Recently it was my turn.  I usually don’t feel much anxiety about the dentist.  However, this time was different.  The dentist had warned me that if a tooth that had started bothering me two months earlier hadn’t responded to the latest effort to ease the discomfort, a root canal was the following line of action.  The tooth still felt uncomfortable.  My mind conjured up all kinds of images about this coming experience.

So there I sat, my mouth injected with numbing agents, waiting for my turn under the drill.  I had twenty minutes to wait while the medicine took effect.  Fortunately, I had “trained” for the potential of difficult emotions so, I used my training.  I spent the twenty minutes in meditation using simple meditation practice.  (You can read a short description here).  I closed my eyes and focused on the sensation of inhaling and exhaling while I recited a two-syllable word.

I’ve practiced this meditation for years.  Yet, I still have to discipline my mind and stay vigilant for the stories my mind tells.  Meditation doesn’t silence the mind.; instead, it teaches me methods to navigate the challenging thoughts and emotions when they arise. Meditation is a form of self-discipline and self-compassion. (To read some definitions about Self-Compassion, please click here.)

As would be expected, the stories my mind told were extraordinary. My mind’s committee was on full alert (a definition for the committee can be read here).

Thus I repeatedly and gently brought my attention back to concentrating on my breath.  Fortunately, meditation has a fantastic ability to bring your heart rate down, your blood pressure down, your mind’s anxiety down, and your muscle tension down.  So, I soon felt more relaxed.  When the dental assistant came in twenty minutes later, she softly asked me if I was asleep.  I replied no, telling her I was meditating.  She exclaimed, “Wow!  I never thought about using meditation in a dental chair.”

We can use Self-compassion everywhere, even in a dental chair.  When the root canal started, I frequently felt discomfort.  Sometimes the pain would become so powerful I would forget to meditate, and for a few brief seconds, I’d lose myself in the distress.  However, because I have been practicing awareness via my meditation for years, I’d quickly notice I’d become uncentered[2] , and I’d gently bring myself back to my breathing and regain my detachment from my body.  The discomfort would lessen.

Meditation doesn’t instantly fix our pain and distress.  It also doesn’t immediately make us happy.  However, it allows us to free ourselves from some of the body’s discomfort created by emotions and thoughts.  The self-compassionate part is to practice every day and have the self-discipline to do it when we need it during emotional times.

Please be kind to yourself.  Practice self-compassion all the time.  The self-discipline of meditation is one of the ways you can do this.  You will thrive practicing self-compassion.  And you’re the only one who can give it to you.

May you find some Joy, Peace, and Contentment today.

Written August 24, 2017

Updated April 14, 2021