this I agree with this statement. I am sure it can be attributed to the fact that the middle class were spared the excesses presented physically, emotionally and psychologically by poverty and the excesses easily procurable by the wealthy. This actually sheds light to the key of all avoidance of pain: the middle path - MODERATION. Life must be lived in moderation.
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