1 00:00:00,900 --> 00:00:04,480 (Transcribed by TurboScribe. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) You're listening to the Feathermane Soul Blogcast, an 2 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:07,280 audio reading of the blogs posted on Feathermane 3 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:07,520 Soul. 4 00:00:08,140 --> 00:00:11,460 Blogs are read by Kit Kaelstow, spiritual storyteller. 5 00:00:12,140 --> 00:00:15,400 For links or additional information associated with the 6 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:20,420 blog, please visit feathermanesoul.com slash blog and 7 00:00:20,420 --> 00:00:22,320 click on the title you're interested in. 8 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:24,500 Enjoy this blog post. 9 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:27,880 This is the Body Theology blog for July 10 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:29,760 7th, 2026. 11 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:33,640 When Wild Spirit Storytelling and Pain Collide. 12 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:36,500 In the Arrow Sutra, the Buddha talked about 13 00:00:36,500 --> 00:00:37,260 two arrows. 14 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:40,380 The first arrow, which pierces you, contains any 15 00:00:40,380 --> 00:00:43,040 number of the unavoidable difficulties in life. 16 00:00:43,620 --> 00:00:45,340 This could be chronic pain, which I'll be 17 00:00:45,340 --> 00:00:48,220 talking about today, or stress, or grief. 18 00:00:48,780 --> 00:00:51,520 Life is suffering, the Buddha tells us, and 19 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:54,560 what causes suffering is attachment, which brings us 20 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:55,500 to the second arrow. 21 00:00:56,220 --> 00:00:58,380 The second arrow is our own inner reaction 22 00:00:58,380 --> 00:01:01,680 to the first arrow, whatever difficulty we're experiencing. 23 00:01:02,180 --> 00:01:06,560 Worry, fear, anger, self-blame, or self-criticism, 24 00:01:07,100 --> 00:01:09,420 the old woulda, coulda, shoulda that runs through 25 00:01:09,420 --> 00:01:10,100 our minds. 26 00:01:10,740 --> 00:01:12,860 That's the second arrow, and it causes more 27 00:01:12,860 --> 00:01:14,020 suffering than the first. 28 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:16,620 If we stub our toe, which is admittedly 29 00:01:16,620 --> 00:01:20,060 a small, but often extremely annoying difficulty, it 30 00:01:20,060 --> 00:01:20,480 hurts. 31 00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:23,720 It's the hopping around afterwards, blaming ourselves for 32 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:25,920 not seeing the chair, or the table, or 33 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:27,480 whatever we ran our foot into. 34 00:01:27,980 --> 00:01:29,340 We call ourselves klutzy. 35 00:01:29,500 --> 00:01:31,420 We blame it on a lack of perioperception. 36 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:33,900 We might even call ourselves worse things than 37 00:01:33,900 --> 00:01:36,260 a klutz, and we blame ourselves for stubbing 38 00:01:36,260 --> 00:01:36,780 our toe. 39 00:01:37,260 --> 00:01:39,620 That's what hurts worse than the initial injury. 40 00:01:40,340 --> 00:01:42,820 Even when the difficulties are larger, such as 41 00:01:42,820 --> 00:01:46,260 ongoing, relentless chronic pain, it's often the second 42 00:01:46,260 --> 00:01:48,900 arrow, how we relate to the pain, that 43 00:01:48,900 --> 00:01:50,020 makes it hurt worse. 44 00:01:50,500 --> 00:01:52,100 Now, I want to stop for a moment, 45 00:01:52,520 --> 00:01:54,120 and say that I'm not talking about just 46 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:56,680 thinking about your pain differently, as if I 47 00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:58,340 were asking you to follow some sort of 48 00:01:58,340 --> 00:02:00,000 cognitive behavioral change. 49 00:02:00,460 --> 00:02:02,520 Instead, I invite you to see the stories 50 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,080 you've told yourself, and the stories you've been 51 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:06,640 told in the second arrow. 52 00:02:07,419 --> 00:02:08,860 Let me broaden the lens a bit. 53 00:02:10,180 --> 00:02:13,520 Many natural environments have the capacity to restore 54 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:16,140 themselves when they become ecologically out of balance. 55 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:18,880 This happens when the damage hasn't gone past 56 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:21,100 a tipping point, when humans get out of 57 00:02:21,100 --> 00:02:23,080 the way, rather than actively try to help 58 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:25,800 in well-meaning but misguided ways, and when 59 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:27,140 all the stressors are removed. 60 00:02:27,620 --> 00:02:29,080 Let's think about this for a moment. 61 00:02:29,820 --> 00:02:31,580 There is a tipping point with pain. 62 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:34,000 Each person's tipping point is going to be 63 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,120 different, and depending on a person's neurotype, the 64 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:39,440 sensory issues associated with pain will be different 65 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:39,960 as well. 66 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,340 If the tipping point hasn't been reached, then 67 00:02:43,340 --> 00:02:46,060 restoration without much intervention is possible. 68 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:48,580 For too many of us, though, we've passed 69 00:02:48,580 --> 00:02:50,660 that tipping point a long time ago. 70 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:54,340 Wild Spirit Storytelling invites us to know where 71 00:02:54,340 --> 00:02:54,860 we are. 72 00:02:55,500 --> 00:02:58,500 In other words, I am experiencing pain, and 73 00:02:58,500 --> 00:03:00,180 I have passed my tipping point. 74 00:03:01,180 --> 00:03:01,980 The next step? 75 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:04,480 Remove all stressors, if at all possible. 76 00:03:04,940 --> 00:03:06,920 Now, I fully acknowledge that this may not 77 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:09,660 be possible, and for those in certain communities 78 00:03:09,660 --> 00:03:11,900 that are being actively harmed right now, it 79 00:03:11,900 --> 00:03:12,900 may be impossible. 80 00:03:13,740 --> 00:03:15,780 But remove as many stressors as you can. 81 00:03:16,020 --> 00:03:18,680 This may mean seeking medical care if possible, 82 00:03:19,180 --> 00:03:21,200 again understanding that this may not be the 83 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:22,560 best course of action for many. 84 00:03:23,140 --> 00:03:25,520 It may mean exploring other treatments or options, 85 00:03:25,580 --> 00:03:26,220 if possible. 86 00:03:26,780 --> 00:03:29,320 It might mean taking time off, withdrawing to 87 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:30,900 focus on you and your care, and what 88 00:03:30,900 --> 00:03:32,960 makes your internal ecosystem flourish. 89 00:03:33,640 --> 00:03:35,940 Like cuddling with your pet, or watching a 90 00:03:35,940 --> 00:03:38,260 favorite television show with your best comfort food. 91 00:03:39,180 --> 00:03:42,560 According to ecosystem restoration, the wild will begin 92 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:43,500 to restore itself. 93 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:45,580 I would be a fool if I told 94 00:03:45,580 --> 00:03:47,320 you that you would automatically heal from your 95 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:48,440 chronic pain at this point. 96 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:51,720 It is much too complicated an issue, and 97 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:53,820 our mind-body-gut connections are much too 98 00:03:53,820 --> 00:03:55,820 complex to fix them with a single blog 99 00:03:55,820 --> 00:03:56,220 post. 100 00:03:56,840 --> 00:03:59,500 We can, however, work toward that restoration. 101 00:04:00,500 --> 00:04:02,360 We remove the second arrow. 102 00:04:03,620 --> 00:04:06,220 Examine your stories, the ones you are told, 103 00:04:06,340 --> 00:04:07,940 the ones you internalize, and the ones you're 104 00:04:07,940 --> 00:04:09,200 currently creating about yourself. 105 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:11,840 This is how we begin to create restoration. 106 00:04:12,620 --> 00:04:14,120 This is how we learn from the wild, 107 00:04:14,220 --> 00:04:17,160 and how ecosystems restore themselves, so that we 108 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:18,480 can apply this to ourselves. 109 00:04:19,140 --> 00:04:21,019 The most important thing in all of this, 110 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:22,380 is that we don't blame ourselves. 111 00:04:22,980 --> 00:04:25,400 A natural environment that's out of balance doesn't 112 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:26,880 blame itself for getting that way. 113 00:04:27,500 --> 00:04:29,800 And those who work in biology and ecology 114 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:31,280 don't blame the area either. 115 00:04:32,140 --> 00:04:34,520 They understand that it was often external, man 116 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:36,780 -made forces that caused an ecosystem to get 117 00:04:36,780 --> 00:04:39,020 out of balance, and the same thing holds 118 00:04:39,020 --> 00:04:39,760 true with us. 119 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:42,680 Body theology means understanding that we are not 120 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:44,980 inherently bad or wrong for being in pain, 121 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:47,200 but that it indicates that something is out 122 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:49,300 of balance, and that we may not be 123 00:04:49,300 --> 00:04:50,960 able to completely remove the pain. 124 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:52,820 There are things that we can do that 125 00:04:52,820 --> 00:04:55,440 will help, like removing the second arrow. 126 00:04:56,860 --> 00:04:59,240 Thank you for listening to this episode of 127 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:02,640 Feathermane Soul Wisdom Extra, an audio recording of 128 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:04,860 a blog post hosted on Feathermane Soul. 129 00:05:04,860 --> 00:05:08,820 All blogs are copyright 2025, all rights reserved 130 00:05:08,820 --> 00:05:11,300 by Kit Kaelstow and Feathermane Soul. 131 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:15,140 Please like, subscribe, or follow wherever you get 132 00:05:15,140 --> 00:05:17,020 your podcasts and our social media. 133 00:05:17,660 --> 00:05:19,360 Text for each blog can be found at 134 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:21,820 feathermanesoul.com slash blog. 135 00:05:22,220 --> 00:05:23,620 If you would like to learn about how 136 00:05:23,620 --> 00:05:26,480 spiritual storytelling can help you reclaim your relationship 137 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:30,100 with spirituality, and set your spirit free, please 138 00:05:30,100 --> 00:05:33,160 visit feathermanesoul.com and book a free call 139 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:34,900 by using the button on our home page. 140 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:36,900 You're also welcome to pick up one of 141 00:05:36,900 --> 00:05:38,500 our free resources while you're there. 142 00:05:39,220 --> 00:05:41,380 Music is Call of the Mountains by Purple 143 00:05:41,380 --> 00:05:45,640 Planet Music and available at purple-planet.com.