Finding a Joyful Life in the Heart of Pain [Hardcover]

Darlene Cohen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2, 2000

Darlene Cohen discovered the secret to finding happiness in the midst of debilitating pain. She shares her knowledge in her popular workshops and now in this book. Cohen, who has suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for eighteen years, was hobbling painfully to her local Zen center one day, when she made a discovery that changed her life: if she focused on the foot that was in the air rather than the one that was hitting the pavement, her stamina increased enormously. It was the beginning of a completely different approach to the crippling pain that had beset her for so long. As she demonstrates here, this approach can be expanded to all types of pain: physical, psychological, and spiritual. Cohen—a certified massage and movement therapist and Zen teacher—proposes a radically liberating alternative to the usual desperate search for pain relief: paradoxically, she says, release from suffering lies in paying closer attention to it. When we keep pain at bay, we keep pleasure at bay, too. The two are interdependent, and our ability to experience each is totally dependent on our understanding of the other. "Enrich your life exponentially," Cohen advises. If your pain is one of the ten things you are aware of, then it constitutes a tenth of your total awareness. Expand your awareness to a hundred things, however, and your pain is only a hundredth of your awareness. With stories, strategies, exercises, and an awareness born of long Zen practice, Cohen shows us how to tap into that enrichment—and how we can lead a satisfying and even joyful life in the very midst of pain.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

For the past 20 years author Darlene Cohen has had rheumatoid arthritis, a painful and crippling condition. "I became isolated from everyone I knew by my pain and fear and ultimately even by the consuming effort I had to make to do any little thing--like get up from a chair, fix a cup of tea," she writes. How do we live through catastrophic situations such as Cohen's without being destroyed? For starters, don't go numb, suggests Cohen, a Zen teacher who offers pain seminars in medical facilities and meditation centers along the West Coast. "If we don't acknowledge our pain, we usually don't feel our pleasure either," Cohen explains. "Life takes on a zombie-like tenor." In fact, many of our most self-destructive habits come from an avoidance of physical or emotional pain, claims Cohen, such as substance abuse, becoming overly scheduled or overly busy, avoiding intimacy to avoid hurt. Through storytelling, attitude adjustments, meditation exercises, and straight-from-the-heart advice, Cohen guides readers into a more alive and joyful life, even in the midst of pain. --Gail Hudson

Review

"There are many, many helpful hints in this book about commonplace problems such as anger (those who repress it are advised to let it out with temper tantrums), busyness (how about enabling 'the one who is not busy' inside you), and 'the weeds of enlightenment' (using obstacles as spiritual teachers). Cohen has good advice for those of us who are always 'jumping to the higher self' in order to avoid hindrances to growth in our daily lives. A final chapter on the use of 'koans' as self-correcting tools is a real gem. "Finding a Joyful Life in the Heart of Pain" is highly recommended."—Frederic A. Brussat, Spirituality & Health.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala (May 2, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570624674
• ISBN-13: 978-1570624674
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,325,974 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not only for those in pain, August 5, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (Kalamazoo, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Finding a Joyful Life in the Heart of Pain (Hardcover)

A helpful, encouraging blueprint for enriching any life -from those tetter on physical or psychological problems, to those with "mundane" stresses and worries. Not a how-to-book; although there are specific tips and techniques for dealing with physical and/or emotional problems. Not a woe-is-me-book, although Cohen's odessey of illness, growth, nurturing a new perspective and way of being is inspirational and makes the reader feel better about peoplekind. Not a dry medical book, but a warm, human, witty personal book. Almost anyone with a functioning mind, open to new thoughts and feelings, will benefit from this.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For more than just physical pain, July 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Finding a Joyful Life in the Heart of Pain (Hardcover)

Even if you do not have chronic physical pain, this book is a true gift from a wise and experienced teacher. The compassionate observations and suggestions serve as guidelines for any kind of pain -- mental, emotional or spiritual. Thank you, Ms. Cohen,for sharing the fruits of your life and suffering with us.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If You Are Suffering Chronic Pain - this is your book, December 3, 2009

By 

BooksJJS "BooksJJS" (Brighton, CO) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Turning Suffering Inside Out (Paperback)

I read this book several years ago when I sustained a permanent injury to my SI joint. I also have nerve damage there, and in my foot. Some days it really sucks.

This book is an excellent approach to managing pain and health issues that seem unmanagable - that feel like they have stolen your life and taken all joy from you. The author's approach is very practical and doable... learn to focus on what is right in your life... on moments.

Life is not made up of big events. Life is made of the tiny joys in every day. But when you are buried in pain, you have to train yourself to find them.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. You owe it to yourself, and to your loved ones, to read it. It's very hard to suffer... it's also hard to watch someone suffer. Take a positive step in the middle of what seems impossible and read this book.

Really.