> • I can sometimes switch off pain This is interesting. Can you elaborate? Is this something you have worked on or is it just intuitive for you? I have been

> • I can sometimes switch off pain This is interesting. Can you elaborate? Is this something you have worked on or is it just intuitive for you? I have been able to do this exactly once in my life, during a meditation session in which I was meditating on external sounds. I also had acute pain in my elbow, arthritis-related. At one point the access concentration became very focused, my sense of self disappeared and I could not distinguish myself spatially from the sounds I was hearing. At the same time the pain in my elbow also detached from me. It was still all present but it was just no longer my problem. The sense of relief, the surprise that this was possible, and the realisation I could do this with just my mind, the blissful feeling from the intense concentration; it all added up and I simply broke out into surprised, joyful, laughter. It dissipated in a minute or two after that. Therefore I'm curious by what you mean about being able to do this.