Pain is often a signal that something that we are experiencing may be harmful to us. We generally pull back from things that create physical or emotional pain. And to some extent this is a normal and healthy response.

There are many ways that we shut down or decrease our awareness of painful experiences. Much of this takes place automatically without our conscious intent or awareness. And then sometimes the process of blocking pain is intentional.

Events may be automatically blocked out when they overwhelm our mind's ability to cope. This defense mechanism serves as a protective function. It can in many instances prevent us from becoming completely overwhelmed. It may allow us to continue to function during times of extreme stress.

People often go through some kind of process after the crisis abates where their body and mind begins to heal. Over the years, I've noticed as I observe people and listen to what they say, that many people do not completely heal. I can see and feel much of the stress that is still held in their body and mind. And then I can also recognize how the stress and the resulting conflicted thought and emotion continue to manifest in people's lives.

Stressful events can generate powerful mental and emotional responses that affect our physical bodies. Sometimes our brain can become habituated to reacting to these stressful events. That's why we continue to experience the same kinds reactions whenever something triggers the parts of us that are still injured or vulnerable.

Stressful events can cause distortions in the chakras and the layers of the aura. These distortions impair the functions of the chakras and aura, which can over time manifest as some physical pathology.

Our bodies and minds are often saturated with stress and because of that we shut down. And that causes us to live very compromised lives. Much of the stress that we carry in our bodies comes from struggles and frustrations that we encounter in our every day lives. We may feel pressured to perform at our job, or experience anxiety about having enough money to get by, or have to deal with people who are overly critical or abusive in other ways. We become so accustomed to this low-grade stress that we may, to some extent, become oblivious to it. However, the stress still accumulates in our body and mind.

Many people have a tendency to run when they find themselves confronted with issues that they rather not deal with. There are many ways to escape. Distractions such as work, television, noise, or substances provide easy escape routes for anyone who seeks to get away from something that they rather not face. Others just run from situations that they feel uncomfortable with. They might, for example, flake out on the person they are dating because they feel uncomfortable with the emotions that arise in response to physical or emotional intimacy.

The problem with avoidance is that it weakens us. The things we avoid become bigger and more threatening. Avoidance diminishes our stature and we find ourselves confined to living in smaller and smaller boxes. Avoidance prevents us from developing the strength, solution orientation and other resources that we need to be fully present to life.

We all tend to contract in some ways as we age. We may not take as many chances or be as responsive to opportunities because we have lost much of our spontaneity and openness to life. We may have gotten burned or somehow lost the passion that we had for life. Contraction becomes very evident when people become very rigid and set in their ways. The person's mind and body loses much of it's flexibility and their left with a limited range of preprogrammed reactions. And with some people you can almost predict everything they will say or do.

We sometimes experience a more severe form of contraction when we are subjected to physical stresses such as an automobile accident. The stress of a divorce or nasty breakup can slam us emotionally. Trauma resulting from any form of violence such as physical or sexual assault can undermine our whole sense of being. And because of that we may contract out of a need for self-preservation. Sometimes we need to pull back into our shells to regroup and hopefully experience some healing taking place. Many of the injuries to people's bodies and minds never really heal. Life moves on and people may continue to hurt and remain constricted from the wounds they have sustained.

I've developed enough of a self-awareness that allows me to feel how and when I'm shutting down. And I'm not at all comfortable with the feelings that go along with it. There are a lot of things that I do to keep things open and flowing. I work with my own breathing practices a lot, get deep tissue massages, go on vision quests, and at times, have other healers work with me.

A big part of my effort to keep from shutting down involves doing the best I can to address issues and situations as they arise.

I'm continually making the effort to learn, to go new places and have new experiences. I feel that's important because we need a certain amount of stimulation to remain fresh and vital.

I'm training in the martial arts xin yi and bagua. I generally practice from two to four hours a day. Going through the vision quests enables me to further develop the healing gifts that I have to work with. I've been taking time off to travel in China, India and Sri Lanka. That's opened me up to so many new things. Doing all these things enables me to continually stay open to grow in new ways and expand my range of motion.