ego’s fear of the Eternal Present fuels both physical pain (TMS) and psychological TMS pain

[being_present]

Both physical pain (TMS) and psychological TMS pains are interchangeable, until the root cause is addressed (ego- the thinker). In fact to the brain, both types of pains are the same.

Stanford University's pain studies show the same brain areas lit up for both actual physical pain and psychological pain (social rejection, anger, rage, guilt, shame, regret, anxiety ) .


Let's integrate Eckhart Tolle’s insight on egoic fear of the present with Dr. Sarno’s TMS framework, showing how the same mechanism can create both physical TMS and psychological TMS pain.

Egoic Fear, the Present Moment, and TMS
1. Core Principle

• Dr. John Sarno (TMS): Physical pain is often a psychosomatic response to repressed emotions—anger, grief, or fear. The body “acts out” the mind’s unresolved tension.
  
  
• Eckhart Tolle: Suffering is created when the ego resists the present moment, clinging to the past or projecting into the future. Fear arises because the ego cannot control “what is.”

Connection: The ego fears facing raw reality, and this fear can be expressed either:

• Physically: Tension, back pain, headaches, digestive issues (physical TMS).
  
  
• Psychologically: Anxiety, obsessive thoughts, health worries, mental tension (“psychological TMS”).

2. Mechanism: How Egoic Fear Produces Pain

Stage Physical Pain (TMS) Psychological Pain (Health Anxiety / Mental TMS)
Trigger Repressed emotions or unresolved trauma Fear of illness, mortality, or loss; underlying unacknowledged emotions
Ego Response Cannot confront emotions directly → mind “distracts” itself Cannot confront fear → mind obsesses on possible illness or disaster
Manifestation Musculoskeletal pain, headaches, tension Intrusive thoughts, panic, chronic anxiety
Purpose Protects ego by diverting attention from uncomfortable emotions Protects ego by avoiding awareness of present-moment reality and underlying emotion
3. The Role of the Present Moment

• The present moment is neutral — it is neither threatening nor painful.
  
  
• The ego perceives the present moment as dangerous, because it exposes unprocessed feelings or the futility of controlling outcomes.
  
  
• When the mind avoids the present, it channels energy into pain or anxiety, both of which serve as distractions from deeper awareness.

Example:

• A person feels chronic back pain (TMS). On investigation, it is linked to anger toward a family member they never expressed. The pain protects the ego from facing uncomfortable emotions.
  
  
• A person experiences obsessive health anxiety. Deep down, it may be linked to fear of mortality or helplessness. The mind creates constant worry to avoid fully experiencing the present, where the fear actually resides.

4. Witnessing: The Antidote
Both Sarno and Tolle converge here:

1. Recognize the pain pattern (physical or mental) as egoic protection.
   
   
2. Observe without judgment — witness the thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations.
   
   
3. Allow presence: By staying in the present moment, the ego loses its power to create suffering, and both physical and psychological symptoms begin to ease naturally.
   
   
4. Integration of suppressed emotions: Awareness allows unprocessed feelings to surface safely, removing the need for TMS symptoms or obsessive anxiety.

5. Summary

• Ego fears the present moment → avoidance → pain creation.
  
  
• Physical TMS: Repressed emotion manifests as bodily tension.
  
  
• Psychological TMS / Health Anxiety: Repressed emotion manifests as intrusive thoughts and mental distress.
  
  
• Solution: Awareness and presence dissolve the ego’s fear, allowing natural healing in body and mind.

 

[being_present]

Explanation of Flow

1. Ego fears the Eternal Present → Resists being fully aware of emotions and reality.
   
   
2. Resistance creates tension → Emotions get repressed because they feel “unsafe” to face.
   
   
3. Manifestation of pain:
   
   • Physical: Musculoskeletal pain (physical TMS)
     
     
   • Psychological: Anxiety, obsessive thoughts (psychological-mental TMS / health anxiety)
     
4. Witnessing / Presence: Observing thoughts and emotions without judgment dissolves ego fear, allowing emotional processing.
   
   
5. Healing: Once the underlying emotion is acknowledged, the symptom (physical or psychological) diminishes naturally.
   

Diagram Concept: Ego, Emotions, and TMS/Health Anxiety

 

[being_present]

 

[JanAtheCPA]

I feel like we're being spammed with AI -generated content by this user who, unlike the obvious spammers who also posted this morning, actually looks more like a legit user - barely.

There are 14 posts from @being_present in a short period of time starting about 9 or so hours ago. The fact that all 14 were posted by the same user was hidden by the common spammer technique of adding on to old threads that have been inactive for years.

Fortunately an alert member noticed and correctly submitted a Report to the moderators, and it's our duty to follow up on Reports. In this case, I agree that this content is suspect.

@being_present, who are you and why are you subjecting us to this onslaught of unoriginal content? 14 different posts overwhelms the legitimate and unique content of other people who come here looking for personal advice and community interaction, which is the mission of our forum - and the job of forum moderators is to protect that.

For the sake of our forum mission, I will be arbitrarily deleting all of the posts that unnecessarily revived old threads. This leaves two original threads which is more than enough for someone who wishes to be a member of this community. The way to do legitimately do that is with genuine personal interaction.

I'm also placing this user account into moderation so I can review any responses before they are published. There is a time difference involved so there will be a delay.

 

[Rusty Red]

Saw this this morning but got snagged into a work issue. Glad to see someone reported it along with the other crazy bot.

 

[eightball776]

This is the only page I was able to access - most of this forum returns this error when I try:

Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 134217728 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 82 bytes) in /home/ptpn/public_html/forum/library/Zend/Db/Statement/Mysqli.php on line 304

I've written in to info@tmswiki.org, but this has been happening for a very, very long time. Anyone with any info, I'd very much appreciate a DM.

 

[JanAtheCPA]

@eightball776, there is a pinned thread at the top of the General Discussion subforum that explains what is happening. No need for a DM.