Pain and Thoughts

In class today, the question "is it possible to reduce pain with your thoughts" was brought up and I was very intrigued so I looked further into it and found out that it IS possible and there are a few different ways to do so. For instance, you can alter your focus on a different sensation on a different body part that is not feeling the pain. For example, if your leg is in a lot of pain you can try to imagine your hand warming up and you will no longer be focused on how much pain you are in. Also, you can try imagining yourself reducing the ball of pain in your mind. You start by imagining your pain as a colored ball (such as red) and every time you inhale and exhale, imagine the red ball getting smaller and smaller and changing to a warmer, relaxing color such as blue. Focusing on any relaxing object will help keep your mind off of the pain. The trick is to keep your mind busy and focus on other sensations and other body parts and before you know it you will no longer feel the pain.