Congratulations – know that you have made a good start

What I believe is that when somebody recognise a life challenge, or issue which is creating disharmony then they are 50% of the way through the challenge. The next 25% is saying - Yes, I want to do something about it. The remaining 25% is doing it - that's what my methods help with and I always encourage daily meditation.

Whatever is advised by CALM does not take the place of advice from your own Medical Specialists. If in doubt about using anything that CALM recommends please consult your medical team. This guide contains practical advice and includes the recommendation of guided imagery which will assist in dealing with pain using active meditation techniques. The first "Building Block" of the CALM techniques is offered free below so that you can gain an experiential perspective. If you would like to find out more about CALM and the techniques taught by Sandy MacGregor, please visit our about section.

There are many different kinds of Pain which can be caused by a variety of reasons. If you are unsure if your doctor will allow you to meditate, then please ask your doctor first. Generally, Active Meditation is an additional tool that will prove extremely useful in dealing with physical and emotional Pain. When you use Active Meditation you are dealing with the deeper subconscious mind in such a way, that with continual use over 30 days, you will create new supporting habits.

It is important to understand the power of self-talk. We talk to ourselves 50,000 times a day and if it’s negative, then it will affect us negatively and only assist in a downward emotional spiral. The key is to become aware of negative self-talk and change it to the positive. Know also that positive self-talk will affect us positively.

Within the deeper inner mind, the subconscious mind, are all our memories, habits, personality and self-image. The job of the subconscious mind is to keep us where we are by creating doubt and negative self-talk. The job of the conscious mind is to implant thoughts (creating new neural pathways, that is, new habits which we want) into the subconscious mind and it can do that using visualisation, goals and active meditation.

Why is this possible? Because the subconscious mind doesn’t know the difference between imagination and reality. For instance, look at a dream about falling. In the dream you really think that you’re falling and yet it’s not true. The power of imagination within the subconscious mind will work for all of us just the same way that great sports people are taught to use their mind to achieve fantastic results.

I know that regular meditation is certainly beneficial and the benefits for physical pain can be immediate. The benefits for emotional pain are cumulative.

An experiential perspective of the CALM Active Meditation methods can be gained by listening to the Guided Imagery Track "Building Your Peaceful Place" – offered to you below for free.

1. Find a quiet, comfortable location where you won't be disturbed and listen to the guided imagery audio called Building Your Peaceful Place by clicking play on the bar below. Every time you listen to this track you should feel immediate stress relief. This is the first building block taught when using the CALM methods

Why is the Meditation called Releasing Hurt? Pain is a signal to us which can be very valuable; for example, say in the birth of a baby - it's the hurt in the pain we want to release not the pain signals which tell of the baby's imminent arrival. This Meditation is about learning from your pain and releasing hurt. Having read the discussion above and experienced the guided imagery of Building Your Peaceful Place, the next step is to do the Active Meditation "Releasing Hurt". You can purchase the download here or the CD here.

Please take some time to check out the Articles Control Pain and A Way To Handle Pain and some related Articles, Success Stories and Frequently Asked Questions

Importantly – the following seminars may further assist with controlling pain.

• Active Meditation Seminar on 2 DVDs
• The CALM Life Skills Seminar on DVDs and CDs
• 5-Day/4-night Live-in CHI Seminar held in Sydney, Australia