What a fun study! I’d be curious what would happen if you threw a third group into the mix: people who aren’t meditators but who have dealt with extreme chronic pain for at least 10 years and have stayed curious and found meaning in their pain.
I’ve known physical pain for over 36 years (mild to extreme pain due to a rare autoimmune condition). I don’t meditate often, I have a neurodiverse brain and find movement with music or sitting with animals to be a form of meditation—but I have been spending ten minutes each morning doing Qi Gong for almost a year now, and that has been a game changer!
Over time, pain has taught me so much when I didn’t resist it. Pain asks me to go inward and, just like meditation, it asks me to stay curious. Curiosity and awareness feel like siblings to me, though curiosity has a more playful side, which can be healing, too.
When I know pain is coming, death of a loved one, extreme pain in the body, etc., my instinct now is to get curious (though it took about 4–5 years to learn this, so that instinct started developing in my 20s). In my forties, I learned that literally welcoming the pain reduced my suffering in a major way. But it took 30+ years of pain to realize there was another level to it beyond simply being curious and aware.
When I say “welcome,” I don’t mean asking for pain. But when pain arrives, I literally say in my mind, “You are welcome here.” That shift has led to an incredible reduction in suffering for me.
I can’t wait to be in the Flourish pod! I’ve been wanting to get back into meditation, so I’m curious what we’ll be learning together. Cort, whenever I’ve seen you speak in pods, I’ve appreciated your easygoing and welcoming way of being. I’m looking forward to being part of this group! Thanks, SS, for such an opportunity to explore!
3 REPLIES
Kristin Pedemonti Apr 9, 2026
Thank you for your insights, I appreciate your perspectives!
Anna 🐝Apr 10, 2026
We have a web of interactive interconnections! I am grateful to be part of this work. Blessings esp to you, Nipun, for getting the balls up in the air!
We juggle 🤹♀️on!!! 🥰💚🫶🏼
Derek PetersonApr 10, 2026
SuperNova! This is where your area of life and living and mine intersect most clearly. Good on you, and fortunate us!
ORIGINAL COMMENT
I’ve known physical pain for over 36 years (mild to extreme pain due to a rare autoimmune condition). I don’t meditate often, I have a neurodiverse brain and find movement with music or sitting with animals to be a form of meditation—but I have been spending ten minutes each morning doing Qi Gong for almost a year now, and that has been a game changer!
Over time, pain has taught me so much when I didn’t resist it. Pain asks me to go inward and, just like meditation, it asks me to stay curious. Curiosity and awareness feel like siblings to me, though curiosity has a more playful side, which can be healing, too.
When I know pain is coming, death of a loved one, extreme pain in the body, etc., my instinct now is to get curious (though it took about 4–5 years to learn this, so that instinct started developing in my 20s). In my forties, I learned that literally welcoming the pain reduced my suffering in a major way. But it took 30+ years of pain to realize there was another level to it beyond simply being curious and aware.
When I say “welcome,” I don’t mean asking for pain. But when pain arrives, I literally say in my mind, “You are welcome here.” That shift has led to an incredible reduction in suffering for me.
I can’t wait to be in the Flourish pod! I’ve been wanting to get back into meditation, so I’m curious what we’ll be learning together. Cort, whenever I’ve seen you speak in pods, I’ve appreciated your easygoing and welcoming way of being. I’m looking forward to being part of this group! Thanks, SS, for such an opportunity to explore!
3 REPLIES
We juggle 🤹♀️on!!! 🥰💚🫶🏼