January/February 2001
Articles on the theme "Growing Young"
Learning & Play
by Bob Gonzalez
Maintaining the spirit of youth through
learning and play.
Conscious Dispute Resolution
by Constance M. Felos
An attorney's look at how resolving
legal disputes can help one grow young.
A State of Mind
by Audrey Craft Davis
Using the mind to reverse the biological
clock.
HGH (Human Growth Hormone)
by Maria Moraca
There are physical reasons for aging.
The role of HGH.
Reversing the Aging Process
by Jim Stuebe
New research links increased oxygen
to growing younger.
An Enthusiasm for Life
by Charles Larsen
Enhancing spiritual and psychological
youth.
Conscious Aging
by Rev. Pat Palmer
Learning to let go. Growing younger
through spiritual growth.
As Young as You Dare
by Patrick Plaskett
The effects of attitude on aging and
what we can do about it.
In Search of the Fountain
by Rev. Sue R. Griffin
The true fountain of youth - within
our own soul.
Never Too Old
- by Marty Kliesh, Ph.D.
How nutrition as well as attitude can
affect aging.
Other Feature Articles
Natural Health Q & A
by Steve Shealy
Riding the dragon: the dance between
psychotherapy and meditation.
Health of the Nation
by David Findlay
What is... Aura Photography?
by Rev Marcie Louton
The relationship between energy and
the aura. How aura photography is done and the significance of the aura's
colors.
PeopleTalk
Readers' Open Forum
Minerals from Mother Earth
by Judy Power
Features stones for January& February.
Apache Gold and Crysoprase .
Natural Health Q & A
by Steve Shealy
"These days... we are apt to seek out a therapist to... help us get the dragon back into its cave. Therapists of many schools will oblige in this, and we will thus be returned to what Freud called 'ordinary unhappiness.' Zen (meditation), by contrast, offers dragon-riding lessons." David Brazier
Question:
How are psychotherapy and meditation related?
Answer:
A wonderful fruit of my commitment to the practice and teaching of Vipassana (Insight) meditation, is the opportunity to work with psychotherapy clients who also practice meditation. I have come to appreciate the power and complexity of the dance between these two practices. The more I examine this dance, the less confident I am in reducing it to words. It seems to be a synergistic and dynamic process, not only one whose product is greater than the sum of its parts, but also one whose product varies across time and with the individual. Accepting that my investigation into psychotherapy and meditation may always be incomplete, I will share what I have learned so far.
The limits of psychotherapy.
Often clients have been in therapy on and off for a number a years - some for most of their adult lives - yet have not been able to move into 'full adulthood,' into a life of integrated wholeness. Despite making significant progress with their psychological issues, some remnants of distorted unconscious self-image, anger, grief, or self-hatred still hold them hostage. The ability to live out of their highest values and sense of purpose, or even to articulate clearly what these are, is still beyond their grasp. They complain of a gnawing sense of emptiness and a growing dissatisfaction with life.
These clients come back into therapy seeking a deeper understanding of reality and their place in it. While some of the presenting symptoms remain the same, their focus of concern has become more spiritual. They sense that previous therapy helped prepare them for this spiritual journey, yet there remains a lack of direction and the necessary tools to complete it. It is clearly time to go deeper. But how?
The limits of meditation.
A common complaint I hear from students who have practiced for a while is that psychological issues are arising and disrupting the quiet peacefulness of their meditative space. One of the powerful fruits of meditation practice is the establishment of mindfulness, the skill of simply being present with what's occurring to us or within us at any moment in time without drifting into judgment, decision or internal dialogue. Meditators learn to sit patiently, watching their internal experience (the only experience we have) rise and fall without grasping or pushing it away and staying with the essence of the experience without elaboration or emotional reactivity.
As the light of mindfulness is directed toward the workings of the mind, the layers of conditioned thought and behavior patterns, the basic ingredients and underpinnings of our psychological issues, are exposed. As the layers of the psychic onion are peeled away, deeper and more subtle aspects of the mind's inner architecture are understood.
Without corresponding resolution, meditation practice will continue to be disrupted by the emotional disturbance associated with this process. It is clearly time to bring resolution to these disturbing issues. But how?
How meditation can benefit psychotherapy.
One fruit of a disciplined meditation practice is the ability to sit and observe discomfort mindfully without falling into the trap of emotional reactivity. This is a valuable resource for anyone working through painful and anxiety-producing memories and issues in therapy. Observing such feelings as panic, fear or rage without getting hooked by them allows the focus of therapy to remain on the issues, not the client's reaction to them. This clear focus allows the processing of emotionally laden material to proceed more quickly to resolution and integration.
How psychotherapy can benefit meditation.
The meditation students who are engaged in psychotherapeutic work seem better able to progress with their meditation practice than those students who are less aggressive in resolving their psychological issues. For the students not engaged in therapy, the same disturbing issues keep coming up in the mind, blocking the meditation practice. The process of working through issues in therapy defuses the emotional charge, rendering them less disruptive. Therapy can lead to a shift in perspective to a larger, more skillful view of one's reality, both present-centered and memory-based. Resolution of underlying psychological issues allows the still focus of meditation to be safeguarded from the emotionality of the moment.
The on-going dance.
The dance goes something like this: psychotherapy leads to the resolution of underlying psychological issues which allows meditation practice to deepen as the meditator is no longer so easily pulled off center by emotionally disruptive images, thoughts and feelings. The deepening of meditation practice allows deeper insight into how the mind reacts to such issues. With this deeper insight, further progress can be made in therapy this leads to a more settled and focused meditation experience which leads to deeper insight and so on. It goes full circle with movement in one area allowing greater movement in the other. Some report moving through intense underlying psychological issues quickly; they have noticed a deepening of their meditation practice as they move along their spiritual path with less baggage and with more effective tools for the journey.
Steve Shealy PhD, licensed psychologist, specializes in holistic, insight-oriented psychotherapy and also leads meditation classes and retreats. Tampa and Clearwater FL (813) 980-2700. FLShealy@aol.com or www.SteveShealyPh
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