Wednesday 28 March 2018

Two Levels of Consciousness

     We’ve all experienced – and vividly remember – occasions when we were fully present, totally engaged in any of a wide variety of situations: while relaxing, caring for or loving a person or activity, including work. Such experiences stick with us because they stand out as qualitatively different from everyday life. 
     During such “wisdom” experiences, we’re intimate with whomever or whatever we vividly share the present moment. Self-talk fades away - our noisy, anxious self-concern having subsided. We become unconditional friendliness, kindness, peace, gentleness, patience, acceptance, equanimity, perseverance, stillness, silence & timelessness.

     
How do wonderful “wisdom” experiences come to an abrupt end? Doesn’t “self talk” predictably burst onto the scene insisting that we “don’t have time” and must get back to focusing on our fears, worries & anxieties? So our noisy ego, anxious self-concern, our stressed-out everyday mind quickly & easily drowns out the peace & wonder of our innate wisdom. 
     Everyday mind so dominates, that we (mistakenly & to our detriment) assume that this primitive, fear-based, survivalist level of consciousness or operating system is literally who (& all that) we are. And it’s distressingly easy for most of us to remain trapped – by default – in this distorted, unrealistic, unhelpful, unhealthy state of mind

     “My mind is like a bad neighborhood, I try not to go there alone.” Annie Lamott
 

     Psychotherapists describe everyday mind as a real mess: 
     “an innumerable swarm of disconnected impulses, thoughts, reactions, opinions, and sensations, which are triggered into activity by causes of which he is totally unaware.”
     “a disconnected, helpless collection of impulses and reactions, a being of disharmonized mind, feeling, and instinct." 
       John Welwood ed. “Awakening the Heart. East / West Approaches to Psychotherapy and the Healing Relationship.” Shambhala, 1983.

      Wisdom is a completely natural, inherent, accessible part of our consciousness, intelligence, or operating system. Yet sadly, we're barely aware of it, don’t know how to intentionally access it, and don’t really trust it! And since most of us feel at least somewhat stressed most of the time, our stressed-out everyday mind becomes our default identity.

     "What we experience is our state of mind projected outward." Gerald G. Jampolsky MD

     “Wellbeing is not found by calming the mind, changing our thoughts, or adjusting our attitudes, but by actually shifting into a level of mind that is already calm and alert.”
       Loch Kelly. “Shift into Freedom. The Science and Practice of Open-hearted Awareness.” Sounds True, 2015. 





Saturday 24 March 2018

PTSD in Patients AND Caregivers


     "Dr. Gary Rodin, head of supportive care at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, says the trauma of going to the hospital for a life-threatening illness isn't so different from someone who has seen military combat or been the subject of a physical assault.
     Jordan's case (mother of a 6yo boy who had extensive, painful maxillo-facial surgery) also exemplifies how PTSD can affect the patient's loved ones just as much as the patient, he said — especially parents, spouses and partners.
     "She doesn't have the illness, but one of the people she cares most about — probably in the world — does," he explained. "Some of the highest rates in PTSD are in mothers of children who have a serious or life-threatening illness."
     Rodin says hospital PTSD is far more common than many people realize. He's seen it develop in up to 25 per cent of patients who have cancer and other life-threatening conditions.
     "What's not recognized is that one of the most common traumas human beings face is a serious medical illness," he told Goldman. "So especially at the time of diagnosis, or a complication, or when there's screening, all these things may trigger enormous anxiety."
     Rodin and his team at Princess Margaret Hospital developed a program called Emotion and Symptom-focused Engagement (EASE) provides emotional support and anxiety management for people who are suffering from hospital-related PTSD.
     "We know this kind of proactive intervention reduces PTSD symptoms ... and also reduces all kinds of other distress," he said.
     Rodin says a short course of treatment can do wonders when PTSD is recognized early.”
       “PTSD in the Hospital: Why the Emotional Scars of Serious Illnesses Linger Long after Treatment.” CBC’s White Coat Black Arts: http://www.cbc.ca/radio/whitecoat/ptsd-in-the-hospital-why-the-emotional-scars-of-serious-illnesses-linger-long-after-treatment-1.4590370




Monday 19 March 2018

Confusion, Sleepiness to Avoid our own Depth?

      "Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you." Marianne Williamson

      What if even the most highly educated & accomplished among us habitually "play small"? Below was written by a well-known, highly-respected, highly-educated psychiatrist & educator, Roger Walsh MD, PhD:
 

     “One general principle that soon emerged was that my defenses, biases, and lack of experience limited my capacity to appreciate information or people of greater wisdom than I myself possessed. Moreover, it seemed that not only was I passively incapable of hearing it, but was also at times actively defended against it.
     On one such occasion, I went to a public lecture given by Ram Dass … with approximately three thousand other people. During the course of the evening, he started to outline a multilevel model of consciousness and described the component states in ascending order from the ordinary to the more transcendent. My reactions and those of the audience provided unexpected insights into the nature of our usual state of consciousness and its relationship to apparently more developed states. 
     As he ran through the first two levels, they seemed very reasonable and readily understandable, the third was a little less usual, and the description to the fourth immediately evoked an experience in which I heard his words with perfect clarity, was struck by their import, and immediately afterwards could not remember a word he said. My next memory was of being awakened by the snores of the person next to me, and looking round the hall I saw that approximately one quarter of the audience had very suddenly fallen asleep. 
     … I had undergone massive repression or denial resulting in a literal and extremely rapid loss of consciousness, as presumably had a significant number of those people who had fallen asleep at the time I did. In order to repress something, we have to at least partially recognize it and assess it as dangerous. Yet if the descriptions of the higher states of consciousness were recognized and repressed, it could only mean that they were already known and that this knowledge was denied (entry into conscious) awareness through active defenses
     This and related experiences led me to a total reevaluation of the relationship between ordinary and ‘higher’ states. Formerly I had assumed that deeper wisdom was attained through the acquisition of new knowledge and understanding. However, now I was forced to consider the possibility that we already possess the requisite knowledge, that our usual state represents an actively and defensively contracted state, and that higher states are attainable, not by the acquisition of something new, but by the release of current defenses and the resultant expression of already existing capacities.” Roger Walsh MD PhD

        John Welwood ed. “Awakening the Heart. East / West Approaches to Psychotherapy and the Healing Relationship.” Shambhala, 1983.
 
awakeningartsacademy.com

Friday 16 March 2018

Awakening the Heart

     “The most powerful agent of growth and transformation is something much more basic than any technique: a change of heart.” John Welwood 

     “But what does it mean to ‘awaken the heart’? No doubt this phrase may sound strange to those reared in traditional Western psychology, which speaks of the goals of therapy in much more technical terms, such as ‘ego strength,’ ‘reality testing,’ or ‘impulse control.’ The word ‘heart’ has a rather sentimental ring in our culture – it seems to belong in love lyrics and Hollywood movies, but hardly in the context of psychotherapy, which has been striving since its beginnings to achieve a certain technical expertise and scientific respectability. In our culture, ‘heart’ is considered to be something quite distinct from ‘mind,’ the latter usually referring to our rational, thinking capacity.
     In the Eastern traditions, however, the word ‘heart’ does not mean emotions or sentimental feelings. In Buddhism, the words ‘heart’ and ‘mind’ are part of the same reality (citta in Sanskrit). In fact, when Buddhists refer to mind, they point not to the head, but to the chest. The mind that the Eastern traditions are most interested in is not the thinking capacity, but rather when the Zen master Suzuki Roshi called ‘big mind’: a fundamental openness and clarity which resonates directly with the world around us. This big mind is not created or possessed by anyone’s ego; rather, it is a universal wakefulness that any human being can tap into
     The rational thinking apparatus we know so well in the West is, in this perspective, a ‘small mind.’ 
     The mind which is one with the heart ('big mind') is a much larger kind of awareness that surrounds the normally narrow focus of our attention. We could define heart here as that ‘part’ of us where we can be touched – by the world and other people. Letting ourselves be touched in the heart gives rise to expansive feelings of appreciation for others. Here is where heart connects with big mind. For we can only appreciate others if we can first of all see them clearly as they are, in all their humanness, apart from our ideas and preconceptions about them. In seeing and letting ourselves be touched by the humanness in others, we come to realize that we are not so different from them (at heart). This gives rise to real compassion, considered by many Eastern traditions to be the noblest of human feelings. Awakening the heart, then, involves a double movement: both letting others into us, which allows us to appreciate their humanness, and going out to meet them more fully. (As we say: ‘I took her into my heart,’ or ‘My heart went out to him.’) Heart is not only the open, receptive dimension of our being, but also an active, expansive opening out to the world.”

        John Welwood ed. “Awakening the Heart. East / West Approaches to Psychotherapy and the Healing Relationship.” Shambhala, 1983.



Wednesday 14 March 2018

Depths of Happiness


     There are many levels, qualities or depths of happiness, somewhat akin to the nutritional content of food: 
     • from scarfing down a chocolate bar alone resulting in quick sugar-high, after which you quickly crash & burn; 
     • to a memorable healthy, home-cooked feast, slowly, skillfully, lovingly prepared, and then celebrated & savored with loved ones.

     “Only a very few people alive today can make me smile just to think of them: the Dalai Lama is one and Huston Smith is another. And when I reflect on it, I realize that this is partly because both celebrated teachers are voracious in their pursuit of wisdom and able to push back their own assumptions in order to learn from everyone they meet; both radiate a calm and openness that can come only from an inner shrine that is unwavering. More deeply, with both of them the sense of wisdom is infectious because they are light in every way: alive with mischief and sparkle, unimpressed with themselves and ready to see, and bear out in their every action, that delight is as much a part of life’s adventure as is sober rumination.”
       Dana Sawyer “Huston Smith: Wisdomkeeper. Living the World’s Religions. The Authorized Biography of a 21st Century Spiritual Giant.” Fons Vitae, 2014. 

     "The most important factor in maintaining peace within oneself, in the face of any difficulty, is one's mental attitude. If it is distorted by such feelings as anger, attachment, or jealousy, then even the most comfortable environment will bring one no peace. On the other hand, if one's attitude is generally calm and gentle, then even a hostile environment will have little effect on one's own inner peace. Since the basic source of peace and happiness is one's own mental attitude, it is worthwhile adopting means to develop it in a positive way." Dalai Lama

      And now from a very smart fellow, but (who, like most of us) doesn't have the Dalai Lama's depth of practice, nor attainment:


     “… presentation of Buddhism as a way to be happy (is) basically knowtowing to a kind of Western hedonism. At least the impression is given that if you do this, if you practice Buddhism, somehow you become more happy. I think the word ‘happiness’ in that sense is insipid, almost banal. Yes, of course, we don’t seek to be unhappy, we seek in some broad sense to improve the quality of our lives, and we call that well-being or contentment or happiness. Again we are giving too much emphasis to personal affect... How can you really be happy if you are empathic, sensitized to the suffering of the world? … 
     I certainly do not practice (meditation) in order to be happy. I seek meaning, I seek purpose, I seek value, and I seek to find a way of being in this world in which its mystery, its tragedy, becomes more and more apparent, more transparent. The challenge of the practice in each moment really is to seek resources in oneself to respond to that. Whether of not it makes you happy is irrelevant.
     That’s why the training of meditation, etc., comes into play. It constantly returns you to a place within yourself where perhaps you are more able, because you have a certain stillness, a certain equanimity, a certain hope, to respond more truly, more caringly, more honestly, less selfishly. That’s what matters. At that point we go beyond Buddhism really. This is really about living the human life.” Stephen Batchelor
     Richard P. Boyle. “Realizing Awakened Consciousness. Interviews with Buddhist Teachers and a New Perspective on the Mind.” Columbia University Press, 2015.
 

     “When I was young I used to admire intelligent people. 
     As I grow older I admire kind people.”            Abraham J. Heschel


awakeningartsacademy.com

Monday 12 March 2018

When One side is Illuminated, the Other is Dark


     The way most of us tend to perceive things, including ourselves & the world around us, prevents us from seeing things as they actually are. Naturally, this puts us at odds with those who have very different perspectives on pretty much everything. A proportion of us will gradually mature to gain a more balanced & thus changed way of perceiving and therefore way of being in what now appears as a brand new world.

     “… we must come to understand two distinct kinds of meaning. One is quantitative (external and seen); the other is qualitative (internal and sensed). Both meanings give our lives significance and substance if they are equally valued, integrated, & embodied…

     We are most familiar and comfortable with the quantitative – the outer meaning of life and our outer experiences: meaningful memories, important historical events, significant opportunities, or important turning points. We may return to school, retire, get divorced or remarried, have children and grandchildren, lose friends and family to illness or death, survive accidents or trauma, excel in a field, travel, or move to new location.
     The qualitative life experience is often more subtle, less familiar, more internal, and representative of our soul urges – those numinous, mystical, and transpersonal experiences that occur synchronistically in spontaneous unbidden ways. These subjective experiences often appear as inner stirrings or disturbances that provoke insight, dreams, precognitions, breakthroughs, and unexpected glimpses of the mysterious aspects of who we authentically are.
     Quantitative and qualitative life experiences converge in the second half of life to be meaningfully integrated. Our nature is then rewoven into a more expansive and textured fabric. Carl Jung tells us of the dangers of over-identifying with either the outer, quantitative or inner, qualitative world rather than integrating them:

     ‘Mastery of the inner world, with a relative contempt for the outer, must inevitably lead to great catastrophe. 
      Mastery of the outer world, to the exclusion of the inner, delivers us over to the demonic forces of the latter, and keeps us barbaric despite all outward forms of culture.’

     An extreme example of a delusionary ‘mastery of the inner world’ combined with ‘contempt for the outer’ was the mass suicide at Jonestown, in which hundreds of people followed their spiritual leader, Jim Jones, to their communal death. 
     Over-identification with outer-world mastery to the exclusion of inner is found in contemporary examples of corporate crime, where greedy, well-educated people are driven to misuse their talents in ruthless ways to get richer at the expense of their own ethics and integrity. 
     In contrast, when both worlds are accessed and attended to equally, in non-extreme ways, the human spirit exemplifies unimagined courage and commitment to alleviate human suffering, restore justice, and uplift the quality of life for many. The Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks etc are all examples of individuals committed to both internal and external development. The integration of the quantitative and qualitative enables them to touch lives for the better. 
     Without balance in our lives, we become lopsided or incomplete. We must be vigilant in maintaining balance and access to both the inner and outer worlds. We can no longer flirt with the blind faith or lack of discernment that closes the door to outer mastery, nor can we indulge in the chronic cynicism or hopelessness that cuts us off from inner mastery. In our later years, rather than choosing one world over the other, we need to become adept at living in both.”
       Angeles Arrien. “The Second Half of Life. Opening the Eight Gates of Wisdom.” Sounds True, 2007.

awakeningartsacademy.com

Sunday 4 March 2018

Conditioned (Thought-mediated) Mind & Direct Knowing


“These are the moments when we define the self: 
          • I want this.
          • I feel this. (& judge as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral) 
          • I must do it this way.


This is the arising of the conditioned mind (marked by 'preferences'). There are other moments of direct knowing when we slip in and out of events smoothly, without conditioned mind impeding.


If it is a conditioned moment, we might inquire whether some fear is at its root, a fear that requires that I (behave) in this ‘particular way.’ ….


A good way to study the conditions in which we want things to appear or to not appear is through working with pain, the sensation of burning, throbbing, hot, stretching, tearing – however it is arising for you. What happens when consciousness dares to enter this throbbing, burning sensation? When you enter the shape of pain, you go past the shape in your mind; you go past the aversion and fear in your mind. This direct experience lacks aversion and fear. There is simply direct knowing.


When a part of consciousness isn’t holding out, saying, ‘Oh, do I have to do this?’ your whole being is hot, throbbing, on the verge. It’s on the threshold because you have entered the shape of pain in your mind. That experience goes beyond the appearance and nonappearance of conditions. You’re right on the margin, where your authentic life actually exists.”

Katherine Thanas. “The Truth of This Life. Zen Teachings on Loving the World as It Is.” Shambhala, 2018.

awakeningartsacademy.com

Saturday 3 March 2018

The Buck Stops Here!


      “There are times when life sharpens, things come into focus and, gradually, you become aware that you are standing before a threshold. There is no way back to where you were before, and there is no way out but through.”                 John O’Donohue

     “Throughout our lives, transitions require that we ask for help and allow ourselves to yield to forces stronger than our wills or our egos’ desires. As transitions take place during our later years, a fundamental and primal shift from ambition to meaning occurs.
     The shift often takes the form of abrupt, unexpected changes in our lives – such as a surprising new interest, a career change, a significant loss, divorce, or a move to a new location – that can align us with what truly touches our hearts and has meaning for us. With this shift comes an initial restlessness, irritability, anxiety, or discontent with our current situation, and a deep questioning of the motivation surrounding our choices in career and relationships. Everything comes up for review. Previous desires and choices to attain status, power, money, fame, or strategic relationships lose meaning and become unsatisfying. Any one of these one-valued egoic needs may be radically diminished as deep congruence and authentic fulfillment emerge to be expressed.”
       Angeles Arrien. “The Second Half of Life. Opening the Eight Gates of Wisdom.” Sounds True, 2007.