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Earlier this year, one of my apprentices gave me a very interesting article by Gabriella Tal called "The Nature of Hurt." Gabriela experienced a serious car accident that left her paralyzed.

Her healing journey led her to the work of Peter Levine, author of Waking the Tiger, who helped her realize the power of the moment before the car hit her.

Looking back at that moment, Gabriela told Peter, "I should have run into the forest! I wish I had run."

"Run now!" Peter told her.

So, internally, Gabriela ran and ran. And in doing so transformed the internal pain that came with the grief and loss of the accident, and "the build-up of energy" in her body from wishing she had run.

While emotional healing did not change her physical paralysis, it lifted the burden of her emotional pain. "Hurt is impact. Pain is reaction to the impact," writes Gabriela.

"Hurt is a moment. Pain is an impressioned lifetime and beyond. Hurt is transcendable. Pain clutches us and holds us, even as--particularly as--we purify our lives and move into more healthy choices. Hurt may be physical or of the mind. Pain is always of the mind."

The distinction Gabriela makes here between "hurt" and "pain" is a very powerful one. So often, in the face of hurt, we freeze, we shut down. We become a deer in the headlights of the magnitude of the impact. The hurt becomes an emotional trauma. And when left alone with the hurt and the impact of the hurt, we become the bearers of frozen pain.

I have experienced this myself countless times. The loss of a loved one creates heart-wrenching pain. And to have to bear this hurt alone creates a downward spiral of pain. My heart feels like a knife is stabbing me on the inside and outside.

And even clutching a pillow close to my chest, where the pain is, cannot comfort or contain the stabbing feeling. I find myself unable to sleep, unable to relax, unable to do much more than curl up into a ball and breathe, trying to survive the hurt and pain.

Though I have a deep heart, and a strong body and spirit, there are times the sense of loss or grief can overload my circuitry, and what results is frozen pain.

What a difference it makes when I have a caring friend or loved one there who can open their arms and hold me. In the safety of their embrace, I can cry, I can scream, I can writhe, and I can release the pain.

In EKP, we provide a safe place to find, to access and to melt through frozen pain. Beginning with the stabbing feeling in the chest or the shortness of breath that provides a protective layer over the stabbing pain, we can provide support for the front and back of the heart, and create the space to connect with the memory and the experience of hurt that led to the pain.

The hands on the front and back of the chest, can provide the message, "you are not alone," and in receiving that message, we gain the access to the hurt, to the tears, to the frozen pain.

As the hands safely hold the front and back of the heart, the tears can flow, the sobbing can go deep, and with the tears and the sounds that come with them, the pain can melt and evaporate.

The comforting message of the hands--of support, of connection, of care--replaces the isolation, the aloneness that led to the burden of the frozen pain. And emotional healing can begin.

In an ideal world, it would be great to catch the hurt and release it before it gets stuck as it lingers, becoming frozen pain. The greater our emotional literacy, the more we can become "magical strangers" to each other, recognizing the power of a safe and caring embrace to release the hurt in the moment, and prevent the lingering pain.

This kind of embrace illustrates the importance of face- to-face relating in our increasingly virtual world. An understanding friend in cyberspace can help release some of the tears. Yet, a chain of e-mails is not nearly as sensorily complete and a physical embrace.

So, it is a great wonder of being human that through the wisdom of the heart and body we can still gain access to a moment of past hurt--whether the past was just a matter of moments or a matter of years. And once accessed, grounded and supported, a long-held burden can truly melt away.

Linda Marks, MSM has practiced EKP, a heart-centered method of body psychotherapy, for more than 20 years. She works with individuals, couples and groups in Newton, MA. Linda holds degrees from Yale and MIT, and is the author of Living With Vision: Reclaiming the Power of the Heart and Healing the War Between the Genders: The Power of the Soul-Centered Relationship. You can reach her at http://www.healingheartpower.com Linda's blog is http://www.heartspacecafe.com/blog

Polar Bear Capital of the World

For a short time each year, the remote Canadian town of Churchill, Manitoba is transformed into the Polar Bear Capital of the World. This curious place, accessible by air, sea or train, with its long main street, low rise buildings and distinctly pioneering feel, becomes the centre of attention for bears and visitors alike.

In October and November, as many as 1200 bears gather here on the icy tundra, waiting for the sea to freeze so they can wander out in search of seals. After fasting for the summer, the bears are particularly hungry. Churchill is perched on a spit of land between the western shore of Hudson Bay and the Churchill River and for centuries, this peninsula has been the bears natural access point into the bay.

Polar bears have the ability to detect scent from as far away as 20 miles. Churchill proves irresistible, particularly if the big freeze is taking a while to happen. But dont be concerned, the resident Polar Bear Police have a tried and tested humane procedure for dealing with strays that wander where they are not wanted. It involves a rather large trap, tranquilliser dart, a brief stay in the polar bear jail, then a helicopter trip out of town to relocate somewhere more appropriate. This closely monitored procedure works well for the bears and the townsfolk.

The great advantage of polar bear watching in Churchill is that its a comfortable adventure. Instead of camping on an ice field with an arctic wind howling through your tent, after youve spent a day with the bears you simply return to civilisation, eat a hearty home cooked meal and then sleep in a comfortable hotel bed.

Temperatures can range from minus ten degrees to nine degrees and although there is likely to be snow and possibly rain, there is also a good chance of having bright, clear days so bring sunglasses. The particularly dark nights and lack of artificial lighting outside of town, you may well get to witness a display of the northern lights.

Churchill occupies a transitional zone where the stunted trees of the taiga meet the mosses of the tundra. Blanketed with snow in the winter and covered by thousands of bogs and lakes in the summer, this terrain is completely flat until it reaches the sloping banks of the Churchill River and the ridge around Hudson Bay, whose grey quartzite boulders have been rubbed smooth by the action of the ice, wind and water.

About the Author

Douglas Scott works for The Rental Car Hire Specialist. and is a free lance writer for The Churchill Rental Site

What do old pioneer hunting lodges look like?

hi im decorating my little cabin like an old west hunting lodge kinda thing (pioneer days) and i was wondering if you had any ideas. I bought a cool little toy gun that i mounted on the wall, a bear rug and an indian headdress. what else could i put up? I know pine was big. I love pictures and links thanks

horseshoes, barrels, lasso rope, jackalope head, antler chandelier, terracotta pots and ferns.

Freeskiing pioneer C.R. Johnson remembered for positive outlook on life
TRUCKEE, Calif. - Those who called C.R. Johnson a friend remember the Truckee skier not only for his contributions to the freeskiing movement, but also for his genuine kindness, his smiling face and his positive outlook on life. "He was grateful for everything he had," said close friend Scott Gaffney of Tahoe City. "He definitely didn't take life, and his way of life, for granted." Johnson, who ...

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