Meditation and Psychotherapy –
One of the most important steps in learning the art of losing control and achieving the ability of ‘not doing” is the discipline of meditation. Throughout the millenia, a wide number of cultures and religions have produced a variety of techniques to enable practitioners to transcend the analytic aspects of their minds to as to awaken to their world in a direct and unfiltered manner. As discussed in the previous post, meditation can be an extremely useful adjunct to psychotherapy for its own direct effects on reducing the impact of stress and physiological arousal, and to assist in generating the ability to view ones own emerging mental events. And so, if people express an interest and it is relevant for reaching their therapeutic objectives, I provide instruction and guidance in secular approaches to meditation that have been largely separated from any philosophical, cultural or religious ideologies. Certainly, as often occurs, one is always free to explore such aspects of meditation.
posture for meditation
Herbert Benson MD, in his wildly successful book simply entitled “The Relaxation Response” simply and clearly describes such a secular approach to meditation. Back in the early 70’s Benson was one of the first to start laboratory research on the physiological effects of meditation. He examined meditation across a wide variety of styles and traditions and discovered that there is a consistent pattern of beneficial physiological changes that appear to counter the negative impact of the stress response. For purposes of improving experimental control, He then recognized the need to have research participants all engaging in the same standardized meditation technique. And so he identified what he saw as the most essential ingredients of meditation that appear to cut across all meditation approaches. He distilled this down to four essential aspects which he then tied together and termed it as the “relaxation response”. At first this was just designed as a research tool. It was I believe only after the fact that he recognized its clinical utility outside of the laboratory.
In a distilled nutshell, the four ingredients as outlined by Benson and (embellished by me) are as follows:
1) Proper environment – One typically thinks of one meditating in a temple, monastery, or a craggy Himalayan cave. While that would be wonderful, for the everyday Joe who is not involved in monastic training, the quiet of one’s room is fine. The key is to reasonably limit external distractions to allow for maximal concentration. It does not have to be perfect. It is seldom possible to eliminate all noise and distractions. but with some practice, as concentration improves, you will be able to maintain focus regardless of external events. Take it from me. have meditated on the Nzew York subway and on most nights I meditate with sniffling and squirming children. It is also useful to arrange an environment to symbolically separate it from the humdrum routine of everyday life. Towards this end one may choose to loght a candle, burn incense, create a home alter with some personally relevant artifacts and so on.
2) Proper Posture – Posture is absolutely essential. Some writers even state that the posture is meditation. The key here is to assure that you spine is absolutely straight which for a variety of reasons for maximal focus and concentration. The ideal posture is the full lotus or mountain pose in which the foot is placed in the opposite thigh. This posture allows for stability and relaxation simultaneously. Most of us, including myself are incapable of such a posture without resulting in bilateral knee replacement surgery. However there are many modifications possible including the half lotus (one foot on opposite thigh), quarter lotus (one foot on opposite calf), or the “Indian style” or tailor position. If one chooses any of these, it is critical that one’s but be propped up at least 6 inches off of the floor to assure proper spinal alignment. Special meditation pillows called zafus are ideal for this purpose. Of course household pillows can also suffice. A straight back chair is also fine. Ones eyes should be mostly but not entirely closed as the later would just put someone into la la land. Hands can be gently folded on your lap or you may assume any one of a number of mudras (energy locks).
3) Proper attitude – The idea here is to assume a “let whatever happens, happen” attitude towards meditation. We cannot make ourselves sleep or will an erect6ion. We set the occasion for either to occur and nature does the rest. So t is with meditation. The harder we try, the more it will elude us. So just “take the seat” and let nature take its course. So there is a old zen riddle. If you have a puddle that is turgid and cloudy, how do you clarify the puddle? The answer is simple, you do nothing….the puddle will clear itself. “Spring comes and the grass grows by itself”. The action of non-action. This isn’t difficult for us to grasp in the west since everything we do is the result of action and effort. But over time and with regular practice, we can come to master the art of “losing control”.
4) The focus point – the Sanskrit word for meditation is dhyana which is translated as “concentration”. In most meditative disciplines, the practitioner focuses on something to serve as a mental target to generate focus and concentration. This can be the breath, a mantra (such as OM), an externally produced sound, internal physical sensations, a koan (or unsolvable riddle), a candle, a mandala or virtually anything. In the Benson method, the practitioner is asked to inwardly repeat the word “one” with each exhalation of the breath. This is a form of mantra meditation. So, breathing with gentle abdominal breaths, one simply repeats the word “one”. One variant that I often suggest is a Zen technique wherein one counts each breath up to ten. After the tenth breath then starting over at “one”. If you get distracted or lose your count, which you invariably will, the start back at “one”. What could be simpler? However, you will see that it is the simplest thing in the world and the hardest thing in the world. Your mind will wander many, many times. Gently, gently, bring your focus back to the breath and the number.
I recommend at least 10 minutes per day and gradually increasing this to 20-30 minutes per day as circumstances and capability allow. Little by little, you will find that your mind becomes steadier. Sometimes, you may even find that your mind is completely still and perfectly anchored in the breath and the count. Of course, once you notice this your mind will begin its commentary anew and you will be back to the monkey mind state. But that is just how it goes.
Next post will address some commonly pursued questions, issues and difficulties that one is likely to encounter in the beginning stages of meditation.
