Pain has the ability to consume your life . . . but only if you allow it. Remember that you are on a journey, and you choose what direction you want to move every day. This is why it is important, as you awake in the morning, to express gratitude for the many blessings that have been bestowed upon you. If you instead rise each morning with your mind turned toward what hurts in your life, the universe delivers according to your expectation.

Deep down, you know you don’t want this suffering. Your subconscious mind also knows that focusing on it only makes it worse. So think instead about the love in your life and the things that bring you happiness. There are a couple of simple techniques that I (and my co-author Robert Reeves) include in our book Living Pain-Free  and suggest you try in order to shift your focus.

1. Begin writing down a list of activities that fill you with joy. Take out your journal or a notepad and jot down the many things in your life that you have cause to feel grateful for. Instantly your mood will lift, and your circumstances will seem improved.

Remember that pain is merely an illusion that the ego tries to convince you of. Rather than paying attention to it, listen to your angels, who will show you ways of expressing your true health.

2. For the second method, you need to get a special box. At the end of each day, cut up a piece of paper and write down a blessing you experienced on each tiny slip. Describe what made you feel good, happy interactions you shared with others, and the miracles you saw. Then place these notes inside the box. Whenever you feel low or distracted by pain, you can take out one of these slips to read. You’ll quickly feel the beauty of your own words and remember the pure enjoyment you’ve experienced in the gift that is your life. It is a reminder that all suffering is temporary; there is always the opportunity to reconnect with peace.

Just because a belief was true for you once in the past, it does not mean that it must be true for you now. While certain activities may have caused you discomfort at one time, holding on to those memories causes your body to expect to hurt again in those circumstances each time thereafter. This is why it is important to also remember the joy that those same events brought to you.

For example, perhaps the prospect of a long car ride brings back memories of being cramped and achy—but can you remember what you did at your destination? Did you take a long trip to the city and engage in joyful activities that made you smile? If you connect with the positive instead of the negative energy, you’ll find your relationship with travel beginning to change. You can use this method for any activity. Just because you awoke with pain this morning, it doesn’t need to be true tomorrow.

Don’t allow your ego to trick you into believing otherwise; push the “delete” button on all those old associations. We’ll keep the love and embrace the joy, but erase the pain.
Your thoughts are like fish swimming down the current of a stream. They continue with the momentum of their journey. If you wake in the morning and expect to feel discomfort, you can redirect the flow from your stream of thoughts to focus upon peace and ease. However, if you continue to stay with negative thoughts surrounding pain, it’s like trying to change the course of a river as it rushes down a mountain. It’s far easier to alter in the beginning compared to when the momentum has picked up speed.

Create a new expectation of comfort and ease: Tomorrow you will wake completely comfortable and rested. The car trip to the city will be smooth and pain-free. Expect the best situation to occur . . . and it will.