Pain

House of Pain

Severely disturbed people inflict physical pain on themselves in order to squelch a deeper ache. Those who resort to self- mutilation, who cut and burn them selves, constitute a subcategory. The mind is so constructed that it can go on autopilot to produce the right quotient of maladaptive behavior necessary to quell the noise. Loss can produce bouts of logorrhea. You've encountered people who can't stop talking and bring conversation to a halt. These literally take the air out of a room. Traumatized children either look like ghosts with their deadened eyes or produce a level of noise which eradicates both thought and emotion. Meditation is a spiritual activity. You stop what you're doing. It's meant to clear the mind. But it can do just the opposite turning up the volume on the very voices it seeks to eliminate.

read "Francis Levy's Divine Comedy," Exquisite Corpse