The pain-body

Tonight's class on A New Earth with author Eckhart Tolle and Oprah was soul food once again. This week we were introduced to what Tolle calls the pain-body, defined as the "energy field of old but still very-much-alive emotion that lives in almost every human being."

A searing passage:

Any emotionally painful experience can be used as food by the pain-body. That's why it thrives on negative thinking as well as drama in relationships. The pain-body is an addiction to unhappiness.

We left class with the thought tonight that a good first step is to be aware of our pain-body and that of our loved ones when it emerges.

Step one.