#739 Changing States - in Meditation & Psychotherapy

     During formal sitting meditation practice, we become aware of the many different states of mind that we encounter - like the endless parade of cloud formations floating by in the vast blue sky. Some of these states may be discontinuous with the ones that preceded and follow it. It is not just that we feel more or less, or better or worse: the way we go about feeling may be qualitatively different.
     Of course meditation doesn't cause such changes directly, we are simply able to observe our mind more clearly in the laboratory-like conditions of meditation practice. The statement, "Awareness in and of itself is healing" by psychiatrist Fritz Perls is intriguing.

     I strongly suspect that the state changes meditators experience are similar to what patients experience during accelerated experiential dynamic psychotherapy (AEDP), the major difference being the manner in which therapists and meditation teachers recognize & deal with these changes.

     In AEDP, "State 1 functioning" is described as being "dominated by defenses and inhibiting affects, such as shame and fear, which block the person’s direct contact with his or her own emotional experience. ... Aloneness in the face of overwhelming emotions is seen in AEDP as being at the root of psychopathology."
Meditators readily recognize this very common state as restlessness, distractedness, "monkey mind." Why do we compulsively try to escape the present moment? Safety issues? Is some history of trauma almost universal? The harder we push against all these forms of 'resistance' to meditation, the more struggles we create for ourselves - "What we resist, persists!" Gradually we discover that acceptance, and gentle perseverance are the keys.
     In AEDP "State 2, with defenses and inhibiting affects (minimized), the patient is viscerally in touch with bodily-rooted emotional experience. ... patient and therapist ... working together to help the patient access, deepen, regulate, and work through emotional experiences until their adaptive action tendencies can be released. Instead of feeling disrupted and overwhelmed by emotions, the patient, aliveness enhanced, feels stronger and more resilient."  
Meditators intentionally accept the physical feel of emotions, either generating curiosity & leaning in towards it and using it as the object of meditation ('physical processing'); or if its too aversive, letting the physical feel be for now, returning to the primary object of meditation ('touch-and-go').
     In AEDP "State 3 - core state, the patient has a subjective sense of 'truth' and a heightened sense of authenticity and vitality; very often, so does the therapist. As in state 2, defenses or anxiety are absent in the core state. But whereas the turbulence of intense emotions defines state 2, calm, clarity, and centeredness prevail in state 3. Work with core state phenomena culminates in the assertion of personal truth and strengthening of the individual’s core identity and sense of (true) self. In core state, AEDP joins with spiritual traditions and traditions of mindfulness."  
Meditators mercifully do encounter periods of effortlessness & joy during practice. This is usually temporary, though the trajectory is toward a state that is progressively less dependent on the constantly changing, & largely uncontrollable, external circumstances. "When all the layers of false identity have been stripped off, there is no longer any version of that old self. What is left behind is pure consciousness (rigpa). That is our original being. That is our true identity."  Anam Thubten


       Diana Fosha. "Quantum Transformation in Trauma and Treatment: Traversing the Crisis of Healing Change." J Clin Psychol: In Session 2006; 62: 569–583. 
       AEDP overview with Diana Fosha: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HasX4sW3mRw

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#504 Curiosity & Processing

     In Mindfulness training we're advised to be "curious" about phenomena that arise. Yet we're also advised to "let go of words" and "let go of stories"! So what does "curiosity" mean in this context?
     This is a very basic and practically important question. We're used to having an almost continuous verbal commentary - "self-talk" - running 24/7, including of course when we begin practicing meditation! Typically, while observing something, we describe it to ourselves using words. So can we observe without words? And if so, how?
     What happens spontaneously when we're alone in the house, and we hear a faint odd sound? We suddenly stop whatever we're doing, become completely still, perhaps even hold our breath, and listen intently. At these times, we're so attentive, that even self-talk seems to go silent. We see animals do what appears to be the same thing - an ancient instinctive behavior pattern for becoming deeply attentive.
     How can we intentionally ease into this silent, still space of receptive, open listening? Remembering the classic Zen instruction to listen with our eyes & look with our ears helps us transcend linear discursive thinking (relatively slow, crude & detached) - and associated self-talk (disruptive) - and helps open all our senses, as we become profoundly still & silent.
     Sound is physically sensed. Silence is potential sound. Musicians have high regard for the silent intervals between sounds. In Mindfulness, we learn to open up to & investigate BOTH sound & silence - therefore to be continuously aware. We're training to process experience (primarily) physically (eg sound & silence, feel of the breath, etc) rather than conceptually (eg words). CONTINUOUS PHYSICAL CONTACT with present-moment experience.
     Consider sitting in the middle of a large open pasture with the intention of noticing deer. We would, like our ancestors for countless generations before, sit very still, silent, for hours, with relaxed sustained stable awareness. We have the inherent capacity to do precisely this, without concern for time. Mindfulness training cultivates an innate natural capacity.

Heiko Meyer   http://photography.nationalgeographic.com

#297 Processing Obstacles to Meditation Practice, Cognitive Defusion, Attitudes, Moods

     After practicing sitting meditation for some time, one notices that the power of various apparent obstacles to this practice progressively, markedly diminish. Tickles, stiffness, muscle aches, mind chatter, obsessing over time, all gradually lose problematic intensity, and fade into the background, barely noticeable.
     Anything we perceive or think of, then focus on, and then quickly identify with, can become all-consuming, huge. This is exactly what we do by default, when we start to meditate, and this is precisely why most people stop meditating. Some people are simply not ready for cognitive defusion - letting go of identifying with transient attitudes & moods. To do so requires one to physically process (interoceptive exposure) ie sit still with & observe the temporary discomfort associated with not running from demons, nor chasing after magical solutions. Yes, it is very much like an addict undergoing detox.

     “The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.” William James

     "An attitude is an expression of favor or disfavor toward a person, place, thing, or event." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attitude_%28psychology%29

     "A mood is an emotional state. Moods differ from emotions in that they are less specific, less intense, and less likely to be triggered by a particular stimulus or event. Moods generally have either a positive or negative valence. In other words, people typically speak of being in a good mood or a bad mood." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mood_%28psychology%29 

http://stevemccurry.com/

#88 Avoidance-Approach Dichotomy

     “We are a creative process in action; change is inevitable, as is our responsibility for our growth. The opposite of responsibility is avoidance, which apathy and fear often engender. Perhaps more than any single attitude, our unwillingness to notice the inner significances of our lives and to understand and care about another serves as the portent of stagnation of person and society.”

     Hart T. From information to transformation. Education for the evolution of consciousness. Peter Lang Publishing, NY, 2009.

     “Experiential avoidance occurs when an individual engages in strategies to blunt, alter, or control distressing private experiences, such as thoughts, emotions, and physiological sensations.”

     Hayes SC et al. “Experiential avoidance and behavioral disorders: A functional dimensional approach to diagnosis and treatment.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 1996; 64(6): 1152-1168.

     “… we compound our suffering by trying to avoid it. The anxious person is particularly determined to avoid the discomfort of fear. A feared stimulus can be external, such as snakes (simple phobia), a mall (agoraphobia), or office parties (social phobia); or it can be internal, such as a racing heart (panic disorder) or blasphemous thinking (obsessive-compulsive disorder). Most anxious patients recognize that their fear is irrational, but recognition is not sufficient to alter avoidant or escape behavior during periods of heightened arousal.

     Mindfulness is a technology for gradually turning the patient’s attention toward the fear as it is happening, exploring it in detail with increasing degrees of friendly acceptance.” 
     Germer CK, Siegel RD, Fulton PR eds. “Mindfulness and Psychotherapy.” The Guilford Press, NY, 2005.

#73 Perceptual shift

     “Mindfulness is not about fixing anything, but about seeing things as they actually are and then being in wise relationship to them, even if it is difficult or painful.” Jon Kabat-Zinn

      “mindful awareness is flexible, self-regulated and does not involve conceptual processing. Therefore, it is theoretically at odds with the type of attention involved in catastrophizing, which involves interpretation, conceptual processing, judgment and is most often automatically invoked rather than intentional.”
 
      Schutze R et al. Low mindfulness predicts pain catastrophizing in a fear-avoidance model of chronic pain. Pain 2010; 148(1): 120-7.

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#38 Physical Processing

     Mindfulness practice involves full - not just mental - engagement with reality. We gradually learn to allow ourselves to feel the physical sensations (physical processing) of what's here & now, even when it's uncomfortable, without trying to escape to theories, stories, etc. We become curious about physical reality, and let go of spinning stories about it. (Catastrophizing involves conceptual processing.) Though we're used to avoidance, it doesn't work. Though we're not used to exploring the physical dimensions of discomfort, this mindful, accepting approach works surprisingly well.

     "Approaching the pain itself, wherever it is most prominent in the body, with bare attention, open-heartedness, and alert interest even for very brief moments, if that is all that we can muster in any moment, can be profoundly healing, restorative, and illuminating. And if practiced over days, weeks, and months, potentially it can make a difference in the quality of your life for years and years going forward. What we are talking about is really befriending your experience at the level of the body and at the level of the mind & heart, and seeing what unfolds.”                           Jon Kabat-Zinn
 

       Gardner-Nix, J. “The mindfulness solution to pain. Step-by-step techniques for chronic pain management.” New Harbinger Publications Inc, Oakland CA, 2009.

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