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What do you know about hormesis? It’s the phenomenon that (kind of) explains the expression “what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” Technically, hormesis refers to biological processes in which a certain amount of exposure to a stress or toxin stimulates a favorable response, even when other amounts are deadly. For instance, while a high dose of radiation is often fatal, small doses have in some cases been shown to stimulate a positive adaptation leading to lower than average rates of cancer. A hormetic response to certain adverse influences sometimes leads to an evolution.
Last week I wrote about suffering and our complicated relationship with it. Perhaps we could see it as a hormetic relationship. In low to moderate doses, suffering is purely degrading. We tolerate it but it erodes our presence, our performance, and our patience. In extreme doses it kills us. But sometimes there’s a sweet spot in between where it’s bad enough that it can’t be tolerated in the usual way, something cracks open, and a breakthrough occurs.
One of the key ingredients in a favorable response to suffering is consciousness. I could never say it as well as Eckhart Tolle, so here’s a quote (slightly abridged) from his book, A New Earth:
Humanity is destined to go beyond suffering, but not in the way the ego thinks. One of the ego’s many erroneous assumptions is “I should not have to suffer.” That thought itself lies at the root of suffering. Suffering has a noble purpose: the evolution of consciousness and the burning up of the ego. As long as you resist suffering, it is a slow process. When you accept suffering, however, there is an acceleration of that process which is brought about by the fact that you suffer consciously. In the midst of conscious suffering, there is already the transmutation. The fire of suffering becomes the light of consciousness. The truth is that you need to say yes to suffering before you can transcend it.
Suffering isn’t intrinsically useful or noble. When we suffer “unconsciously” – resisting it and turning away from it – it just becomes part of the tragic degradation of life that Buddhism speaks to when it says the nature of the world is to suffer (dukkha). Bringing consciousness, acceptance, and curiosity to it makes it something entirely different.
In her book, Loving What Is, Byron Katie shares an exchange she had with a client who is incessantly angry at big corporations that pollute the planet. On examining the client’s psychology, we see that she is conducting a campaign of violence against these corporations and their faceless leaders in her mind. Katie asks the client if this suffering is necessary in order to feel that she’s doing something about the situation. Through some digging they get down to a troublesome belief at the heart of it: If I don’t suffer, I won’t care.
This is a big one for many of us. Is it true? If we didn’t suffer would we be complacent? Is it suffering that makes us care to be productive or helpful?
This is a question that can only be answered for oneself.
I believe we have a natural, transpersonal inclination toward serving, loving, and awakening. It doesn’t need to be prompted by suffering. But as we see, it’s common for humans to stifle or undermine this inclination. And so, suffering, it turns out, may sometimes be what gets us to recognize it and prioritize it.
When you meet suffering consciously, you may find that it dissolves. You may find that it’s been perpetuated by untrue beliefs, like “I should suffer for my sins,” or “I don’t deserve to be happy.” You may find that the suffering is generated by a part of you that’s just trying to get you to feel. You may find that it’s trying to draw your attention to something, to show you there’s a better, freer way to operate. You may find that the suffering is coming from the last part of you that’s afraid to embody your power, and that with trust it disappears. You may find that the suffering is the feeling that arises from being afraid of suffering. You may find that the suffering is actually an invitation to pass through a gate to a new way of being.
The only way to know is to visit with it. There's nothing in any book, no teaching from any guru that lets you bypass the need to directly encounter what's stirring in YOU.
I always love to hear what you think of these “deep” ideas, and hope that we can make such depth part of our everyday conversations and experiences.
Be well,
Peter
[post_title] => The Gift Inside Our Pain
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One of the earliest inspirations that prompted me to go into medicine was a book called The Science of Homeopathy by George Vithoulkas. Of all the many modalities of mainstream and alternative medicine, few are as widely used – or criticized – as homeopathy.
Most other medical systems are heteropathic or allopathic in their approach. Hetero means other or different, allo means opposite, and pathy means suffering or disease. So, both terms mean producing a condition that is incompatible with or antagonistic to the disease process. Today many people use the term “allopathic” in a negative sense to describe mainstream medicine, but if you take an anti-inflammatory herb such as turmeric for inflammation, or an antibacterial such as garlic for an infection, this is allopathic medicine.
Homeopathy is based on the idea that if a particular substance produces a certain reaction (e.g., ipecacuanha causes nausea and vomiting), minuscule quantities of that substance can treat that condition (e.g., homeopathic ipecacuanha alleviates nausea and vomiting). Homeo means like, so homeopathy means “like the disease” and it’s based on the principle that “like treats like.” Some other examples are the use of homeopathic coffee (Coffea cruda) to treat insomnia and agitation, homeopathic onion (Allium cepa) for red and watery eyes and nose, and homeopathic bee venom (Apis) for stings, swellings, and inflammation.
For what it’s worth, not all remedies work this way. In many cases, homeopathic preparations do the same thing the original substance does. The remedy Chamomilla, for instance, is homeopathic chamomile, and like the herb, it is used for digestive and emotional upset. Sometimes homeopathic versions are safer, gentler, more potent, or have a broader range of application. In the case of Chamomilla, it’s also used for teething, ear pain, and menstrual discomfort.
Homeopathic remedies are created through numerous successive dilutions of herbs, minerals, animal parts and occasionally other substances. When the original substance is diluted in ten parts of a solvent (water or alcohol), this is called an X dilution (X being the Roman numeral for ten). When the substance is diluted in one hundred parts of a solvent, this is a C dilution (C being the Roman numeral for hundred). Each time a dilution is made it is shaken in a specific way to transfer the substance to the solvent, and each successive dilution, though chemically weaker, is considered energetically more potent. I made this chart to explain the process:
Many homeopathic remedies are made from highly toxic substances, like arsenic or deadly nightshade. In these cases, the original substance is so highly diluted that the amount of toxin in a resulting pill or tincture is infinitesimal. Often, it’s unlikely that there is even a single molecule of the original substance in the resulting medicine. This is precisely why opponents of homeopathy argue that it’s worthless and call it pseudoscience.
As a scientist, I completely understand this stance, but in my opinion, what occurs in the preparation of a homeopathic remedy is something we don’t yet have the science to explain. I believe the substance leaves some kind of energetic imprint on the solvent it is diluted in. We know from Masaru Emoto’s research on water that various substances and even human intention are capable of leaving a lasting mark on water molecules that’s evidenced in the different forms of ice crystals it forms when frozen. I believe a similar process occurs through diluting and shaking a substance in water, even when the substance is eventually removed.
I must admit, my own experience with homeopathy has been hit-or-miss. I’ve taken numerous remedies that did nothing perceptible. As to whether I chose the wrong remedy or it wasn’t medicinally effective, I’ll never know. But I have also had cases in which homeopathics were remarkably effective.
This has been especially true with babies and animals, and these are cases we could assume are relatively free from the influence of the placebo effect since the recipients are presumably unaware that they’re getting medicine. In particular, I have repeatedly had the experience of giving homeopathic teething tablets to babies that were inconsolable, and within minutes they were peaceful and sleepy. As a parent, I don’t care what the mechanism is as long as it’s safe and it works.
The safety factor is significant, particularly for children, pregnant women, and elderly or frail people. Not only are homeopathics virtually free of side effects, they also tend to have zero “load” on the system. That is, they don’t make you feel like you’re on a drug. Sometimes this may come at the expense of strength (e.g., homeopathic Chamomilla doesn’t approach the potency of Xanax), but there are cases when the top priority is a clean experience. I find this to be especially true in anxiety, when making someone feel drugged can occasionally intensify the anxiety.
Have you tried homeopathy? What did you think? Share with us in the comments section. I would love to hear about your experience.
Be well,
Dr. Peter Borten
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Early in my practice, people told me I should choose one area of medicine to specialize in, but I was resistant to it because of the lack of variety. Also, it seemed that the natural specialization for me would be pain since I have a knack for treating it, and that sounded, well, kind of boring.
But I gradually began focusing in that direction, and over the years my understanding of pain broadened. I became interested in the whole human experience of suffering, which was like finding a loophole because it’s a pretty vast spectrum.
Suffering is fascinating.
As much as humans hate suffering, we have a curiously complicated relationship with it. We watch movies and read books about it for entertainment. We ache when we see others suffer, but we kind of like the ache. We try it out intentionally (ghost peppers anyone?) and we’re compelled to learn the graphic details of a tragedy just so we can feel it more richly. Often we simultaneously generate it and resist it. And sometimes, we turn it into an incredible, life-changing blessing.
To an extent, it seems that when good outcomes happen after a period of suffering, it's evidence of healthy adaptive mechanisms that help us make the best of a bad situation. But occasionally the suffering appears to be a kind of magic ingredient that provokes an evolution (or a revolution) that wouldn’t have otherwise occurred.
Few people would ask to suffer, but studies show that when they look back on how suffering ultimately facilitated a great favorable change, most say they wouldn’t change anything.
Well, maybe one thing.
If only they could have trusted, they reflect, it could have been a different experience.
On top of the discomfort of suffering we often add an additional dimension of discomfort in the form of resistance (which is often triggered by fear). When the resistance stops – because we just can’t keep it up any longer, or through a conscious choice to trust and relinquish the resistance – this is when something else enters the equation. What do you call it? Grace? Clarity? Insight? And the suffering becomes a portal to a new way of being.
Today, when you encounter some suffering – maybe it will just be a little micro-suffering – what happens if you don’t resist it? What happens when you say, “I choose to trust” and dive into it?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this (in the comments section below). Have you had experience where suffering facilitated something good? What was the pivotal point, when it turned from suffering into grace? Did that change your relationship with suffering? Do you trust more? Why or why not?
Love,
Peter
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What do you know about hormesis? It’s the phenomenon that (kind of) explains the expression “what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” Technically, hormesis refers to biological processes in which a certain amount of exposure to a stress or toxin stimulates a favorable response, even when other amounts are deadly. For instance, while a high dose of radiation is often fatal, small doses have in some cases been shown to stimulate a positive adaptation leading to lower than average rates of cancer. A hormetic response to certain adverse influences sometimes leads to an evolution.
Last week I wrote about suffering and our complicated relationship with it. Perhaps we could see it as a hormetic relationship. In low to moderate doses, suffering is purely degrading. We tolerate it but it erodes our presence, our performance, and our patience. In extreme doses it kills us. But sometimes there’s a sweet spot in between where it’s bad enough that it can’t be tolerated in the usual way, something cracks open, and a breakthrough occurs.
One of the key ingredients in a favorable response to suffering is consciousness. I could never say it as well as Eckhart Tolle, so here’s a quote (slightly abridged) from his book, A New Earth:
Humanity is destined to go beyond suffering, but not in the way the ego thinks. One of the ego’s many erroneous assumptions is “I should not have to suffer.” That thought itself lies at the root of suffering. Suffering has a noble purpose: the evolution of consciousness and the burning up of the ego. As long as you resist suffering, it is a slow process. When you accept suffering, however, there is an acceleration of that process which is brought about by the fact that you suffer consciously. In the midst of conscious suffering, there is already the transmutation. The fire of suffering becomes the light of consciousness. The truth is that you need to say yes to suffering before you can transcend it.
Suffering isn’t intrinsically useful or noble. When we suffer “unconsciously” – resisting it and turning away from it – it just becomes part of the tragic degradation of life that Buddhism speaks to when it says the nature of the world is to suffer (dukkha). Bringing consciousness, acceptance, and curiosity to it makes it something entirely different.
In her book, Loving What Is, Byron Katie shares an exchange she had with a client who is incessantly angry at big corporations that pollute the planet. On examining the client’s psychology, we see that she is conducting a campaign of violence against these corporations and their faceless leaders in her mind. Katie asks the client if this suffering is necessary in order to feel that she’s doing something about the situation. Through some digging they get down to a troublesome belief at the heart of it: If I don’t suffer, I won’t care.
This is a big one for many of us. Is it true? If we didn’t suffer would we be complacent? Is it suffering that makes us care to be productive or helpful?
This is a question that can only be answered for oneself.
I believe we have a natural, transpersonal inclination toward serving, loving, and awakening. It doesn’t need to be prompted by suffering. But as we see, it’s common for humans to stifle or undermine this inclination. And so, suffering, it turns out, may sometimes be what gets us to recognize it and prioritize it.
When you meet suffering consciously, you may find that it dissolves. You may find that it’s been perpetuated by untrue beliefs, like “I should suffer for my sins,” or “I don’t deserve to be happy.” You may find that the suffering is generated by a part of you that’s just trying to get you to feel. You may find that it’s trying to draw your attention to something, to show you there’s a better, freer way to operate. You may find that the suffering is coming from the last part of you that’s afraid to embody your power, and that with trust it disappears. You may find that the suffering is the feeling that arises from being afraid of suffering. You may find that the suffering is actually an invitation to pass through a gate to a new way of being.
The only way to know is to visit with it. There's nothing in any book, no teaching from any guru that lets you bypass the need to directly encounter what's stirring in YOU.
I always love to hear what you think of these “deep” ideas, and hope that we can make such depth part of our everyday conversations and experiences.
Be well,
Peter
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