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The most effective way to use the subconscious for pain relief seems to be to encourage it to attack the pain process from three different directions. Here's a recap that you may be able to use to help build an effective strategy for easing your pain.

The following approach may give you the greatest chance of alleviating your pain:

1. Use the subconscious to try to reduce the pain signals that you're already feeling.

2. Use it to try to prevent certain body systems from producing those signals in the first place.

3. Do the same with certain lifestyle factors.

This approach may be helpful in addressing back pain or pain in other extremities, arthritis pain, fibromyalgia pain or neuropathic pain (nerve pain).

The Role of Visualization Statements

Visualization statements represent the specific language that your subconscious wants you to read back to it to help ease your pain. They're simple and are targeted directly at the main factors in each of the above three areas that could bring you relief.

You can obtain these statements by learning how to communicate directly with your own subconscious mind. The process is straightforward and can be done at home by working with a facilitator over the telephone. You you need no special skills and no previous experience in working with the subconscious.

1 Reducing the Pain Signal

The most urgent need is to reduce the pain impulses that are currently reaching your cortex.

The process by which a pain signal is transmitted from the periphery of your body to the brain is highly complex and is not fully understood. But we know enough to identify the key places, or pain leverage points, where the subconscious could possibly interrupt these signals.

You can try to do so at only one or two leverage points and it may work. But you have a higher chance of success if you use your subconscious to attack the signal pathway at many leverage points. Via visualization statements the subconscious may be able to address most or even all of them, while drugs may be currently available for only a few of them.

2 Reducing Body System Triggers of the Pain Signal

While working to reduce the pain signals that you perceive, it's possible at the same time attempt to focus the subconscious on body systems that may be triggering those signals to occur in the first place.

The musculoskeletal system, the immune system, and the endocrine system can all be sources of pain. In addition, in chronic pain the central nervous system itself can cause pain that is independent of external stimulation.

• The Musculoskeletal System. Your muscles, joints, tissues, ligaments, tendons and a number of other structures can be a source of back pain, arthritis pain, or other conditions. When you give your subconscious specific visualizations about these structures, it may be able to provide relief.

• The Immune System. When your immune system is malfunctioning it could be implicated in arthritis pain, fibromyalgia pain, or other conditions that cause pain. By using visualizations you may be able to address the malfunction effectively enough to ease your pain.

• The Endocrine System. A hormonal imbalance could be contributing to your pain. The organs that produce hormones may be weak, or the levels of hormones that they produce may be out of balance with one another. Through your subconscious you may be able to relieve the imbalance enough to ease pain.

• The Central Nervous System. Chemical reactions move pain signals along a pathway from your body to your brain. As mentioned above, by focusing your subconscious on potential weak points on the pathway, you may be able to reduce the signal enough to get relief.

3 Reducing Lifestyle Triggers of the Pain Signal

Emotions, food and sleep can be sources of pain:

• Emotions. By visualizing a weakening of the connections between fear, anger and other emotions to your pain, you may be able to reduce the number of pain signals that are triggered. In addition, you may be able to weaken the strength of those signals once they are generated.

• Food. Certain foods may be contributing to your pain. You can use the subconscious to expose what may be the most prominent offenders--the nightshade vegetables, dairy products, wheat, or others. You can then try avoiding them to see if that eases your pain.

• Sleep. If you're in pain you probably can't get enough sleep. This causes a vicious cycle--sleep deprivation makes the perception of pain worse, which further prevents sleep. Visualizations about a comfortable position to sleep in, and about other factors, may help you to break this cycle.

Using Your Subconscious to Gain Leverage

If you can learn to engage your subconscious, you most likely will be able to address leverage points on the pathway of the pain signal, and in addition identify which of these seven trigger factors apply to you. You can then use visualization statements to give your subconscious the daily reinforcement it needs to possibly take the edge off your pain.

Ben Plumb is CEO and President of The Visualization Group, Inc. The company's service is delivered by people like himself who personally suffered from years of chronic pain, and used the visualization method described in this article to obtain relief when nothing else worked.