The real cause of pain is in the mind

In the following reflection, Kenneth Wapnick comments that treating an illness with medicine can alleviate its symptoms, which are the effect. But it does not act on the real cause, which is guilt. In other words, healing or recovery is in the mind, where the thoughts of guilt, usually unconscious, that are the cause of the illness reside.

"You have a headache and take an aspirin. The headache goes away and you feel better. There is nothing wrong with feeling better physically, but the real cause of the headache persists: the mind's decision to be sick, which makes the guilt real and projects it onto the body. However, while there is nothing wrong with feeling physically well, there is something wrong with believing that the problem is cured when it is not" (Kenneth Wapnick).

All our guilt comes from the original guilt hidden in the depths of the unconscious. It was generated so long ago that it is impossible to remember it. It was the result of a decision: our idea of living in a world separate from the Source, from the Love that we are. That erroneous and crazy decision was the origin of the unconscious guilt that governs our lives. Even though we ignore it, we are reliving that decision every moment, and the guilt it generated corrodes us internally as we believe that we destroyed the world of happiness and harmony we enjoyed together with the Source.

It was at that very moment that we decided to implant “a guardian of separation,” the ego, to which we gave a very specific instruction: “You will be the one to keep us away from the Source.” To do this, we created a universe (Big Bang) in which to have an individual identity and hide from the Source.

If we have symptoms of illness, we must treat them to feel better. However, if we want to cure the true source of that illness, which is the thought of guilt in our mind, we can practice true forgiveness, which can eliminate it. If we focus exclusively on treating the symptoms of the illness, the guilt that caused it remains and will reappear in the form of illness (guilt projected onto our body) or in our relationships (guilt projected onto others).

In this excerpt, Kenneth Wapnick clarifies this point:
"This is an unambiguous statement. Illness is guilt: when there is no guilt, there is no illness. There may be an appearance of illness in terms of physical or psychological symptoms, but without guilt, you, as a mind, will not experience yourself as ill. Illness is guilt. Period. It is not defined by form or symptom, but by the content of guilt projected onto the body" (Kenneth Wapnick).

According to Freud, if we do not undo the cause, it remains to generate other symptoms. As long as we have guilt, we will inevitably have multiple symptoms.

The swamp of guilt makes me suffer

The outside world that I see and feel is a reflection of my inner world. Situations that irritate me reveal that there is a part of my mind that is not healed and needs love.

Integrating this idea is necessary in order to understand, fundamentally through relationships, my unconscious dark side, the swamp of my guilt. Instead of judging that person for how bad they have made me feel, I assume that it comes directly from within me, that it is mine.

I should thank them because by hitting my swamp with a stick, they have stirred it up and brought out the stinking mud that has given me the opportunity to see how bad I am inside. And at that moment, I have two options. The one I usually take, which is to lash out at that person, ignore them, or repress my feelings of attack/hatred towards them, so that the mud will return to the swamp and that situation will repeat itself sooner or later in my life with other people whom I will unconsciously attract in order to project my guilt. Guilt is the source of my suffering, and I try to get rid of it through projection.

I can also choose to realize that what has bothered me is, deep down, mine, and I decide to practice true forgiveness by surrendering the situation to my wisest part, my Being, the Holy Spirit, or Jesus, so that they can give me a new perspective that will bring me peace: “I want to see this in a different way, through the eyes of Love.” When I am given a new perspective, my vision will change and that mud (guilt) will come out of my swamp and will no longer condition my life.

This is a brief summary of forgiveness, the path of Love and inner healing. A process in which I gradually remove the mud that clouds my inner Light. A path in which, in order to move forward, I need to choose again in the face of each of my thoughts of attack and judgment against others, or against myself, which I am doing continuously. A path that assures me inner peace.